CREATE DATABASE

In TiDB, the CREATE DATABASE statement is used to create a new database. The syntax is the same as MySQL.

Syntax

CREATE DATABASE [IF NOT EXISTS] database_name
  [DEFAULT] CHARACTER SET charset_name
  [DEFAULT] COLLATE collation_name;

Basic Examples

Creating a New Database

CREATE DATABASE mydb;

Creating a Database with IF NOT EXISTS

CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS mydb;

IF NOT EXISTS prevents an error if the database already exists.

Creating a Database with a Character Set

CREATE DATABASE mydb
  CHARACTER SET utf8mb4
  COLLATE utf8mb4_bin;

Viewing Databases

-- Show all databases
SHOW DATABASES;

-- Use a specific database
USE mydb;

-- Show the currently active database
SELECT DATABASE();

Dropping a Database

DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS mydb;

Warning: DROP DATABASE permanently removes all tables and data inside it.

Database Configuration

TiDB Default Character Set

-- Check the default character set
SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character_set_server';
-- Output: utf8mb4

-- Check the default collation
SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'collation_server';
-- Output: utf8mb4_bin

Differences from MySQL

Practical Example

-- Create a database for an e-commerce application
CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS ecommerce
  CHARACTER SET utf8mb4
  COLLATE utf8mb4_bin;

USE ecommerce;

-- Verify
SELECT DATABASE();  -- output: ecommerce
SHOW CREATE DATABASE ecommerce;

In the next chapter, we will learn how to create tables in TiDB.