Python MySQL Create Table


Creating a Table

To create a table in MySQL, use the "CREATE TABLE" statement.

Make sure you define the name of the database when you create the connection

Example

Create a table named "customers":

import mysql.connector

mydb = mysql.connector.connect(
  host="localhost",
  user="yourusername",
  password="yourpassword",
  database="mydatabase"
)

mycursor = mydb.cursor()

mycursor.execute("CREATE TABLE customers (name VARCHAR(255), address VARCHAR(255))")
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If the above code was executed with no errors, you have now successfully created a table.


Check if Table Exists

You can check if a table exist by listing all tables in your database with the "SHOW TABLES" statement:

Example

Return a list of your system's databases:

import mysql.connector

mydb = mysql.connector.connect(
  host="localhost",
  user="yourusername",
  password="yourpassword",
  database="mydatabase"
)

mycursor = mydb.cursor()

mycursor.execute("SHOW TABLES")

for x in mycursor:
  print(x)
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Primary Key

When creating a table, you should also create a column with a unique key for each record.

This can be done by defining a PRIMARY KEY.

We use the statement "INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY" which will insert a unique number for each record. Starting at 1, and increased by one for each record.

Example

Create primary key when creating the table:

import mysql.connector

mydb = mysql.connector.connect(
  host="localhost",
  user="yourusername",
  password="yourpassword",
  database="mydatabase"
)

mycursor = mydb.cursor()

mycursor.execute("CREATE TABLE customers (id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(255), address VARCHAR(255))")
Run example »

If the table already exists, use the ALTER TABLE keyword:

Example

Create primary key on an existing table:

import mysql.connector

mydb = mysql.connector.connect(
  host="localhost",
  user="yourusername",
  password="yourpassword",
  database="mydatabase"
)

mycursor = mydb.cursor()

mycursor.execute("ALTER TABLE customers ADD COLUMN id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY")
Run example »
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