How to List Tables in ClickHouse

SHOW TABLES returns a single name column for the database you are connected to. FROM targets another database without switching, and LIKE takes standard SQL wildcards. It is the fastest way to check what exists, but the output is a plain list you cannot filter further or join against.

SHOW TABLES;
SHOW TABLES FROM analytics LIKE '%events%';

With engine and size

system.tables is the queryable version and covers every database at once. total_rows is exact for MergeTree tables and NULL for engines that do not track it, such as Distributed or Merge. formatReadableSize turns total_bytes into something human-readable, which makes this the query to reach for when you are hunting down what is filling a disk.

SELECT name, engine, total_rows,
       formatReadableSize(total_bytes) AS size
FROM system.tables
WHERE database = 'analytics'
ORDER BY total_bytes DESC;