> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://villagesql.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # MySQL INSERT SELECT > How INSERT INTO ... SELECT copies rows from a query into a MySQL table, how the columns line up, and what ERROR 1136 is telling you when they do not. All examples on this page work on VillageSQL. Install Now → `VALUES` supplies rows you type. A `SELECT` in its place supplies rows the server works out, so a summary you can query is a summary you can store. It is how a report table gets filled and how rows move from one table to another. These examples use the `sakila_practice` database from [INSERT](/docs/tutorial/insert). Run the setup block there again before you start, then open the client with `mysql -u root -p sakila_practice`. ## How INSERT SELECT works ```sql theme={null} INSERT INTO TARGET_TABLE (COLUMN_LIST) SELECT SOURCE_COLUMNS FROM SOURCE_TABLE; ``` Replace `TARGET_TABLE` with the table being written to, `COLUMN_LIST` with its columns, `SOURCE_COLUMNS` with what the query returns, and `SOURCE_TABLE` with the table being read. There is no `VALUES` keyword. The columns pair up by position, so the first thing the `SELECT` returns goes into the first column named, whatever the 2 are called. Every row the query returns becomes a row in the target table. ## Examples ### 1) Store a summary `rating_count` is empty and `sakila.film` holds the answer. Naming a table `database.table` reads it from another database, so 1 statement can cross between the 2. ```sql theme={null} INSERT INTO rating_count (rating, films) SELECT rating, COUNT(*) FROM sakila.film GROUP BY rating; ``` ```text theme={null} Query OK, 5 rows affected (0.00 sec) Records: 5 Duplicates: 0 Warnings: 0 ``` The `GROUP BY` produced 5 rows and 5 rows were written. ```sql theme={null} SELECT * FROM rating_count ORDER BY films DESC; ``` ```text theme={null} +--------+-------+ | rating | films | +--------+-------+ | PG-13 | 223 | | NC-17 | 210 | | R | 195 | | PG | 194 | | G | 178 | +--------+-------+ 5 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` These are ordinary rows now, and they are a snapshot. Nothing updates them when `film` changes. ### 2) Build values on the way in The `SELECT` can compute anything, so the rows going in do not have to exist anywhere in that shape. ```sql theme={null} INSERT INTO member (first_name, last_name, email, joined) SELECT first_name, last_name, CONCAT(LOWER(first_name), '.', LOWER(last_name), '@example.net'), '2026-05-01' FROM sakila.staff; ``` ```text theme={null} Query OK, 2 rows affected (0.01 sec) Records: 2 Duplicates: 0 Warnings: 0 ``` ```sql theme={null} SELECT member_id, first_name, last_name, email FROM member WHERE joined = '2026-05-01'; ``` ```text theme={null} +-----------+------------+-----------+--------------------------+ | member_id | first_name | last_name | email | +-----------+------------+-----------+--------------------------+ | 4 | Mike | Hillyer | mike.hillyer@example.net | | 5 | Jon | Stephens | jon.stephens@example.net | +-----------+------------+-----------+--------------------------+ 2 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` The address column was made by `CONCAT` and the date is a constant repeated on every row. ## ERROR 1136 means the 2 lists are different lengths ```sql theme={null} INSERT INTO rating_count (rating, films) SELECT rating FROM sakila.film GROUP BY rating; ``` ```text theme={null} ERROR 1136 (21S01): Column count doesn't match value count at row 1 ``` 2 columns named, 1 returned. The 2 lists always differ in length when this error appears, so count them. Nothing checks the names or the meanings, so a `SELECT` that returns the right number of the wrong columns is accepted and writes nonsense. Run the `SELECT` on its own first and read what comes back. ## A second run meets the table's keys Every row the query returns is offered to the table, and the table's rules still apply. ```sql theme={null} INSERT INTO rating_count (rating, films) SELECT rating, COUNT(*) FROM sakila.film WHERE rating = 'G' GROUP BY rating; ``` ```text theme={null} ERROR 1062 (23000): Duplicate entry 'G' for key 'rating_count.PRIMARY' ``` `rating` is the primary key and `G` is already stored. A summary you want to refresh rather than build once needs [upsert](/docs/tutorial/upsert), which updates the stored row instead of failing. ## Summary * Put a `SELECT` where `VALUES` would go, and write no `VALUES` keyword. * Expect the columns to pair up by position, never by name. * Read `ERROR 1136` as 2 lists of different lengths. * Name a table `database.table` to read from another database in the same statement. * Expect a second run to hit the target table's keys, the same as any other insert. ## See also * [INSERT](/docs/tutorial/insert) — the form that takes typed values * [Insert multiple rows](/docs/tutorial/insert-multiple-rows) — many rows without a query * [Upsert](/docs/tutorial/upsert) — refreshing rows a second run would collide with * [Bulk inserts in MySQL](/docs/guides/bulk-inserts) — moving large volumes, and what it costs