> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.pgschema.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# CREATE PROCEDURE

## Syntax

```sql theme={null}
create_procedure ::= CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] PROCEDURE procedure_name 
                    ( [ parameter_list ] )
                    LANGUAGE language_name
                    AS procedure_body

procedure_name ::= [schema.]name

parameter_list ::= parameter [, ...]

parameter ::= [ parameter_mode ] [ parameter_name ] parameter_type [ DEFAULT default_value ]

parameter_mode ::= IN | OUT | INOUT

language_name ::= plpgsql | sql | c | internal

procedure_body ::= 'definition'
                | $$definition$$
                | $tag$definition$tag$
```

pgschema understands the following `CREATE PROCEDURE` features:

* **Schema-qualified names**: Procedures can be defined in specific schemas
* **Parameters**:
  * IN, OUT, INOUT parameter modes
  * Default parameter values
  * Named parameters with data types
* **Languages**: Any PostgreSQL procedural language (plpgsql, sql, c, internal, etc.)
* **Procedure body**: Any valid procedure definition with proper dollar-quoting

## Canonical Format

When generating migration SQL, pgschema produces procedures in the following canonical format:

```sql theme={null}
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE [schema.]procedure_name(
    parameter_name parameter_type[ DEFAULT default_value][,
    ...]
)
LANGUAGE language_name
AS $tag$procedure_body$tag$;
```

**Key characteristics of the canonical format:**

* Always uses `CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE` for modifications
* Parameters are formatted with line breaks for readability when multiple parameters exist
* Uses intelligent dollar-quoting with automatic tag generation to avoid conflicts with procedure body content
* For DROP operations: `DROP PROCEDURE IF EXISTS procedure_name(parameter_types);`
* The parameter\_types in DROP statements contain only the data types, not parameter names