INSERT INSERT 7 SQL - Language Statements INSERT create new rows in a table [ WITH [ RECURSIVE ] with_query [, ...] ] INSERT INTO table_name [ AS alias ] [ ( column_name [, ...] ) ] { DEFAULT VALUES | VALUES ( { expression | DEFAULT } [, ...] ) [, ...] | query } [ ON CONFLICT [ conflict_target ] conflict_action ] [ RETURNING * | output_expression [ [ AS ] output_name ] [, ...] ] where conflict_target can be one of: ( { column_name_index | ( expression_index ) } [ COLLATE collation ] [ opclass ] [, ...] ) [ WHERE index_predicate ] ON CONSTRAINT constraint_name and conflict_action is one of: DO NOTHING DO UPDATE SET { column_name = { expression | DEFAULT } | ( column_name [, ...] ) = ( { expression | DEFAULT } [, ...] ) | ( column_name [, ...] ) = ( sub-SELECT ) } [, ...] [ WHERE condition ] INSERT inserts new rows into a table. One can insert one or more rows specified by value expressions, or zero or more rows resulting from a query. The target column names can be listed in any order. If no list of column names is given at all, the default is all the columns of the table in their declared order; or the first N column names, if there are only N columns supplied by the VALUES clause or query. The values supplied by the VALUES clause or query are associated with the explicit or implicit column list left-to-right. Each column not present in the explicit or implicit column list will be filled with a default value, either its declared default value or null if there is none. If the expression for any column is not of the correct data type, automatic type conversion will be attempted. ON CONFLICT can be used to specify an alternative action to raising a unique constraint or exclusion constraint violation error. (See below.) The optional RETURNING clause causes INSERT to compute and return value(s) based on each row actually inserted (or updated, if an ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE clause was used). This is primarily useful for obtaining values that were supplied by defaults, such as a serial sequence number. However, any expression using the table's columns is allowed. The syntax of the RETURNING list is identical to that of the output list of SELECT. Only rows that were successfully inserted or updated will be returned. For example, if a row was locked but not updated because an ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE ... WHERE clause condition was not satisfied, the row will not be returned. You must have INSERT privilege on a table in order to insert into it. If ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE is present the UPDATE privilege is also required. If a column list is specified, you only need INSERT privilege on the listed columns. Similarly, when ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE is specified, you only need UPDATE privilege on the column(s) that are listed to be updated. However, ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE also requires SELECT privilege on any column whose values are read in the ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE expressions or condition. Use of the RETURNING clause requires SELECT privilege on all columns mentioned in RETURNING. If you use the query clause to insert rows from a query, you of course need to have SELECT privilege on any table or column used in the query. with_query The WITH clause allows you to specify one or more subqueries that can be referenced by name in the INSERT query. See and for details. It is possible for the query (SELECT statement) to also contain a WITH clause. In such a case both sets of with_query can be referenced within the query, but the second one takes precedence since it is more closely nested. table_name The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table. alias A substitute name for the target table. When an alias is provided, it completely hides the actual name of the table. This is particularly useful when using ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE into a table named excluded as that's also the name of the pseudo-relation containing the proposed row. column_name The name of a column in the table named by table_name. The column name can be qualified with a subfield name or array subscript, if needed. (Inserting into only some fields of a composite column leaves the other fields null.) When referencing a column with ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE, do not include the table's name in the specification of a target column. For example, INSERT ... ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE tab SET table_name.col = 1 is invalid (this follows the general behavior for UPDATE). DEFAULT VALUES All columns will be filled with their default values. expression An expression or value to assign to the corresponding column. DEFAULT The corresponding column will be filled with its default value. query A query (SELECT statement) that supplies the rows to be inserted. Refer to the statement for a description of the syntax. output_expression An expression to be computed and returned by the INSERT command after each row is inserted (not updated). The expression can use any column names of the table named by table_name. Write * to return all columns of the inserted row(s). conflict_target Specify which conflicts ON CONFLICT refers to. conflict_action DO NOTHING or DO UPDATE SET clause specifying the action to be performed in case of a conflict. output_name A name to use for a returned column. column_name_index The name of a table_name column. Part of a unique index inference clause. Follows CREATE INDEX format. SELECT privilege on column_name_index is required. expression_index Similar to column_name_index, but used to infer expressions on table_name columns appearing within index definitions (not simple columns). Part of unique index inference clause. Follows CREATE INDEX format. SELECT privilege on any column appearing within expression_index is required. collation When specified, mandates that corresponding column_name_index or expression_index use a particular collation in order to be matched in the inference clause. Typically this is omitted, as collations usually do not affect wether or not a constraint violation occurs. Follows CREATE INDEX format. opclass When specified, mandates that corresponding column_name_index or expression_index use particular operator class in order to be matched by the inference clause. Sometimes this is omitted because the equality semantics are often equivalent across a type's operator classes anyway, or because it's sufficient to trust that the defined unique indexes have the pertinent definition of equality. Follows CREATE INDEX format. index_predicate Used to allow inference of partial unique indexes. Any indexes that satisfy the predicate (which need not actually be partial indexes) can be matched by the rest of the inference clause. Follows CREATE INDEX format. SELECT privilege on any column appearing within index_predicate is required. constraint_name Explicitly specifies an arbiter constraint by name, rather than inferring a constraint or index. This is mostly useful for exclusion constraints, that cannot be chosen in the conventional way (with an inference clause). condition An expression that returns a value of type boolean. Only rows for which this expression returns true will be updated, although all rows will be locked when the ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE action is taken. UPSERT ON CONFLICT The optional ON CONFLICT clause specifies an alternative action to raising a unique violation or exclusion constraint violation error. For each individual row proposed for insertion, either the insertion proceeds, or, if a constraint specified by the conflict_target is violated, the alternative conflict_action is taken. conflict_target describes which conflicts are handled by the ON CONFLICT clause. Either a unique index inference clause or an explicitly named constraint can be used. For ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING, it is optional to specify a conflict_target; when omitted, conflicts with all usable constraints (and unique indexes) are handled. For ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE, a conflict target must be specified. Every time an insertion without ON CONFLICT would ordinarily raise an error due to violating one of the inferred (or explicitly named) constraints, a conflict (as in ON CONFLICT) occurs, and the alternative action, as specified by conflict_action is taken. This happens on a row-by-row basis. A unique index inference clause consists of one or more column_name_index columns and/or expression_index expressions, and an optional index_predicate. All the table_name unique indexes that, without regard to order, contain exactly the specified columns/expressions and, if specified, whose predicate implies the index_predicate are chosen as arbiter indexes. Note that this means an index without a predicate will be used if a non-partial index matching every other criteria happens to be available. If no index matches the inference clause (nor is there a constraint explicitly named), an error is raised. Deferred constraints are not supported as arbiters. conflict_action defines the action to be taken in case of conflict. ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING simply avoids inserting a row as its alternative action. ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE updates the existing row that conflicts with the row proposed for insertion as its alternative action. ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE guarantees an atomic INSERT or UPDATE outcome - provided there is no independent error, one of those two outcomes is guaranteed, even under high concurrency. This feature is also known as UPSERT. Note that exclusion constraints are not supported with ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE. ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE optionally accepts a WHERE clause condition. When provided, the statement only proceeds with updating if the condition is satisfied. Otherwise, unlike a conventional UPDATE, the row is still locked for update. Note that the condition is evaluated last, after a conflict has been identified as a candidate to update. The SET and WHERE clauses in ON CONFLICT UPDATE have access to the existing row, using the table's name, and to the row proposed for insertion, using the excluded alias. The excluded alias requires SELECT privilege on any column whose values are read. Note that the effects of all per-row BEFORE INSERT triggers are reflected in excluded values, since those effects may have contributed to the row being excluded from insertion. INSERT with an ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE clause is a deterministic statement. This means that the command will not be allowed to affect any single existing row more than once; a cardinality violation error will be raised when this situation arises. Rows proposed for insertion should not duplicate each other in terms of attributes constrained by the conflict-arbitrating unique index. On successful completion, an INSERT command returns a command tag of the form INSERT oid count The count is the number of rows inserted or updated. If count is exactly one, and the target table has OIDs, then oid is the OID assigned to the inserted row. The single row must have been inserted rather than updated. Otherwise oid is zero. If the INSERT command contains a RETURNING clause, the result will be similar to that of a SELECT statement containing the columns and values defined in the RETURNING list, computed over the row(s) inserted or updated by the command. Insert a single row into table films: INSERT INTO films VALUES ('UA502', 'Bananas', 105, '1971-07-13', 'Comedy', '82 minutes'); In this example, the len column is omitted and therefore it will have the default value: INSERT INTO films (code, title, did, date_prod, kind) VALUES ('T_601', 'Yojimbo', 106, '1961-06-16', 'Drama'); This example uses the DEFAULT clause for the date columns rather than specifying a value: INSERT INTO films VALUES ('UA502', 'Bananas', 105, DEFAULT, 'Comedy', '82 minutes'); INSERT INTO films (code, title, did, date_prod, kind) VALUES ('T_601', 'Yojimbo', 106, DEFAULT, 'Drama'); To insert a row consisting entirely of default values: INSERT INTO films DEFAULT VALUES; To insert multiple rows using the multirow VALUES syntax: INSERT INTO films (code, title, did, date_prod, kind) VALUES ('B6717', 'Tampopo', 110, '1985-02-10', 'Comedy'), ('HG120', 'The Dinner Game', 140, DEFAULT, 'Comedy'); This example inserts some rows into table films from a table tmp_films with the same column layout as films: INSERT INTO films SELECT * FROM tmp_films WHERE date_prod < '2004-05-07'; This example inserts into array columns: -- Create an empty 3x3 gameboard for noughts-and-crosses INSERT INTO tictactoe (game, board[1:3][1:3]) VALUES (1, '{{" "," "," "},{" "," "," "},{" "," "," "}}'); -- The subscripts in the above example aren't really needed INSERT INTO tictactoe (game, board) VALUES (2, '{{X," "," "},{" ",O," "},{" ",X," "}}'); Insert a single row into table distributors, returning the sequence number generated by the DEFAULT clause: INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname) VALUES (DEFAULT, 'XYZ Widgets') RETURNING did; Increment the sales count of the salesperson who manages the account for Acme Corporation, and record the whole updated row along with current time in a log table: WITH upd AS ( UPDATE employees SET sales_count = sales_count + 1 WHERE id = (SELECT sales_person FROM accounts WHERE name = 'Acme Corporation') RETURNING * ) INSERT INTO employees_log SELECT *, current_timestamp FROM upd; Insert or update new distributors as appropriate. Assumes a unique index has been defined that constrains values appearing in the did column. Note that an EXCLUDED expression is used to reference values originally proposed for insertion: INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname) VALUES (5, 'Gizmo transglobal'), (6, 'Associated Computing, inc') ON CONFLICT (did) DO UPDATE SET dname = EXCLUDED.dname; Insert a distributor, or do nothing for rows proposed for insertion when an existing, excluded row (a row with a matching constrained column or columns after before row insert triggers fire) exists. Example assumes a unique index has been defined that constrains values appearing in the did column: INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname) VALUES (7, 'Redline GmbH') ON CONFLICT (did) DO NOTHING; Insert or update new distributors as appropriate. Example assumes a unique index has been defined that constrains values appearing in the did column. WHERE clause is used to limit the rows actually updated (any existing row not updated will still be locked, though): -- Don't update existing distributors based in a certain ZIP code INSERT INTO distributors AS d (did, dname) VALUES (8, 'Anvil Distribution') ON CONFLICT (did) DO UPDATE SET dname = EXCLUDED.dname || ' (formerly ' || d.dname || ')' WHERE d.zipcode != '21201'; -- Name a constraint directly in the statement (uses associated -- index to arbitrate taking the DO NOTHING action) INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname) VALUES (9, 'Antwerp Design') ON CONFLICT ON CONSTRAINT distributors_pkey DO NOTHING; Insert new distributor if possible; otherwise DO NOTHING. Example assumes a unique index has been defined that constrains values appearing in the did column on a subset of rows where the is_active boolean column evaluates to true: -- This statement could infer a partial unique index on "did" -- with a predicate of "WHERE is_active", but it could also -- just use a regular unique constraint on "did" INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname) VALUES (10, 'Conrad International') ON CONFLICT (did) WHERE is_active DO NOTHING; INSERT conforms to the SQL standard, except that the RETURNING clause is a PostgreSQL extension, as is the ability to use WITH with INSERT, and the ability to specify an alternative action with ON CONFLICT. Also, the case in which a column name list is omitted, but not all the columns are filled from the VALUES clause or query, is disallowed by the standard. Possible limitations of the query clause are documented under .