INSERT(7)

📦 version 17.11, in opensuse-leap 16.0

💖 INSERT(7) — PostgreSQL 17.11 Documentation 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to INSERT — this is the one that puts new stuff into your table. she's the queen of adding rows, and honestly she ate. let's get into it 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

INSERT — create new rows in a table 🌱

🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

[ WITH [ RECURSIVE ] with_query [, ...] ]
INSERT INTO table_name [ AS alias ] [ ( column_name [, ...] ) ]
    [ OVERRIDING { SYSTEM | USER } VALUE ]
    { 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:

    ( { index_column_name | ( index_expression ) } [ 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 [, ...] ) = [ ROW ] ( { expression | DEFAULT } [, ...] ) |
                    ( column_name [, ...] ) = ( sub-SELECT )
                  } [, ...]
              [ WHERE condition ]

like, look at all those brackets. every single one of them optional until it isn't. iykyk 💅

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So INSERT inserts new rows into a table. That's the whole gig and she does it flawlessly. You can insert one or more rows specified by value expressions, or zero or more rows resulting from a query. both are valid, both are iconic ✨

The target column names can be listed in any order — no rules, no stress, go off. 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. And the values supplied by the VALUES clause or query get associated with the explicit or implicit column list left-to-right, okay? order matters, matching happens in sequence, don't forget it 🙈

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. so yeah, the leftovers get the default treatment, no drama 🎀

If the expression for any column is not of the correct data type, automatic type conversion will be attempted. she'll try to make it work. she's helpful like that 💜

🧚 Heads up: INSERT into tables that lack unique indexes will not be blocked by concurrent activity. Tables with unique indexes might block if concurrent sessions perform actions that lock or modify rows matching the unique index values being inserted — the details are covered in Section 62.5. ON CONFLICT can be used to specify an alternative action to raising a unique constraint or exclusion constraint violation error. (See ON CONFLICT Clause 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. But lowkey it's not just that — 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. no row for you, bestie 💀

👑 Privileges, aka the vibe check 🫶

You must have INSERT privilege on a table in order to insert into it. If ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE is present, UPDATE privilege on the table is also required. both. you need both. 😤

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. slay, scoped permissions, we love to see it ✨

However — and this is the part people forget — all forms of ON CONFLICT also require SELECT privilege on any column whose values are read. This includes any column mentioned in conflict_target (including columns referred to by the arbiter constraint), and any column mentioned in an ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE expression, or a WHERE clause condition. the way that reading is a whole separate privilege 😭

Use of the RETURNING clause requires SELECT privilege on all columns mentioned in RETURNING. And 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. fr fr, no shortcuts on this one 🔥

more coming, bestie — don't go anywhere 💖

💖 PARAMETERS 💖

✨ Inserting ✨

okay bestie, this section is all about the parameters you reach for when you're only inserting new rows. anything that's exclusively for the ON CONFLICT clause gets its own section later — we're keeping it organized 💅

  • with_query — the WITH clause lets you drop one or more subqueries that you can then reference by name inside your INSERT query. See Section 7.8 and SELECT(7) for the full deets. lowkey important: your query (the SELECT statement) can also have its own WITH clause. When that happens, both sets of with_query can be referenced inside the query, but the second one takes precedence because it's more closely nested. nesting drama, but make it make sense ✨
  • table_name — the name of an existing table, optionally schema-qualified. periodt.
  • alias — a substitute name for table_name. When you give an alias, it completely hides the actual name of the table. This is especially useful when ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE targets a table literally named excluded, because otherwise that name gets taken as the name of the special table representing the row proposed for insertion. identity theft but SQL edition 😭
  • column_name — the name of a column in the table named by table_name. You can qualify it with a subfield name or array subscript if you need to. (inserting into only some fields of a composite column leaves the other fields null — noted.) When you're 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 INTO table_name ... ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE SET table_name.col = 1 is invalid (this follows the general behavior for UPDATE). no cap, that one trips people up.
  • OVERRIDING SYSTEM VALUE — if you specify this, any values supplied for identity columns override the default sequence-generated values. For an identity column defined as GENERATED ALWAYS, it's an error to insert an explicit value (other than DEFAULT) without specifying either OVERRIDING SYSTEM VALUE or OVERRIDING USER VALUE. (for an identity column defined as GENERATED BY DEFAULT, OVERRIDING SYSTEM VALUE is the normal behavior and specifying it does nothing, but PostgreSQL allows it as an extension. cute of them.)
  • OVERRIDING USER VALUE — if you specify this, any values supplied for identity columns are ignored and the default sequence-generated values are applied instead. This is useful, for example, when copying values between tables. Writing INSERT INTO tbl2 OVERRIDING USER VALUE SELECT * FROM tbl1 will copy from tbl1 all columns that are not identity columns in tbl2, while values for the identity columns in tbl2 will be generated by the sequences associated with tbl2. literally copy-paste but make it safe 💖
  • DEFAULT VALUES — all columns get filled with their default values, as if DEFAULT were explicitly specified for each column. (an OVERRIDING clause is not permitted in this form — don't try it 💀)
  • expression — an expression or value to assign to the corresponding column. simple as that.
  • DEFAULT — the corresponding column gets filled with its default value. An identity column will be filled with a new value generated by the associated sequence. For a generated column, specifying this is permitted but merely specifies the normal behavior of computing the column from its generation expression. it's giving "I'm just doing my job" 🎀
  • query — a query (a SELECT statement) that supplies the rows to be inserted. Refer to the SELECT(7) statement for a description of the syntax. go off.
  • output_expression — an expression to be computed and returned by the INSERT command after each row is inserted or updated. The expression can use any column names of the table named by table_name. Write * to return all columns of the inserted or updated row(s). main character energy: return exactly what you want ✨
  • output_name — a name to use for a returned column. slay.

🫶 ON CONFLICT Clause 🫶

okay so the optional ON CONFLICT clause is the glowing alternative to raising a unique violation or exclusion constraint violation error. Here's the tea: for each individual row proposed for insertion, either the insertion proceeds, or — if an arbiter constraint or index specified by conflict_target is violated — the alternative conflict_action is taken. 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. UPSERT behavior, iconic.

conflict_target can perform unique index inference. When performing inference, it consists of one or more index_column_name columns and/or index_expression expressions, and an optional index_predicate. All table_name unique indexes that, without regard to order, contain exactly the conflict_target-specified columns/expressions are inferred (chosen) as arbiter indexes. If an index_predicate is specified, it must, as a further requirement for inference, satisfy arbiter indexes. Note that this means a non-partial unique index (a unique index without a predicate) will be inferred (and thus used by ON CONFLICT) if such an index satisfying every other criteria is available. If an attempt at inference is unsuccessful, an error is raised. no vibes-based guessing here 🫶

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 is also known as UPSERT — “UPDATE or INSERT”.

  • conflict_target — specifies which conflicts ON CONFLICT takes the alternative action on by choosing arbiter indexes. It either performs unique index inference, or names a constraint explicitly. For ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING, it is optional to specify conflict_target; when omitted, conflicts with all usable constraints (and unique indexes) are handled. For ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE, a conflict_target must be provided.
  • conflict_action — specifies an alternative ON CONFLICT action. It can be either DO NOTHING, or a DO UPDATE clause specifying the exact details of the UPDATE action to be performed in case of a conflict. The SET and WHERE clauses in ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE have access to the existing row using the table's name (or an alias), and to the row proposed for insertion using the special excluded table. SELECT privilege is required on any column in the target table where corresponding excluded columns 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. trigger lore, but make it make sense 💫
  • index_column_name — the name of a table_name column. Used to infer arbiter indexes. Follows CREATE INDEX format. SELECT privilege on index_column_name is required.
  • index_expression — similar to index_column_name, but used to infer expressions on table_name columns appearing within index definitions (not simple columns). Follows CREATE INDEX format. SELECT privilege on any column appearing within index_expression is required.
  • collation — when specified, mandates that the corresponding index_column_name or index_expression use a particular collation in order to be matched during inference. Typically this is omitted, as collations usually do not affect whether or not a constraint violation occurs. Follows CREATE INDEX format.
  • opclass — when specified, mandates that the corresponding index_column_name or index_expression use a particular operator class in order to be matched during inference. Typically this is omitted, as 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 inferred. 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. name-drop responsibly.
  • 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. Note that condition is evaluated last, after a conflict has been identified as a candidate to update. last but definitely not least.

Note that exclusion constraints are not supported as arbiters with ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE. In all cases, only NOT DEFERRABLE constraints and unique indexes are supported as arbiters. important boundary, bestie.

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 an arbiter index or constraint. one row, one glow-up. periodt.

Note that it is currently not supported for the ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE clause of an INSERT applied to a partitioned table to update the partition key of a conflicting row such that it requires the row be moved to a new partition. partitioned-table lore has limits 😭

Tip 💡 — it is often preferable to use unique index inference rather than naming a constraint directly using ON CONFLICT ON CONSTRAINT constraint_name. Inference will continue to work correctly when the underlying index is replaced by another more or less equivalent index in an overlapping way, for example when using CREATE UNIQUE INDEX ... CONCURRENTLY before dropping the index being replaced. future-proofing, we love to see it.
Warning 🚨 — while CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY or REINDEX CONCURRENTLY is running on a unique index, INSERT ... ON CONFLICT statements on the same table may unexpectedly fail with a unique violation. not a vibe, but now you know.

🌈 OUTPUTS 🌈

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. oid is always 0 (it used to be the OID assigned to the inserted row if count was exactly one and the target table was declared WITH OIDS and 0 otherwise, but creating a table WITH OIDS is not supported anymore). ancient history, but keep it in your notes 🎀

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. returned with main character energy ✨

📝 NOTES 💅

okay so first thing, bestie — if the table you named is a partitioned table? each row gets routed to the appropriate partition and inserted into that one. cute, right? but if the table you named is itself a partition, and one of your input rows violates the partition constraint, it's an error. no cap. 🫠

also, lowkey you might wanna consider using MERGE, since that lets you mix INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE all inside a single statement. go check MERGE(7) — it's giving multitasking icon. ✨

🎀 EXAMPLES 🎀

okay this is the fun part, let's get into it. 💖

one (1) single row into table films:

INSERT INTO films VALUES
    ('UA502', 'Bananas', 105, '1971-07-13', 'Comedy', '82 minutes');

here, the len column is omitted — which means it just gets its default value. main character energy, honestly:

INSERT INTO films (code, title, did, date_prod, kind)
    VALUES ('T_601', 'Yojimbo', 106, '1961-06-16', 'Drama');

this one uses the DEFAULT clause for the date columns instead of specifying an actual 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');

wanna insert a row that is entirely default values? periodt:

INSERT INTO films DEFAULT VALUES;

multiple rows via the multirow VALUES syntax — the way this just works 😭:

INSERT INTO films (code, title, did, date_prod, kind) VALUES
    ('B6717', 'Tampopo', 110, '1985-02-10', 'Comedy'),
    ('HG120', 'The Dinner Game', 140, DEFAULT, 'Comedy');

pulling rows from another table — here we grab some rows into films from a table called tmp_films that has the same column layout as films:

INSERT INTO films SELECT * FROM tmp_films WHERE date_prod < '2004-05-07';

array columns, bestie!! 🦋 this is the one:

-- 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," "}}');

single row into table distributors, returning the sequence number generated by the DEFAULT clause — look at that RETURNING slay:

INSERT INTO distributors (did, dname) VALUES (DEFAULT, 'XYZ Widgets')
   RETURNING did;

bump the sales count of the salesperson who manages the account for Acme Corporation, and record the whole updated row along with the current time into 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. this assumes a unique index has been defined that constrains values appearing in the did column. and note — the special excluded table is what you use to reference values originally proposed for insertion. iykyk 💅

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 exists — that's a row with a matching constrained column or columns after before-row insert triggers fire, jsyk. this example also 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, but with a WHERE clause to limit the rows actually updated. ⚠️ heads up though — any existing row that doesn't get updated will still be locked. so. yeah. 🙈

-- 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 a new distributor if possible; otherwise DO NOTHING. 🌸 this 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;

🌈 COMPATIBILITY 🌈

INSERT conforms to the SQL standard — except for a few iconic little extras: the RETURNING clause is a PostgreSQL extension, so is the ability to use WITH with INSERT, and so is the ability to specify an alternative action with ON CONFLICT. also 👀 the case where a column name list is omitted but not all the columns are filled from the VALUES clause or query is disallowed by the standard. so don't do that and then blame us.

if you prefer a statement that conforms more to the SQL standard than ON CONFLICT does, go see MERGE(7). 🫶

the SQL standard specifies that OVERRIDING SYSTEM VALUE can only be specified if an identity column that is generated always exists. PostgreSQL allows the clause in any case and ignores it if it's not applicable. we're chill like that. 💀

possible limitations of the query clause are documented under SELECT(7).

and that's the whole page, bestie!! ✨ this one came from PostgreSQL 17.11, dated 2026 — go forth and insert responsibly. 💖🎀🦋💅

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