SQL Cheat Sheet

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Core SQL syntax and patterns for querying, filtering, sorting, joining, grouping, and modifying data.

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SELECT Basics

Foundational read queries.

Select all columns

Return all columns from a table.

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sqlANYselectbasics

sql

SELECT *
FROM users;

Good for quick exploration, but prefer explicit columns in production queries.

Select specific columns

Return only the columns you need.

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sqlANYselectcolumns

sql

SELECT id, email, created_at
FROM users;

Selecting fewer columns often improves readability and can reduce I/O.

Select distinct values

Remove duplicate rows for the selected expression set.

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sqlANYselectdistinct

sql

SELECT DISTINCT country
FROM customers;

DISTINCT applies to the full selected column combination.

Use column aliases

Rename output columns in query results.

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sqlANYselectalias

sql

SELECT first_name AS given_name, last_name AS family_name
FROM users;

Aliases are especially useful in reports and computed expressions.

Select literals and expressions

Project computed values directly in the result set.

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sqlANYselectexpressions

sql

SELECT order_id, subtotal, tax, subtotal + tax AS total
FROM orders;

Most SQL engines allow arithmetic, string, and function expressions in SELECT.

Filtering Rows

WHERE clause patterns.

Filter with equality

Return rows matching an exact value.

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sqlANYwherefilter

sql

SELECT *
FROM users
WHERE status = 'active';

Use WHERE to limit the result set before grouping or ordering.

Use comparison operators

Compare numeric or date values.

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sqlANYwherecomparison

sql

SELECT *
FROM invoices
WHERE amount > 1000
  AND due_date < CURRENT_DATE;

Combine predicates with AND and OR to express complex filters.

Filter with IN

Match any value from a list.

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sqlANYwherein

sql

SELECT *
FROM products
WHERE category IN ('books', 'games', 'toys');

IN is often clearer than multiple OR comparisons.

Filter with BETWEEN

Filter a value within an inclusive range.

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sqlANYwherebetween

sql

SELECT *
FROM events
WHERE created_at BETWEEN DATE "2025-01-01" AND DATE "2025-01-31";

BETWEEN is inclusive on both ends in standard SQL.

Pattern matching with LIKE

Find rows using wildcard patterns.

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sqlANYwherelikepattern

sql

SELECT *
FROM customers
WHERE email LIKE '%@example.com';

Use % for any-length wildcard and _ for a single character.

Test for NULL

Filter rows with missing values.

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sqlANYwherenull

sql

SELECT *
FROM tasks
WHERE completed_at IS NULL;

Use IS NULL or IS NOT NULL, not = NULL.

Sorting and Limiting

ORDER BY, LIMIT, FETCH, OFFSET patterns.

Sort rows

Order query results ascending or descending.

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sqlANYorder-bysorting

sql

SELECT id, created_at
FROM orders
ORDER BY created_at DESC, id ASC;

ORDER BY is applied after filtering and grouping.

Limit returned rows

Return only the first N rows.

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sqlANYlimitpagination

sql

SELECT *
FROM logs
ORDER BY created_at DESC
LIMIT 50;

LIMIT is widely supported, though standard SQL also supports FETCH FIRST.

Paginate with LIMIT and OFFSET

Skip rows and return a page-sized result set.

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sqlANYpaginationlimitoffset

sql

SELECT *
FROM posts
ORDER BY published_at DESC
LIMIT 20 OFFSET 40;

Offset pagination is simple but can be slower for large offsets.

Fetch first rows

Use standard SQL row limiting syntax.

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sqlANYfetchlimitstandard-sql

sql

SELECT *
FROM employees
ORDER BY salary DESC
FETCH FIRST 10 ROWS ONLY;

Supported in many modern SQL engines and part of the SQL standard.

Joins

Combine rows from multiple tables.

Inner join two tables

Return rows with matches in both tables.

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sqlANYjoininner-join

sql

SELECT o.order_id, c.name
FROM orders o
JOIN customers c ON c.customer_id = o.customer_id;

INNER JOIN returns only matched rows.

Left join

Keep all rows from the left table and match rows from the right table.

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sqlANYjoinleft-join

sql

SELECT c.customer_id, o.order_id
FROM customers c
LEFT JOIN orders o ON o.customer_id = c.customer_id;

Rows without a match on the right side get NULLs for right-side columns.

Right join

Keep all rows from the right table.

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sqlANYjoinright-join

sql

SELECT e.employee_id, d.department_name
FROM employees e
RIGHT JOIN departments d ON d.department_id = e.department_id;

Many teams prefer rewriting RIGHT JOIN as LEFT JOIN for consistency.

Full outer join

Return matched and unmatched rows from both tables.

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sqlANYjoinfull-outer-join

sql

SELECT a.id AS a_id, b.id AS b_id
FROM a
FULL OUTER JOIN b ON b.id = a.id;

Useful for reconciliation queries.

Self join

Join a table to itself.

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sqlANYjoinself-join

sql

SELECT e.employee_id, e.name, m.name AS manager_name
FROM employees e
LEFT JOIN employees m ON m.employee_id = e.manager_id;

Self joins are common in hierarchical or parent-child tables.

Cross join

Return the Cartesian product of two sets.

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sqlANYjoincross-join

sql

SELECT c.color, s.size
FROM colors c
CROSS JOIN sizes s;

Cross joins multiply rows, so use them deliberately.

Aggregation and Grouping

Summaries and grouped queries.

Count rows

Return total row count.

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sqlANYaggregatecount

sql

SELECT COUNT(*) AS row_count
FROM users;

COUNT(*) includes rows regardless of NULL values.

Group by a column

Aggregate values per group.

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sqlANYgroup-byaggregate

sql

SELECT status, COUNT(*) AS total
FROM orders
GROUP BY status;

All non-aggregated selected columns must appear in GROUP BY.

Group by multiple columns

Aggregate by more than one dimension.

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sqlANYgroup-byaggregate

sql

SELECT country, status, COUNT(*) AS total
FROM customers
GROUP BY country, status;

Useful for reports sliced by multiple categories.

Filter groups with HAVING

Apply conditions after aggregation.

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sqlANYhavinggroup-byaggregate

sql

SELECT customer_id, COUNT(*) AS order_count
FROM orders
GROUP BY customer_id
HAVING COUNT(*) >= 5;

WHERE filters rows before grouping; HAVING filters grouped results.

Use common aggregate functions

Calculate summary metrics.

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sqlANYaggregatesumavgmin

sql

SELECT
  COUNT(*) AS total_rows,
  SUM(amount) AS total_amount,
  AVG(amount) AS avg_amount,
  MIN(amount) AS min_amount,
  MAX(amount) AS max_amount
FROM payments;

Most SQL engines support these core aggregate functions.

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