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> Documentation for FORMAT Clause

# FORMAT Clause

ClickHouse supports a wide range of [serialization formats](/reference/formats/index) that can be used on query results among other things. There are multiple ways to choose a format for `SELECT` output, one of them is to specify `FORMAT format` at the end of query to get resulting data in any specific format.

Specific format might be used either for convenience, integration with other systems or performance gain.

<h2 id="default-format">
  Default Format
</h2>

If the `FORMAT` clause is omitted, the default format is used, which depends on both the settings and the interface used for accessing the ClickHouse server. For the [HTTP interface](/concepts/features/interfaces/http) and the [command-line client](/concepts/features/interfaces/client) in batch mode, the default format is `TabSeparated`. For the command-line client in interactive mode, the default format is `PrettyCompact` (it produces compact human-readable tables).

<h2 id="implementation-details">
  Implementation Details
</h2>

When using the command-line client, data is always passed over the network in an internal efficient format (`Native`). The client independently interprets the `FORMAT` clause of the query and formats the data itself (thus relieving the network and the server from the extra load).