SQL Expression Language Foundational Constructs — SQLAlchemy 2.0 Documentation

Release: 2.0.50 | Release Date: May 24, 2026

# SQLAlchemy 2.0 Documentation

# SQL Expression Language Foundational Constructs

Base classes and mixins that are used to compose SQL Expression Language elements.

Object Name | Description
--- | ---
CacheKey | The key used to identify a SQL statement construct in the SQL compilation cache.
ClauseElement | Base class for elements of a programmatically constructed SQL expression.
DialectKWArgs | Establish the ability for a class to have dialect-specific arguments with defaults and constructor validation.
HasCacheKey | Mixin for objects which can produce a cache key.
LambdaElement | A SQL construct where the state is stored as an un-invoked lambda.
StatementLambdaElement | Represent a composable SQL statement as a `LambdaElement`.

class sqlalchemy.sql.expression.CacheKey

  inherits from `builtins.tuple`

  The key used to identify a SQL statement construct in the SQL compilation cache.

  See also

  SQL Compilation Caching

  Member Name | Description
  --- | ---
  bindparams | Alias for field number 1
  key | Alias for field number 0
  to_offline_string() | Generate an “offline string” form of this `CacheKey`

  attribute `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.CacheKey.` bindparams: Sequence[BindParameter[Any]]

    Alias for field number 1

  attribute `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.CacheKey.` key: Tuple[Any, ...]

    Alias for field number 0

  method `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.CacheKey.` to_offline_string(statement_cache: MutableMapping[Any, str], statement: ClauseElement, parameters: _CoreSingleExecuteParams) → str

    Generate an “offline string” form of this `CacheKey`

    The “offline string” is basically the string SQL for the statement plus a repr of the bound parameter values in series. Whereas the `CacheKey` object is dependent on in-memory identities in order to work as a cache key, the “offline” version is suitable for a cache that will work for other processes as well.

    The given `statement_cache` is a dictionary-like object where the string form of the statement itself will be cached. This dictionary should be in a longer lived scope in order to reduce the time spent stringifying statements.

class sqlalchemy.sql.expression.ClauseElement

  inherits from `sqlalchemy.sql.annotation.SupportsWrappingAnnotations`, `sqlalchemy.sql.cache_key.MemoizedHasCacheKey`, `sqlalchemy.sql.traversals.HasCopyInternals`, `sqlalchemy.sql.visitors.ExternallyTraversible`, `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.CompilerElement`

  Base class for elements of a programmatically constructed SQL expression.

  Member Name | Description
  --- | ---
  compare() | Compare this `ClauseElement` to the given `ClauseElement`.
  compile() | Compile this SQL expression.
  get_children() | Return immediate child `HasTraverseInternals` elements of this `HasTraverseInternals`.
  inherit_cache | Indicate if this `HasCacheKey` instance should make use of the cache key generation scheme used by its immediate superclass.
  params() | Return a copy with `bindparam()` elements replaced.
  self_group() | Apply a ‘grouping’ to this `ClauseElement`.
  unique_params() | Return a copy with `bindparam()` elements replaced.

  method `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.ClauseElement.` compare(other: ClauseElement, **kw: Any) → bool

    Compare this `ClauseElement` to the given `ClauseElement`.

    Subclasses should override the default behavior, which is a straight identity comparison.

    **kw are arguments consumed by subclass `compare()` methods and may be used to modify the criteria for comparison (see `ColumnElement`).

  method `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.ClauseElement.` compile(bind: _HasDialect | None = None, dialect: Dialect | None = None, **kw: Any) → Compiled

    inherited from the `CompilerElement.compile()` method of `CompilerElement`

    Compile this SQL expression.

    The return value is a `Compiled` object. Calling `str()` or `unicode()` on the returned value will yield a string representation of the result. The `Compiled` object also can return a dictionary of bind parameter names and values using the `params` accessor.

    Parameters:

      - bind – An `Connection` or `Engine` which can provide a `Dialect` in order to generate a `Compiled` object. If the `bind` and `dialect` parameters are both omitted, a default SQL compiler is used.

      - column_keys – Used for INSERT and UPDATE statements, a list of column names which should be present in the VALUES clause of the compiled statement. If `None`, all columns from the target table object are rendered.

      - dialect – A `Dialect` instance which can generate a `Compiled` object. This argument takes precedence over the `bind` argument.

      - compile_kwargs –

        optional dictionary of additional parameters that will be passed through to the compiler within all “visit” methods. This allows any custom flag to be passed through to a custom compilation construct, for example. It is also used for the case of passing the `literal_binds` flag through:

            from sqlalchemy.sql import table, column, select

            t = table("t", column("x"))

            s = select(t).where(t.c.x == 5)

            print(s.compile(compile_kwargs={"literal_binds": True}))

    See also

    How do I render SQL expressions as strings, possibly with bound parameters inlined?

  method `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.ClauseElement.` get_children(*, omit_attrs: Tuple[str, ...] = (), **kw: Any) → Iterable[HasTraverseInternals]

    inherited from the `HasTraverseInternals.get_children()` method of `HasTraverseInternals`

    Return immediate child `HasTraverseInternals` elements of this `HasTraverseInternals`.

    This is used for visit traversal.

    **kw may contain flags that change the collection that is returned, for example to return a subset of items in order to cut down on larger traversals, or to return child items from a different context (such as schema-level collections instead of clause-level).

  attribute `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.ClauseElement.` inherit_cache = None

    inherited from the `HasCacheKey.inherit_cache` attribute of `HasCacheKey`

    Indicate if this `HasCacheKey` instance should make use of the cache key generation scheme used by its immediate superclass.

    The attribute defaults to `None`, which indicates that a construct has not yet taken into account whether or not its appropriate for it to participate in caching; this is functionally equivalent to setting the value to `False`, except that a warning is also emitted.

    This flag can be set to `True` on a particular class, if the SQL that corresponds to the object does not change based on attributes which are local to this class, and not its superclass.

    See also

    Enabling Caching Support for Custom Constructs - General guideslines for setting the `HasCacheKey.inherit_cache` attribute for third-party or user defined SQL constructs.

  method `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.ClauseElement.` params(_ClauseElement__optionaldict: Mapping[str, Any] | None = None, **kwargs: Any) → Self

    Return a copy with `bindparam()` elements replaced.

    Returns a copy of this ClauseElement with `bindparam()` elements replaced with values taken from the given dictionary:

        >>> clause = column("x") + bindparam("foo")
        >>> print(clause.compile().params)
        {'foo':None}
        >>> print(clause.params({"foo": 7}).compile().params)
        {'foo':7}

  method `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.ClauseElement.` self_group(against: OperatorType | None = None) → ClauseElement

    Apply a ‘grouping’ to this `ClauseElement`.

    This method is overridden by subclasses to return a “grouping” construct, i.e. parenthesis. In particular it’s used by “binary” expressions to provide a grouping around themselves when placed into a larger expression, as well as by `select()` constructs when placed into the FROM clause of another `select()`. (Note that subqueries should be normally created using the `Select.alias()` method, as many platforms require nested SELECT statements to be named).

    As expressions are composed together, the application of `self_group()` is automatic - end-user code should never need to use this method directly. Note that SQLAlchemy’s clause constructs take operator precedence into account - so parenthesis might not be needed, for example, in an expression like `x OR (y AND z)` - AND takes precedence over OR.

    The base `self_group()` method of `ClauseElement` just returns self.

  method `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.ClauseElement.` unique_params(_ClauseElement__optionaldict: Dict[str, Any] | None = None, **kwargs: Any) → Self

    Return a copy with `bindparam()` elements replaced.

    Same functionality as `ClauseElement.params()`, except adds unique=True to affected bind parameters so that multiple statements can be used.

class sqlalchemy.sql.base.DialectKWArgs

  Establish the ability for a class to have dialect-specific arguments with defaults and constructor validation.

  The `DialectKWArgs` interacts with the `DefaultDialect.construct_arguments` present on a dialect.

  See also

  `DefaultDialect.construct_arguments`

  Member Name | Description
  --- | ---
  argument_for() | Add a new kind of dialect-specific keyword argument for this class.
  dialect_options | A collection of keyword arguments specified as dialect-specific options to this construct.
  get_dialect_option() | Return the value of a dialect-specific option, or else_ if this dialect does not register the given argument.

  classmethod `sqlalchemy.sql.base.DialectKWArgs.` argument_for(dialect_name: str, argument_name: str, default: Any) → None

    Add a new kind of dialect-specific keyword argument for this class.

    E.g.:

        Index.argument_for("mydialect", "length", None)

        some_index = Index("a", "b", mydialect_length=5)

    The `DialectKWArgs.argument_for()` method is a per-argument way adding extra arguments to the `DefaultDialect.construct_arguments` dictionary. This dictionary provides a list of argument names accepted by various schema-level constructs on behalf of a dialect.

    New dialects should typically specify this dictionary all at once as a data member of the dialect class. The use case for ad-hoc addition of argument names is typically for end-user code that is also using a custom compilation scheme which consumes the additional arguments.

    Parameters:

      - dialect_name – name of a dialect. The dialect must be locatable, else a `NoSuchModuleError` is raised. The dialect must also include an existing `DefaultDialect.construct_arguments` collection, indicating that it participates in the keyword-argument validation and default system, else `ArgumentError` is raised. If the dialect does not include this collection, then any keyword argument can be specified on behalf of this dialect already. All dialects packaged within SQLAlchemy include this collection, however for third party dialects, support may vary.

      - argument_name – name of the parameter.

      - default – default value of the parameter.

  property dialect_kwargs: _DialectArgView

    A collection of keyword arguments specified as dialect-specific options to this construct.

    The arguments are present here in their original `<dialect>_<kwarg>` format. Only arguments that were actually passed are included; unlike the `DialectKWArgs.dialect_options` collection, which contains all options known by this dialect including defaults.

    The collection is also writable; keys are accepted of the form `<dialect>_<kwarg>` where the value will be assembled into the list of options.

    See also

    `DialectKWArgs.dialect_options` - nested dictionary form

  attribute `sqlalchemy.sql.base.DialectKWArgs.` dialect_options

    A collection of keyword arguments specified as dialect-specific options to this construct.

    This is a two-level nested registry, keyed to `<dialect_name>` and `<argument_name>`. For example, the `postgresql_where` argument would be locatable as:

        arg = my_object.dialect_options["postgresql"]["where"]

    Added in version 0.9.2.

    See also

    `DialectKWArgs.dialect_kwargs` - flat dictionary form

  method `sqlalchemy.sql.base.DialectKWArgs.` get_dialect_option(dialect: Dialect, argument_name: str, *, else_: Any = None, deprecated_fallback: str | None = None) → Any

    Return the value of a dialect-specific option, or else_ if this dialect does not register the given argument.

    This is useful for DDL compilers that may be inherited by third-party dialects whose `construct_arguments` do not include the same set of keys as the parent dialect.

    Parameters:

      - dialect – The dialect for which to retrieve the option.

      - argument_name – The name of the argument to retrieve.

      - else_ – The value to return if the argument is not present.

      - deprecated_fallback – Optional dialect name to fall back to if the argument is not present for the current dialect. If the argument is present for the fallback dialect but not the current dialect, a deprecation warning will be emitted.

  property kwargs: _DialectArgView

    A synonym for `DialectKWArgs.dialect_kwargs`.

class sqlalchemy.sql.traversals.HasCacheKey

  Mixin for objects which can produce a cache key.

  This class is usually in a hierarchy that starts with the `HasTraverseInternals` base, but this is optional. Currently, the class should be able to work on its own without including `HasTraverseInternals`.

  See also

  `CacheKey`

  SQL Compilation Caching

  Member Name | Description
  --- | ---
  inherit_cache | Indicate if this `HasCacheKey` instance should make use of the cache key generation scheme used by its immediate superclass.

  attribute `sqlalchemy.sql.traversals.HasCacheKey.` inherit_cache: bool | None = None

    Indicate if this `HasCacheKey` instance should make use of the cache key generation scheme used by its immediate superclass.

    The attribute defaults to `None`, which indicates that a construct has not yet taken into account whether or not its appropriate for it to participate in caching; this is functionally equivalent to setting the value to `False`, except that a warning is also emitted.

    This flag can be set to `True` on a particular class, if the SQL that corresponds to the object does not change based on attributes which are local to this class, and not its superclass.

    See also

    Enabling Caching Support for Custom Constructs - General guideslines for setting the `HasCacheKey.inherit_cache` attribute for third-party or user defined SQL constructs.

class sqlalchemy.sql.expression.LambdaElement

  inherits from `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.ClauseElement`

  A SQL construct where the state is stored as an un-invoked lambda.

  The `LambdaElement` is produced transparently whenever passing lambda expressions into SQL constructs, such as:

      stmt = select(table).where(lambda: table.c.col == parameter)

  The `LambdaElement` is the base of the `StatementLambdaElement` which represents a full statement within a lambda.

  Added in version 1.4.

  See also

  Using Lambdas to add significant speed gains to statement production

class sqlalchemy.sql.expression.StatementLambdaElement

  inherits from `sqlalchemy.sql.roles.AllowsLambdaRole`, `sqlalchemy.sql.lambdas.LambdaElement`, `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.Executable`

  Represent a composable SQL statement as a `LambdaElement`.

  The `StatementLambdaElement` is constructed using the `lambda_stmt()` function:

      from sqlalchemy import lambda_stmt

      stmt = lambda_stmt(lambda: select(table))

  Once constructed, additional criteria can be built onto the statement by adding subsequent lambdas, which accept the existing statement object as a single parameter:

      stmt += lambda s: s.where(table.c.col == parameter)

  Added in version 1.4.

  See also

  Using Lambdas to add significant speed gains to statement production

  Member Name | Description
  --- | ---
  add_criteria() | Add new criteria to this `StatementLambdaElement`.
  spoil() | Return a new `StatementLambdaElement` that will run all lambdas unconditionally each time.

  method `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.StatementLambdaElement.` add_criteria(other: Callable[[Any], Any], enable_tracking: bool = True, track_on: Any | None = None, track_closure_variables: bool = True, track_bound_values: bool = True) → StatementLambdaElement

    Add new criteria to this `StatementLambdaElement`.

    E.g.:

        >>> def my_stmt(parameter):
        ...     stmt = lambda_stmt(
        ...         lambda: select(table.c.x, table.c.y),
        ...     )
        ...     stmt = stmt.add_criteria(lambda: table.c.x > parameter)
        ...     return stmt

    The `StatementLambdaElement.add_criteria()` method is equivalent to using the Python addition operator to add a new lambda, except that additional arguments may be added including `track_closure_values` and `track_on`:

        >>> def my_stmt(self, foo):
        ...     stmt = lambda_stmt(
        ...         lambda: select(func.max(foo.x, foo.y)),
        ...         track_closure_variables=False,
        ...     )
        ...     stmt = stmt.add_criteria(lambda: self.where_criteria, track_on=[self])
        ...     return stmt

    See `lambda_stmt()` for a description of the parameters accepted.

  property is_delete

    Returns True when the argument is true, False otherwise. The builtins True and False are the only two instances of the class bool. The class bool is a subclass of the class int, and cannot be subclassed.

  property is_dml

    Returns True when the argument is true, False otherwise. The builtins True and False are the only two instances of the class bool. The class bool is a subclass of the class int, and cannot be subclassed.

  property is_insert

    Returns True when the argument is true, False otherwise. The builtins True and False are the only two instances of the class bool. The class bool is a subclass of the class int, and cannot be subclassed.

  property is_select

    Returns True when the argument is true, False otherwise. The builtins True and False are the only two instances of the class bool. The class bool is a subclass of the class int, and cannot be subclassed.

  property is_text

    Returns True when the argument is true, False otherwise. The builtins True and False are the only two instances of the class bool. The class bool is a subclass of the class int, and cannot be subclassed.

  property is_update

    Returns True when the argument is true, False otherwise. The builtins True and False are the only two instances of the class bool. The class bool is a subclass of the class int, and cannot be subclassed.

  method `sqlalchemy.sql.expression.StatementLambdaElement.` spoil() → NullLambdaStatement

    Return a new `StatementLambdaElement` that will run all lambdas unconditionally each time.