CREATE SEQUENCE

The CREATE SEQUENCE statement creates a new sequence in a database. Use a sequence to auto-increment integers in a table. The CREATE SEQUENCE statement performs a schema change. For more information about how online schema changes work in CockroachDB, see Online Schema Changes.

Considerations

Using a sequence is slower than auto-generating unique IDs with the gen_random_uuid(), uuid_v4(), or unique_rowid() built-in functions and is likely to cause performance problems due to hotspots. Incrementing a sequence requires a write to persistent storage. In CockroachDB, all writes are replicated and must reach a write quorum. In multi-region deployments, replicated writes can add cross-region latency (for example, in a region survival configuration) and become a throughput bottleneck for write-heavy workloads. Cached sequences can reduce the frequency of these writes, though gaps in sequence values may occur if cached values are lost. Auto-generating a unique ID does not require a replicated write. Therefore, use auto-generated unique IDs unless an incremental sequence is preferred or required. For more information, refer to Unique ID best practices.
A column that uses a sequence can have a gap in the sequence values if a transaction advances the sequence and is then rolled back. Sequence updates are committed immediately and aren’t rolled back along with their containing transaction. This is done to avoid blocking concurrent transactions that use the same sequence.
We discourage indexing on sequential keys. If a table must be indexed on sequential keys, use hash-sharded indexes. Hash-sharded indexes distribute sequential traffic uniformly across ranges, eliminating single-range hot spots and improving write performance on sequentially-keyed indexes at a small cost to read performance.
By default, you cannot create sequences that are owned by columns in tables in other databases. You can enable such sequence creation by setting the sql.cross_db_sequence_owners.enabled cluster setting to true.

Required privileges

The user must have the CREATE privilege on the parent database.

Synopsis

Parameters

Parameter	Description
`seq\_name`	The name of the sequence to be created, which must be unique within its database and follow the identifier rules. When the parent database is not set as the default, the name must be formatted as `database.seq\_name`.
`INCREMENT`	The value by which the sequence is incremented. A negative number creates a descending sequence. A positive number creates an ascending sequence. Default:`1`
`MINVALUE`	The minimum value of the sequence. Default values apply if not specified or if you enter `NO MINVALUE`. Default for ascending:`1` Default for descending:`MININT`
`MAXVALUE`	The maximum value of the sequence. Default values apply if not specified or if you enter `NO MAXVALUE`. Default for ascending:`MAXINT` Default for descending:`-1`
`START [WITH]`	The first value of the sequence. Default for ascending:`1` Default for descending:`-1`
`RESTART [WITH]`	Sets `nextval` to the specified number, or back to the original `START` value.
`NO CYCLE`	All sequences are set to `NO CYCLE` and the sequence will not wrap.
	`CACHE`	The number of sequence values to cache in memory for reuse in the session. A cache size of `1` means that there is no cache, and cache sizes of less than `1` are not valid. Default:`1` (sequences are not cached by default)
`OWNED BY column\_name`	Associates the sequence to a particular column. If that column or its parent table is dropped, the sequence will also be dropped. Specifying an owner column with `OWNED BY` replaces any existing owner column on the sequence. To remove existing column ownership on the sequence and make the column free-standing, specify `OWNED BY NONE`. Default:`NONE`
`opt\_temp`	Defines the sequence as a session-scoped temporary sequence. For more information, see Temporary sequences.

Sequence functions

CockroachDB supports the following SQL sequence functions:

nextval('seq_name')
currval('seq_name')
lastval()
setval('seq_name', value, is_called)

Temporary sequences

CockroachDB supports session-scoped temporary sequences. Unlike persistent sequences, temporary sequences can only be accessed from the session in which they were created, and they are dropped at the end of the session. You can create temporary sequences on both persistent tables and temporary tables.

This feature is in preview and subject to change. To share feedback and/or issues, contact Support.

Temporary tables must be enabled in order to use temporary sequences. By default, temporary tables are disabled in CockroachDB. To enable temporary tables, set the experimental_enable_temp_tables session variable to on.

Details

Temporary sequences are automatically dropped at the end of the session.
A temporary sequence can only be accessed from the session in which it was created.
Temporary sequences persist across transactions in the same session.
Temporary sequences cannot be converted to persistent sequences.

Like temporary tables, temporary sequences are not in the public schema. Instead, when you create the first temporary table, view, or sequence for a session, CockroachDB generates a single temporary schema (pg_temp_<id) for all of the temporary objects in the current session for a database.

Usage

To create a temporary sequence, add TEMP/TEMPORARY to a CREATE SEQUENCE statement. For example:

> SET experimental_enable_temp_tables=on;

> CREATE TEMP SEQUENCE temp_seq START 1 INCREMENT 1;

> SHOW CREATE temp_seq;

  table_name |                                     create_statement
-------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  temp_seq   | CREATE TEMP SEQUENCE temp_seq MINVALUE 1 MAXVALUE 9223372036854775807 INCREMENT 1 START 1
(1 row)

Examples

Create a sequence with default settings

In this example, we create a sequence with default settings.

> CREATE SEQUENCE customer_seq;

> SHOW CREATE customer_seq;

   table_name  |                                     create_statement
---------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  customer_seq | CREATE SEQUENCE customer_seq MINVALUE 1 MAXVALUE 9223372036854775807 INCREMENT 1 START 1
(1 row)

Use a sequence when creating a table

In this example, we create a table, using the nextval() function for a default value, with the customer_seq sequence as its input:

CREATE TABLE customers (
    uid UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    rownum INT DEFAULT nextval('customer_seq'),
    name STRING
);

Inserting into this table with an INSERT statement that relies on default values will call nextval, which increments the sequence.

> INSERT INTO customers (name) VALUES ('Max'), ('Alice');

> SELECT * FROM customers;

                  uid                  | rownum | name
---------------------------------------+--------+--------
  1c7f5b79-88c4-49ec-b40b-6098d28bb822 |      2 | Alice
  7ce844af-6a3f-4c52-ba07-25623f345804 |      1 | Max
(2 rows)

View the current value of a sequence

To view the current value without incrementing the sequence, use:

> SELECT * FROM customer_seq;

  last_value | log_cnt | is_called
-------------+---------+------------
           2 |       0 |   true
(1 row)

The log_cnt and is_called columns are returned only for PostgreSQL compatibility; they are not stored in the database.

If a value has been obtained from the sequence in the current session, you can also use the currval('seq_name') function to get that most recently obtained value:

> SELECT currval('customer_seq');

  currval
-----------
        2
(1 row)

Set the next value of a sequence

In this example, we’re going to change the next value of customer_seq using the setval() function. Currently, the next value will be 3 (i.e., 2 + INCREMENT 1). We will change the next value to 5.

You cannot set a value outside the MAXVALUE or MINVALUE of the sequence.

> SELECT setval('customer_seq', 5, false);

  setval
----------
       5
(1 row)

The setval('seq_name', value, is_called) function in CockroachDB SQL mimics the setval() function in PostgreSQL, but it does not store the is_called flag. Instead, it sets the value to val - increment for false or val for true.

Let’s add another record to the table to check that the new record adheres to the new next value.

> INSERT INTO customers (name) VALUES ('Sam');

> SELECT * FROM customers;

                  uid                  | rownum | name
---------------------------------------+--------+--------
  19ffe03d-5eac-4a2f-8aa8-1569b998aa44 |      5 | Sam
  1c7f5b79-88c4-49ec-b40b-6098d28bb822 |      2 | Alice
  7ce844af-6a3f-4c52-ba07-25623f345804 |      1 | Max
(3 rows)

Create a sequence with user-defined settings

In this example, we create a sequence that starts at -1 and descends in increments of 2.

> CREATE SEQUENCE desc_customer_list START -1 INCREMENT -2;

> SHOW CREATE desc_customer_list;

      table_name     |                                          create_statement
---------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  desc_customer_list | CREATE SEQUENCE desc_customer_list MINVALUE -9223372036854775808 MAXVALUE -1 INCREMENT -2 START -1
(1 row)

List all sequences

> SHOW SEQUENCES;

         sequence_schema        |   sequence_name
--------------------------------+---------------------
  public                        | customer_seq
  public                        | desc_customer_list
  pg_temp_1603124728816183000_1 | temp_seq
(3 rows)

Cache sequence values in memory

For improved performance, use the CACHE keyword to cache sequence values in memory. For example, to cache 10 sequence values in memory:

> CREATE SEQUENCE customer_seq_cached CACHE 10;

> SHOW CREATE customer_seq_cached;

      table_name      |                                                create_statement
----------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  customer_seq_cached | CREATE SEQUENCE public.customer_seq_cached MINVALUE 1 MAXVALUE 9223372036854775807 INCREMENT 1 START 1 CACHE 10
(1 row)

Statements

Syntax

Data Types

Spatial Data

Constraints

Considerations

Required privileges

Synopsis

Parameters

Sequence functions

Temporary sequences

Details

Usage

Examples

Create a sequence with default settings

Use a sequence when creating a table

View the current value of a sequence

Set the next value of a sequence

Create a sequence with user-defined settings

List all sequences

Cache sequence values in memory

See also

​Considerations

​Required privileges

​Synopsis

​Parameters

​Sequence functions

​Temporary sequences

​Details

​Usage

​Examples

​Create a sequence with default settings

​Use a sequence when creating a table

​View the current value of a sequence

​Set the next value of a sequence

​Create a sequence with user-defined settings

​List all sequences

​Cache sequence values in memory

​See also

Considerations

Required privileges

Synopsis

Parameters

Sequence functions

Temporary sequences

Details

Usage

Examples

Create a sequence with default settings

Use a sequence when creating a table

View the current value of a sequence

Set the next value of a sequence

Create a sequence with user-defined settings

List all sequences

Cache sequence values in memory

See also