How do you add a column before in MYSQL?

To add a column before an existing column in a MySQL table, you can use the ALTER TABLE statement along with the ADD COLUMN clause and the BEFORE keyword. Here's the syntax:

ALTER TABLE table_name

ADD COLUMN new_column_name column_definition

BEFORE existing_column_name;

Example

Suppose you have a table employees with the following structure:

Now, you want to add a column age before the name column.

ALTER TABLE employees

ADD COLUMN age INT

BEFORE name;

Resulting Table

Notes

column_definition includes the data type and any constraints (e.g., NOT NULL, DEFAULT values).

Use AFTER instead of BEFORE to add the column after a specific column.

If you want to add the column at the end of the table, omit the BEFORE or AFTER clause.