How to clone MySQL / MariaDB table

You can create an exact duplicate of a table in MySQL or MariaDB by creating a new table with the same structure as the source table and then copy over the data or rows of the source table to the new table.

This could be done manually or you could use some SQL statements to easily clone or create a copy of an existing MySQL / MariaDB table.

1. Log in to MySQL / MariaDB.
2. Select the database of the source table.

   use mydatabase;

3. Create a table with same structure as the source / existing table.

   CREATE TABLE new_table LIKE source_table;

   This will just create a new, empty table and does not copy the followings;

   • Foreign key definitions
   • DATA DIRECTORY
   • INDEX DIRECTORY
   • Data
4. Copy the data from the source table using SELECT and INSERT statement after the new table is created.

   INSERT INTO new_table SELECT * FROM source_table;