Generate All Row Combinations With CROSS JOIN

Produce every possible pairing of rows from two tables using `CROSS JOIN`.

5/5 supported engines validation-green 1 example 2 scenarios

Docker-validated Not currently validation-green

Example 1

Generate every color and size combination for a product grid

2 colors × 3 sizes = 6 rows. Every color is paired with every size. Unlike INNER JOIN, no matching key is needed — CROSS JOIN intentionally produces all combinations. Adding a WHERE clause after a CROSS JOIN filters the Cartesian product and can simulate an INNER JOIN.

Source table data Rows loaded before the example query runs.

Setup

CREATE TABLE colors (color VARCHAR(20));

CREATE TABLE sizes (size VARCHAR(10));

INSERT INTO
  colors (color)
VALUES
  ('Red'),
  ('Blue');

INSERT INTO
  sizes (size)
VALUES
  ('S'),
  ('M'),
  ('L');

Validated query Shared across supported engines.

SQL

SELECT
  color,
  size
FROM
  colors
  CROSS JOIN sizes
ORDER BY
  color,
  size;

Expected result Returned rows for the shared example.

color	size
Blue	L
Blue	M
Blue	S
Red	L
Red	M
Red	S

Output is identical across all engines.

Useful when

Where this command helps.

generating every combination of two dimensions such as colors and sizes
pairing all items from one list with all items from another for comparison

Explanation

What the command is doing.

A CROSS JOIN returns the Cartesian product of two tables — every row from the left table paired with every row from the right. A table with M rows crossed with a table with N rows produces M × N result rows. There is no ON condition because every combination is intentional. Common uses include generating test data, building grids, and pairing items like sizes with colors.

Generate All Row Combinations With CROSS JOIN

Generate every color and size combination for a product grid

Where this command helps.

What the command is doing.

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