USE

USE specifies the active database for your session. You can then perform operations, such as creating tables and executing queries.

Syntax

USE [<catalog_name>.]<db_name>

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
catalog_name	No	The catalog name. If this parameter is not specified, a database in default_catalog is used by default. You must specify this parameter when you use a database from an external catalog. For more information, see Example 2. You must specify this parameter when you switch databases between different catalogs. For more information, see Example 3. For more information about catalogs, see Overview.
db_name	Yes	The database name. The database must exist.

Examples

Example 1: Use example_db from default_catalog as the active database of your session.

USE default_catalog.example_db;

Or

USE example_db;

Example 2: Use example_db from hive_catalog as the active database of your session.

USE hive_catalog.example_db;

Example 3: Switch the active database of your session from hive_catalog.example_table1 to iceberg_catalog.example_table2.

USE iceberg_catalog.example_table2;