ADD CONSTRAINT clause
Applies to:  Databricks SQL 
 Databricks Runtime
Adds an informational primary key, informational foreign key, or an enforced check constraint to an existing Delta Lake table.
Syntax
ADD [check_constraint | key_constraint ]
check_constraint
    CONSTRAINT name CHECK ( condition )
key_constraint
    { [ CONSTRAINT name ]
      {
        PRIMARY KEY ( key_column [ TIMESERIES ] [, ...] ) [ constraint_option [...] ] |
        { FOREIGN KEY (foreign_key_column [, ...] )
          REFERENCES parent_relation [ ( parent_column [, ...] ] )
          [ constraint_option | foreign_key_option ] [...]
      }
    }
constraint_option
    { NOT ENFORCED |
      DEFERRABLE |
      INITIALLY DEFERRED |
      { NORELY | RELY } }
foreign_key_option
    { MATCH FULL |
      ON UPDATE NO ACTION |
      ON DELETE NO ACTION }
For compatibility with non-standard SQL dialects you can specify ENABLE NOVALIDATE instead of NOT ENFORCED DEFERRABLE INITIALLY DEFERRED.
Parameters
- 
check_constraintDefines a check constraint for a relation. - 
CONSTRAINTnameSpecifies a name for the constraint. The name must be unique within the relation. 
- 
CHECK (condition)The DEFAULT COLLATIONof the relation must beUTF8_BINARYat the time the constraint is added.conditionmust be a deterministic expression returning aBOOLEAN.conditionmay be composed of literals, column identifiers within the relation, and deterministic, built-in SQL functions or operators except:- Aggregate functions
- Analytic window functions
- Ranking window functions
- Table valued generator functions
- STRINGcolumns with collations other than- UTF8_BINARY
 Also conditionmust not contain any subquery.For a CHECKconstraint to be satisfied in Databricks it must evaluate totrue.Delta Lake verifies the validity of the check constraint against both new and existing data. If any existing row violates the constraint an error will be raised. 
 
- 
- 
key_constraintPreviewThis feature is in Public Preview. Applies to: Databricks SQL Databricks Runtime 11.3 LTS and above Defines an informational primary key or informational foreign key constraint for a relation. Informational key constraints are not enforced but can improve performance by supporting query optimizations. - 
CONSTRAINTnameOptionally specifies a name for the constraint. The name must be unique within the schema. If no name is provided Databricks will generate one. 
- 
PRIMARY KEY ( key_column [ TIMESERIES ] [, ...] ) [ constraint_option [...] ]Applies to: Unity Catalog only Adds a primary key constraint to the relation. A relation can have at most one primary key. Primary key constraints are not supported for relations in the hive_metastorecatalog.
- 
A column of the subject relation defined as NOT NULL. Column names must not be repeated.
- 
TIMESERIESApplies to: Databricks SQL Databricks Runtime 13.3 LTS and above Optionally labels the primary key column component as representing a timeseries. 
- 
FOREIGN KEY ( foreign_key_column [, ...] ) REFERENCES parent_relation [ ( parent_column [, ...] ) ] foreign_key_optionApplies to: Unity Catalog only Adds a foreign key (referential integrity) constraint to the relation. Foreign key constraints are not supported for relations in the hive_metastorecatalog.- 
A column of the subject relation. Column names must not be repeated. The data type of each column must match the type of the matching parent_column. The number of columns must match the number ofparent_columns. Two foreign keys cannot share an identical set of foreign key columns.
- 
Specifies the relation the foreign key refers to. The relation must have a defined PRIMARY KEYconstraint, and you must have theSELECTprivilege on the relation.
- 
A column in the parent relation which is part of its primary key. All primary key columns of the parent relation must be listed. If parent columns are not listed they are implied to be specified in the order given in the PRIMARY KEYdefinition.
 Foreign key constraints which only differ in the permutation of the foreign key columns are not allowed. 
- 
- 
constraint_optionLists the properties of the constraints. All properties are optional but implied by default. Each property can at most be specified once. - 
NOT ENFORCEDDatabricks takes no action to enforce it for existing or new rows. 
- 
DEFERRABLEThe constraint enforcement can be deferred. 
- 
INITIALLY DEFERREDConstraint enforcement is deferred. 
- 
NORELYorRELYApplies to: Databricks SQL Databricks Runtime 14.2 and above for PRIMARY KEYconstraintsApplies to: Databricks SQL Databricks Runtime 15.4 and above for FOREIGN KEYconstraintsIf RELY, Databricks may exploit the constraint to rewrite queries. It is the user's responsibility to ensure the constraint is satisfied. Relying on a constraint that is not satisfied may lead to incorrect query results.The default is NORELY.
 
- 
- 
foreign_key_optionLists the properties specific to foreign key constraints. All properties are optional but implied by default. Each property can at most be specified once. - 
MATCH FULLFor the constraint to be considered true all column values must be NOT NULL.
- 
ON UPDATE NO ACTIONIf the parent PRIMARY KEYis updated Databricks takes no action to restrict the update or update the foreign key.
- 
ON DELETE NO ACTIONIf the parent row is deleted Databricks takes no action to restrict the action, update the foreign key, or delete the dependent row. 
 
- 
 
- 
Databricks does not enforce primary key or foreign key constraints. Confirm key constraints before adding a primary or foreign key. Your ingest process may provide such assurance, or you can run checks against your data.
Examples
-- Add a primary key
> CREATE TABLE persons(first_name STRING NOT NULL, last_name STRING NOT NULL, nickname STRING);
> ALTER TABLE persons ADD CONSTRAINT persons_pk PRIMARY KEY(first_name, last_name);
-- Add a foreign key which Databricks does not enforce, but can rely upon.
> CREATE TABLE pets(name STRING, owner_first_name STRING, owner_last_name STRING);
> ALTER TABLE pets ADD CONSTRAINT pets_persons_fk
    FOREIGN KEY(owner_first_name, owner_last_name) REFERENCES persons
    NOT ENFORCED RELY;
-- Add a check contraint
> ALTER TABLE pets ADD CONSTRAINT pets_name_not_cute_chk CHECK (length(name) < 20);