INSERT INTO Statement

The INSERT INTO Statement

The INSERT INTO statement adds new rows of data to a table.

💡 INSERT is how you get data INTO your database. Think of it as filling in a new row in a spreadsheet.

Basic Syntax

INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, column3)
VALUES (value1, value2, value3);

Insert a Single Row

INSERT INTO customers (first_name, last_name, email, city)
VALUES ('Alice', 'Johnson', 'alice@email.com', 'New York');

Insert Multiple Rows

INSERT INTO customers (first_name, last_name, email, city)
VALUES
    ('Bob', 'Smith', 'bob@email.com', 'Los Angeles'),
    ('Carol', 'Williams', 'carol@email.com', 'Chicago'),
    ('Dan', 'Brown', 'dan@email.com', 'Houston');

⚠️ When inserting multiple rows, if ANY row fails, ALL rows fail (in most databases). This ensures data consistency.

Insert Without Column Names

-- Must provide values for ALL columns in exact order
INSERT INTO customers
VALUES (1, 'Alice', 'Johnson', 'alice@email.com', 'New York', 'NY', '2024-01-15', 1);

INSERT INTO ... SELECT

Copy data from one table to another:

INSERT INTO archive_customers (first_name, last_name, email)
SELECT first_name, last_name, email
FROM customers
WHERE city = 'New York';

✏️ Exercise: Insert three new products into a 'products' table with columns: name, price, category, stock

See Solution

INSERT INTO products (name, price, category, stock)
VALUES
    ('Wireless Mouse', 29.99, 'Electronics', 150),
    ('Desk Lamp', 45.00, 'Office', 88),
    ('Notebook Pack', 12.50, 'Supplies', 300);

✅ Key Takeaways

1. INSERT INTO adds new rows to a table
2. Always specify column names for clarity and safety
3. Insert multiple rows at once with comma-separated values
4. INSERT INTO...SELECT copies data between tables
5. Column count must match value count