Stage

A stage stores data files that can be loaded into tables.

Stage Types

Databend supports the following stage types:

• User Stage
• Named Internal / External Stage

User Stage

In Databend, each user comes with a default stage called User Stage. Data files uploaded to a user stage are stored in /<bucket_name>/<tenant_id>/stage/user/<user_name>. To reference the user stage, use @~. See the examples below:

-- Lists the staged files in the user stage
LIST @~;

-- Deletes all the files from the user stage
REMOVE @~;

The following limitations apply when you work with the user stage:

• The user stage is available out of the box. There is no need to create it before use, and you cannot change or drop it.

• Data files stored in your user stage are not accessible to other users.

• You cannot set format options for the user stage. Instead, you can set them in the COPY INTO command when you load data.

Named Internal / External Stage

In addition to the User Stage, you can create named stages to store data files. Named stages give you more control over the data loading:

• Named stages enable other users with appropriate privileges to access the staged data files and load them into tables.

• A named stage can be internal or external:

  • Internal stages store data files in the storage backend you specify in databend-query.toml.
  • When you create an external stage with the command CREATE STAGE, you specify the stage location in the command.

Managing Stages

Use the following commands to manage stages in Databend:

• CREATE STAGE: Creates a stage.
• DROP STAGE: Removes a stage.
• DESC STAGE: Shows the properties of a stage.
• LIST FILES: Returns a list of the staged files in a stage.
• REMOVE FILES: Removes staged files from a stage.
• SHOW STAGES: Returns a list of the created stages.

Some of the commands above do not apply to the User Stage. See the table below for details:

Stage	CREATE STAGE	DROP STAGE	DESC STAGE	LIST FILES	REMOVE FILES	SHOW STAGES
User Stage	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Named Internal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Named External	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes