Introduction to Cassandra Query Language

Cassandra Query Language (CQL) is a query language for the Cassandra database.

About this document

Welcome to the CQL documentation provided by DataStax. To ensure that you get the best experience in using this document, take a moment to look at the Tips for using DataStax documentation.

The landing pages provide information about supported platforms, product compatibility, planning and testing cluster deployments, recommended production settings, troubleshooting, third-party software, resources for additional information, administrator and developer topics, and earlier documentation.

Overview of the Cassandra Query Language

Cassandra Query Language (CQL) is a query language for the Cassandra database. This release of CQL works with Cassandra 3.x.

The Cassandra Query Language (CQL) is the primary language for communicating with the Cassandra database. The most basic way to interact with Cassandra is using the CQL shell, cqlsh. Using cqlsh, you can create keyspaces and tables, insert and query tables, plus much more. If you prefer a graphical tool, you can use DataStax DevCenter. For production, DataStax supplies a number of drivers so that CQL statements can be passed from client to cluster and back.

Important: This document assumes you are familiar with the Cassandra 3.x documentation.
Table 1. CQL for Cassandra 3.x features

New CQL features

Improved CQL features

Removed CQL features

  • Removal of CQL2
  • Removal of cassandra-cli

Native protocol

  • The Native Protocol has been updated to version 4, with implications for CQL use in the DataStax drivers.