EXPLAIN

Use the EXPLAIN command to show the execution plan of a statement.

Syntax

EXPLAIN [ ( option [ , ... ] ) ] statement;

Parameters

Parameter	Description
statement	A statement that is executable in RisingWave.
EXPLAIN option	See the table below.

EXPLAIN options

Option	Supported values	Description
VERBOSE	[ TRUE | FALSE ]	Show additional information regarding the execution plan such as the table catalog of the state table and the schema of each operator.
TRACE	[ TRUE | FALSE ]	Show the trace of each optimization stage, not only the final plan.
TYPE	[ PHYSICAL | LOGICAL | DISTSQL ]	Show the execution plan of a specific phase. PHYSICAL — Show the batch plan or stream plan. LOGICAL — Show the optimized logical plan. DISTSQL — Show the distributed query plan for batch or stream.
FORMAT	[ TEXT | JSON ]	FORMAT JSON - Show the logical and physical plans in JSON format while ignoring trace and distsql options. FORMAT TEXT - Match the current output format of EXPLAIN.

The boolean parameter [ TRUE | FALSE ] specifies whether the specified option should be enabled or disabled. Use TRUE to enable the option, and FALSE to disable it. It defaults to TRUE if the parameter is not specified.

PUBLIC PREVIEW

EXPLAIN FORMAT JSON is currently in public preview, meaning it is nearing the final product but may not yet be fully stable. If you encounter any issues or have feedback, please reach out to us via our Slack channel. Your input is valuable in helping us improve this feature. For more details, see our Public Preview Feature List.

Examples

The following statement shows the execution plan of a SELECT statement.

EXPLAIN SELECT
    o_orderpriority,
    count(*) AS order_count
FROM
    orders
WHERE
    o_orderdate >= date '1997-07-01'
    and o_orderdate < date '1997-07-01' + interval '3' month
    and exists (
        SELECT
            *
        FROM
            lineitem
        WHERE
            l_orderkey = o_orderkey
            and l_commitdate < l_receiptdate
    )
GROUP BY
    o_orderpriority
ORDER BY
    o_orderpriority;

The execution plan looks like this:

 BatchExchange { order: [orders.o_orderpriority ASC], dist: Single }
   BatchSort { order: [orders.o_orderpriority ASC] }
     BatchHashAgg { group_key: [orders.o_orderpriority], aggs: [count] }
       BatchExchange { order: [], dist: HashShard(orders.o_orderpriority) }
         BatchHashJoin { type: LeftSemi, predicate: orders.o_orderkey = lineitem.l_orderkey }
           BatchExchange { order: [], dist: HashShard(orders.o_orderkey) }
             BatchProject { exprs: [orders.o_orderkey, orders.o_orderpriority] }
               BatchFilter { predicate: (orders.o_orderdate >= '1997-07-01':Varchar::Date) AND (orders.o_orderdate < ('1997-07-01':Varchar::Date + '3 mons 00:00:00':Interval)) }
                 BatchScan { table: orders, columns: [o_orderkey, o_orderpriority, o_orderdate] }
           BatchExchange { order: [], dist: HashShard(lineitem.l_orderkey) }
             BatchProject { exprs: [lineitem.l_orderkey] }
               BatchFilter { predicate: (lineitem.l_commitdate < lineitem.l_receiptdate) }
                 BatchScan { table: lineitem, columns: [l_orderkey, l_commitdate, l_receiptdate] }
(13 rows)

The following statement shows the execution plan of a CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW statement.

EXPLAIN CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW nexmark_q3 AS
     SELECT P.name, P.city, P.state, A.id
     FROM auction AS A INNER JOIN person AS P on A.seller = P.id
     WHERE A.category = 10 and (P.state = 'OR' OR P.state = 'ID' OR P.state = 'CA');

The execution plan of the statement above looks like this:

                      QUERY PLAN
-----------------------------------------------------------
 StreamMaterialize { columns: [name, city, state, id, _row_id(hidden), _row_id#1(hidden)], pk_columns: [_row_id, _row_id#1] }
   StreamExchange { dist: HashShard([4, 5]) }
     StreamProject { exprs: [$4, $5, $6, $0, $2, $7] }
       StreamHashJoin { type: Inner, predicate: $1 = $3 }
         StreamProject { exprs: [$0, $1, $3] }
           StreamExchange { dist: HashShard([1]) }
             StreamFilter { predicate: ($2 = 10:Int32) }
               StreamTableScan { table: auction, columns: [id, seller, category, _row_id], pk_indices: [3] }
         StreamExchange { dist: HashShard([0]) }
           StreamFilter { predicate: ((($3 = 'OR':Varchar) OR ($3 = 'ID':Varchar)) OR ($3 = 'CA':Varchar)) }
             StreamTableScan { table: person, columns: [id, name, city, state, _row_id], pk_indices: [4] }