FILE_FORMATS view¶

This Information Schema view displays a row for each file format defined in the specified (or current) database.

File formats are named objects that can be used for loading/unloading data. For more information, see CREATE FILE FORMAT.

Columns¶

Column Name	Data Type	Description
FILE_FORMAT_CATALOG	TEXT	Database that the file format belongs to
FILE_FORMAT_SCHEMA	TEXT	Schema that the file format belongs to
FILE_FORMAT_NAME	TEXT	Name of the file format
FILE_FORMAT_OWNER	TEXT	Name of the role that owns the file format
FILE_FORMAT_TYPE	TEXT	Type of the file format
RECORD_DELIMITER	TEXT	Character that separates records
FIELD_DELIMITER	TEXT	Character that separates fields
SKIP_HEADER	NUMBER	Number of lines skipped at the start of the file
DATE_FORMAT	TEXT	Date format
TIME_FORMAT	TEXT	Time format
TIMESTAMP_FORMAT	TEXT	Timestamp format
BINARY_FORMAT	TEXT	Binary format
ESCAPE	TEXT	String used as the escape character for any field values
ESCAPE_UNENCLOSED_FIELD	TEXT	String used as the escape character for unenclosed field values
TRIM_SPACE	TEXT	Whether whitespace is removed from fields
FIELD_OPTIONALLY_ENCLOSED_BY	TEXT	Character used to enclose strings
NULL_IF	TEXT	A list of strings to be replaced by null
COMPRESSION	TEXT	Compression method for the data file
ERROR_ON_COLUMN_COUNT_MISMATCH	TEXT	Whether to generate a parsing error if the number of fields in an input file does not match the number of columns in the corresponding table
CREATED	TIMESTAMP_LTZ	Creation time of the file format
LAST_ALTERED	TIMESTAMP_LTZ	Date and time the object was last altered by a DML, DDL, or background metadata operation. See Usage Notes.
COMMENT	TEXT	Comment for this file format

The view only displays objects for which the current role for the session has been granted access privileges. The view does not honor the MANAGE GRANTS privilege and consequently may show less information compared to a SHOW command when both are executed by a user who holds the MANAGE GRANTS privilege.
The LAST_ALTERED column is updated when the following operations are performed on an object:
- DDL operations.
- DML operations (for tables only). This column is updated even when no rows are affected by the DML statement.
- Background maintenance operations on metadata performed by Snowflake.