# INSERT(7) - man - phpMan [INSERT(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/INSERT/7/markdown) PostgreSQL 14.23 Documentation [INSERT(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/INSERT/7/markdown) ## 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_ ] ## DESCRIPTION **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. **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. 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, UPDATE privilege on the table 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, 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_. 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. ## PARAMETERS ### Inserting This section covers parameters that may be used when only inserting new rows. Parameters _exclusively_ used with the ON CONFLICT clause are described separately. _with_query_ The WITH clause allows you to specify one or more subqueries that can be referenced by name in the **INSERT** query. See Section 7.8 and [**SELECT**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/SELECT/7/markdown) 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 _table_name_. When an alias is provided, it completely hides the actual name of the table. This is particularly useful when ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE targets a table named _excluded_, since that will otherwise be taken as the name of the special table representing the row proposed for insertion. _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 INTO table_name ... ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE SET table_name.col = 1 is invalid (this follows the general behavior for **UPDATE**). OVERRIDING SYSTEM VALUE If this clause is specified, then any values supplied for identity columns will override the default sequence-generated values. For an identity column defined as GENERATED ALWAYS, it is 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.) OVERRIDING USER VALUE If this clause is specified, then any values supplied for identity columns are ignored and the default sequence-generated values are applied. This clause 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. DEFAULT VALUES All columns will be filled with their default values, as if DEFAULT were explicitly specified for each column. (An OVERRIDING clause is not permitted in this form.) _expression_ An expression or value to assign to the corresponding column. DEFAULT The corresponding column will be 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. _query_ A query (**SELECT** statement) that supplies the rows to be inserted. Refer to the [**SELECT**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/SELECT/7/markdown) 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 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). _output_name_ A name to use for a returned column. ### ON CONFLICT Clause 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 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. _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. 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. Either performs _unique_ _index_ _inference_, or names a constraint explicitly. 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 provided. _conflict_action_ _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. _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 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 corresponding _index_column_name_ or _index_expression_ use 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. _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. 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. **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. 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. **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. **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. ## 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). 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. ## NOTES If the specified table is a partitioned table, each row is routed to the appropriate partition and inserted into it. If the specified table is a partition, an error will occur if one of the input rows violates the partition constraint. ## EXAMPLES 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 the special _excluded_ table 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; ## COMPATIBILITY **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. 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 is not applicable. Possible limitations of the _query_ clause are documented under [**SELECT**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/SELECT/7/markdown). PostgreSQL 14.23 2026 [INSERT(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/INSERT/7/markdown)