ClickHouse OSS quick start

```
DESCRIBE TABLE file('comments.tsv')

Query id: 8ca9b2f9-65a2-4982-954a-890de710a336

┌─name──────┬─type────────────────────┐
│ id        │ Nullable(Int64)         │
│ type      │ Nullable(String)        │
│ author    │ Nullable(String)        │
│ timestamp │ Nullable(DateTime64(9)) │
│ comment   │ Nullable(String)        │
│ children  │ Array(Nullable(Int64))  │
└───────────┴─────────────────────────┘
```

Notice ClickHouse infers the names and data types of your columns by analyzing a
large batch of rows. If ClickHouse can not determine the file format from the
filename, you can specify it as the second argument:

```
SELECT count()
FROM file(
'comments.tsv',
'TabSeparatedWithNames'
)
```

View the [`file` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/file)
docs page for more details.

Use the [`postgresql` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/postgresql)
to read data from a table in PostgreSQL:

```
SELECT *
FROM
postgresql(
'localhost:5432',
'my_database',
'my_table',
'postgresql_user',
'password')
;
```

View the [`postgresql` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/postgresql)
docs page for more details.

Use the [`mysql` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/mysql)
to read data from a table in MySQL:

```
SELECT *
FROM
mysql(
'localhost:3306',
'my_database',
'my_table',
'mysql_user',
'password')
;
```

View the [`mysql` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/mysql)
docs page for more details.

ClickHouse can read data from any ODBC or JDBC data source:

```
SELECT *
FROM
odbc(
'DSN=mysqlconn',
'my_database',
'my_table'
);
```

View the [`odbc` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/odbc)
and the [`jdbc` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/jdbc) docs
pages for more details.

Message queues can stream data into ClickHouse using the corresponding table
engine, including:

- **Kafka**: integrate with Kafka using the [`Kafka` table engine](/docs/engines/table-engines/integrations/kafka)
- **Amazon MSK**: integrate with [Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK)](/docs/integrations/kafka/cloud/amazon-msk)
- **RabbitMQ**: integrate with RabbitMQ using the [`RabbitMQ` table engine](/docs/engines/table-engines/integrations/rabbitmq)

ClickHouse has table functions to read data from the following sources:

- **Hadoop**: integrate with Apache Hadoop using the [`hdfs` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/hdfs)
- **Hudi**: read from existing Apache Hudi tables in S3 using the [`hudi` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/hudi)
- **Iceberg**: read from existing Apache Iceberg tables in S3 using the [`iceberg` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/iceberg)
- **DeltaLake**: read from existing Delta Lake tables in S3 using the [`deltaLake` table function](/docs/sql-reference/table-functions/deltalake)

Check out our [long list of ClickHouse integrations](/docs/integrations) to find how to connect your existing frameworks and data sources to ClickHouse.

Explore

## Explore[​](#explore "Direct link to Explore")

- Check out our [Core Concepts](/docs/managing-data/core-concepts) section to learn some of the fundamentals of how ClickHouse works under the hood.
- Check out the [Advanced Tutorial](/docs/tutorial) which takes a much deeper dive into the key concepts and capabilities of ClickHouse.
- Continue your learning by taking our free on-demand training courses at the [ClickHouse Academy](https://learn.clickhouse.com/visitor_class_catalog).
- We have a list of [example datasets](/docs/getting-started/example-datasets) with instructions on how to insert them.
- If your data is coming from an external source, view our [collection of integration guides](/docs/integrations) for connecting to message queues, databases, pipelines and more.
- If you're using a UI/BI visualization tool, view the [user guides for connecting a UI to ClickHouse](/docs/integrations/data-visualization).
- The user guide on [primary keys](/docs/guides/best-practices/sparse-primary-indexes) is everything you need to know about primary keys and how to define them.

- [Install the ClickHouse CLI](#install-the-cli)- [Install ClickHouse](#install-clickhouse)- [Start the server](#start-the-server)- [Start the client](#start-the-client)- [Create a table](#create-table)- [Insert data](#insert-data)- [Query your new table](#query)- [Insert your own data [#insert-own-data}](#insert-your-own-data-insert-own-data)- [Explore](#explore)

Was this page helpful?