The option will replace the existing table if it exists. Alternatively, explicitly dropping the table using session.sql(fDROP TABLE IF EXISTS {table_name}')' ensures that a new table is created, even if one with the same name already exists. mode='ignore" would just skip the operation and no table may exist after execution. 'mode='append'' may fail as well as temporary tables typically do not allow appending. createOrReplaceTempView creates a temporary view , not a temporary table.