> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cockroachlabs.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# SHOW DATABASES
export const InternalLink = ({version, path = "", children, ...props}) => {
let detectedVersion = version || "stable";
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const match = window.location.pathname.match(/\/docs\/([^/]+)/);
if (match) {
detectedVersion = match[1];
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}
const normalizedPath = path.startsWith("/") ? path.slice(1) : path;
return
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};
The `SHOW DATABASES` statement lists all databases in the CockroachDB cluster.
## Synopsis
## Required privileges
The user must be granted the `CONNECT` privilege to specific databases in order to list those databases in the CockroachDB cluster.
## Example
### Show databases
```sql theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
> SHOW DATABASES;
```
```text theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
database_name | owner | primary_region | secondary_region | regions | survival_goal
----------------+-------+----------------+------------------+---------+----------------
defaultdb | root | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL
movr | demo | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL
postgres | root | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL
system | node | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL
(4 rows)
```
Alternatively, within the built-in SQL shell, you can use the `\l` shell command to list all databases:
```sql theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
> \l
```
```text theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
database_name | owner | primary_region | secondary_region | regions | survival_goal
----------------+-------+----------------+------------------+---------+----------------
defaultdb | root | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL
movr | demo | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL
postgres | root | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL
system | node | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL
(4 rows)
```
### Show databases with comments
You can use `COMMENT ON` to add comments on a database.
```sql theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
COMMENT ON DATABASE movr IS 'This database holds information about users, vehicles, and rides.';
```
To view a database's comments:
```sql theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
> SHOW DATABASES WITH COMMENT;
```
```text theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
database_name | owner | primary_region | secondary_region | regions | survival_goal | comment
----------------+-------+----------------+------------------+---------+---------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------
defaultdb | root | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL | NULL
movr | demo | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL | This database holds information about users, vehicles, and rides.
postgres | root | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL | NULL
system | node | NULL | NULL | {} | NULL | NULL
(4 rows)
```
For more information, see `COMMENT ON`.
## Preloaded databases
New clusters and existing clusters upgraded to v23.2 or later will include auto-generated databases, with the following purposes:
* The empty `defaultdb` database is used if a client does not specify a database in the connection parameters.
* The `movr` database contains data about users, vehicles, and rides for the vehicle-sharing app MovR (only when the cluster is started using the `demo` command ).
* The empty `postgres` database is provided for compatibility with PostgreSQL client applications that require it.
* The `system` database contains CockroachDB metadata and is read-only.
All databases except for the `system` database can be deleted if they are not needed.
Do not query the `system` database directly. Instead, use objects within the system catalogs.
## See also
* `COMMENT ON`
* `SHOW SCHEMAS`
* Information Schema
* SQL Statements