<!--Allow shortcode-->
{{< product-name >}} stores partition information in InfluxDB 3 system tables.
Query partition information to view partition templates and verify partitions
are working as intended.

- [Query partition information from system tables](#query-partition-information-from-system-tables)
- [Partition-related queries](#partition-related-queries)

{{% warn %}}
#### Querying system tables may impact overall cluster performance

Partition information is stored in InfluxDB 3 system tables.
Querying system tables may impact the overall write and query performance of
your {{< product-name omit=" Clustered" >}} cluster.

<!--------------- UPDATE THE DATE BELOW AS EXAMPLES ARE UPDATED --------------->

#### System tables are subject to change

System tables are not part of InfluxDB's stable API and may change with new releases.
The provided schema information and query examples are valid as of **September 24, 2024**.
If you detect a schema change or a non-functioning query example, please
[submit an issue](https://github.com/influxdata/docs-v2/issues/new/choose).

<!--------------- UPDATE THE DATE ABOVE AS EXAMPLES ARE UPDATED --------------->

{{% /warn %}}

## Query partition information from system tables

Use the [`influxctl query` command](/influxdb/version/reference/cli/influxctl/query/)
and SQL to query partition-related information from InfluxDB system tables.
 Provide the following:

- **Enable system tables** with the `--enable-system-tables` command flag.
- **Database token**: A [database token](/influxdb/version/admin/tokens/#database-tokens)
  with read permissions on the specified database. Uses the `token` setting from
  the [`influxctl` connection profile](/influxdb/version/reference/cli/influxctl/#configure-connection-profiles)
  or the `--token` command flag.
- **Database name**: The name of the database to query information about.
  Uses the `database` setting from the
  [`influxctl` connection profile](/influxdb/version/reference/cli/influxctl/#configure-connection-profiles)
  or the `--database` command flag.
- **SQL query**: The SQL query to execute.
  Pass the query in one of the following ways:

  - a string on the command line
  - a path to a file that contains the query
  - a single dash (`-`) to read the query from stdin

{{% code-placeholders "DATABASE_(TOKEN|NAME)|SQL_QUERY" %}}

```bash
influxctl query \
  --enable-system-tables \
  --database DATABASE_NAME \
  --token DATABASE_TOKEN \
  "SQL_QUERY"
```

{{% /code-placeholders %}}

Replace the following:

- {{% code-placeholder-key %}}`DATABASE_TOKEN`{{% /code-placeholder-key %}}:
  A database token with read access to the specified database
- {{% code-placeholder-key %}}`DATABASE_NAME`{{% /code-placeholder-key %}}:
  The name of the database to query information about.
- {{% code-placeholder-key %}}`SQL_QUERY`{{% /code-placeholder-key %}}:
  The SQL query to execute. For examples, see
  [System query examples](#system-query-examples).

When prompted, enter `y` to acknowledge the potential impact querying system
tables may have on your cluster.

## Partition-related queries

Use the following queries to return information about partitions in your
{{< product-name omit=" Clustered" >}} cluster.

- [View partition templates of all tables](#view-partition-templates-of-all-tables)
- [View the partition template of a specific table](#view-the-partition-template-of-a-specific-table)
- [View all partitions for a table](#view-all-partitions-for-a-table)
- [View the number of partitions per table](#view-the-number-of-partitions-per-table)
- [View the number of partitions for a specific table](#view-the-number-of-partitions-for-a-specific-table)

---

In the examples below, replace {{% code-placeholder-key %}}`TABLE_NAME`{{% /code-placeholder-key %}}
with the name of the table you want to query information about.

---

{{% code-placeholders "TABLE_NAME_(1|2|3)|TABLE_NAME" %}}

### View the partition template of a specific table

```sql
SELECT * FROM system.tables WHERE table_name = 'TABLE_NAME'
```

#### Example results

| table_name | partition_template                                                                         |
| :--------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| weather    | `{"parts":[{"timeFormat":"%Y-%m-%d"},{"bucket":{"tagName":"location","numBuckets":250}}]}` |

{{% note %}}
If a table doesn't include a partition template in the output of this command,
the table uses the default (1 day) partition strategy and doesn't partition
by tags or tag buckets.
{{% /note %}}

### View all partitions for a table

```sql
SELECT * FROM system.partitions WHERE table_name = 'TABLE_NAME'
```

### Example results

| partition_id | table_name | partition_key     | last_new_file_created_at | num_files | total_size_mb |
| -----------: | :--------- | :---------------- | -----------------------: | --------: | ------------: |
|         1362 | weather    | 43 \| 2020-05-27  |      1683747418763813713 |         1 |             0 |
|          800 | weather    | 234 \| 2021-08-02 |      1683747421899400796 |         1 |             0 |
|          630 | weather    | 325 \| 2022-03-17 |      1683747417616689036 |         1 |             0 |
|         1401 | weather    | 12 \| 2021-01-09  |      1683747417786122295 |         1 |             0 |
|         1012 | weather    | 115 \| 2022-07-04 |      1683747417614219148 |         1 |             0 |

### View the number of partitions per table

```sql
SELECT
  table_name,
  COUNT(*) AS partition_count
FROM
  system.partitions
WHERE
  table_name IN ('TABLE_NAME_1', 'TABLE_NAME_2', 'TABLE_NAME_3')
GROUP BY
  table_name
```

### Example results

| table_name | partition_count |
| :--------- | --------------: |
| weather    |            1096 |
| home       |              24 |
| numbers    |               1 |

### View the number of partitions for a specific table

```sql
SELECT
  COUNT(*) AS partition_count
FROM
  system.partitions
WHERE
  table_name = 'TABLE_NAME'
```

### Example results

| table_name | partition_count |
| :--------- | --------------: |
| weather    |            1096 |

{{% /code-placeholders %}}