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left-shift-transact-sql.md

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title LEFT_SHIFT (Transact-SQL)
description Transact-SQL reference for the LEFT_SHIFT function.
author thesqlsith
ms.author derekw
ms.reviewer randolphwest
ms.date 01/29/2026
ms.service sql
ms.subservice t-sql
ms.topic reference
ms.custom
ignite-2025
f1_keywords
LEFT_SHIFT
LEFT_SHIFT_TSQL
helpviewer_keywords
bit manipulation [SQL Server], left shift
LEFT_SHIFT function
bitwise left shift
bit shifting [SQL Server], left shift
dev_langs
TSQL
monikerRange >=sql-server-ver16 || >=sql-server-linux-ver16 || =azuresqldb-mi-current || =azuresqldb-current || =fabric || =fabric-sqldb

LEFT_SHIFT (Transact SQL)

[!INCLUDE SQL Server 2022, SQL Database, SQL Managed Instance FabricSE FabricDW FabricSQLDB]

LEFT_SHIFT takes two parameters, and returns the first parameter bit-shifted left by the number of bits specified in the second parameter.

The LEFT_SHIFT function is also accessible through the << operator.

:::image type="icon" source="../../includes/media/topic-link-icon.svg" border="false"::: Transact-SQL syntax conventions

Syntax

LEFT_SHIFT ( expression_value , shift_amount )
expression_value << shift_amount

Arguments

expression_value

Any integer or binary expression that isn't a large object (LOB).

shift_amount

The number of bits by which expression_value should be shifted. shift_amount must be an integer type.

Return types

Returns the same type as expression_value.

The shift_amount parameter is cast to a bigint. The parameter can be positive or negative, and can also be greater than the number of bits in the data type of expression_value. When shift_amount is negative, the shift operates in the opposite direction. For example, LEFT_SHIFT (expr, -1) is the same as RIGHT_SHIFT (expr, 1). When shift_amount is greater than the number of bits in expression_value, the result returned is 0.

LEFT_SHIFT performs a logical shift. After bits are shifted, any vacant positions are filled by 0, regardless of whether the original value was positive or negative.

Remarks

In the initial implementation, Distributed Query functionality for the bit manipulation functions within linked server or ad hoc queries (OPENQUERY) isn't supported.

The << method for the LEFT_SHIFT function isn't currently supported in [!INCLUDE fabric].

Examples

In the following example, the integer value 12,345 is left-shifted by 5 bits.

SELECT LEFT_SHIFT(12345, 5);

The result is 395,040. If you convert 12,345 to binary, you have 0011 0000 0011 1001. Shifting this value to the left by 5 bits becomes 0110 0000 0111 0010 0000, which is 395040 in decimal.

The following table demonstrates what happens during each shift.

Integer value Binary value Description
12345 0011 0000 0011 1001 Starting value
24690 0110 0000 0111 0010 Shift left by 1
49380 1100 0000 1110 0100 Shift left by 2
98760 0001 1000 0001 1100 1000 Shift left by 3, and open into a new byte
197520 0011 0000 0011 1001 0000 Shift left by 4
395040 0110 0000 0111 0010 0000 Shift left by 5

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