documentation/query/sql/drop.md
DROP TABLE permanently deletes a table and its contents. DROP ALL TABLES
permanently deletes all tables, all materialized views, and their contents on disk.
:::note
Backup your database to avoid unintended data loss.
:::
An optional IF EXISTS clause may be added directly after the DROP TABLE
keywords to indicate that the selected table should be dropped only if it exists.
Without IF EXISTS, QuestDB will throw an error if the table does not exist.
This command irremediably deletes the data in the target table. Unless the table was created in a different volume than the standard, see CREATE TABLE IN VOLUME, in which case the table is only logically removed and data remains intact in its volume. In doubt, make sure you have created backups of your data.
Disk space is reclaimed asynchronously after the table is dropped. Ongoing table reads might delay space reclamation.
DROP TABLE ratings;
DROP ALL TABLES;
To delete the data inside a table but keep the table and its structure, use TRUNCATE.