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	否	否	是	是	是	否
Named Internal	是	是	是	是	是	是
Named External	是	是	是	是	是	是