# SQL, copy data from one table to another

> Learn how to copy data from one SQL table to another with INSERT INTO and SELECT, including how to skip the primary key column to avoid duplication errors.

Author: Flavio Copes | Published: 2023-02-05 | Canonical: https://flaviocopes.com/sql-copy-data-from-one-table-to-another/

One of those maintenance tasks: copying data from one table to another.

You can copy all elements from a table into another like this:

```javascript
INSERT INTO some_table 
SELECT * FROM other_table
```

Of course you can just select some if you want:

```javascript
INSERT INTO some_table 
SELECT * FROM other_table WHERE list=94
```

If the table you’re copying to has existing data, you might have primary key duplication issues. 

To leave the primary key column empty to make the table auto-fill it with its auto increment, I selected all columns except the primary key:

```javascript
INSERT INTO some_table (`age`, `name`, `email`)
SELECT `age`, `name`, `email` FROM other_table
```

In my case `id` was the primary key column, and I left it out.