MERGE(7) PostgreSQL 17.4 Documentation MERGE(7)
NAME
MERGE - conditionally insert, update, or delete rows of a table
SYNOPSIS
[ WITH with_query [, ...] ]
MERGE INTO [ ONLY ] target_table_name [ * ] [ [ AS ] target_alias ]
USING data_source ON join_condition
when_clause [...]
[ RETURNING { * | output_expression [ [ AS ] output_name ] } [, ...] ]
where data_source is:
{ [ ONLY ] source_table_name [ * ] | ( source_query ) } [ [ AS ] source_alias ]
and when_clause is:
{ WHEN MATCHED [ AND condition ] THEN { merge_update | merge_delete | DO NOTHING } |
WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE [ AND condition ] THEN { merge_update | merge_delete | DO NOTHING } |
WHEN NOT MATCHED [ BY TARGET ] [ AND condition ] THEN { merge_insert | DO NOTHING } }
and merge_insert is:
INSERT [( column_name [, ...] )]
[ OVERRIDING { SYSTEM | USER } VALUE ]
{ VALUES ( { expression | DEFAULT } [, ...] ) | DEFAULT VALUES }
and merge_update is:
UPDATE SET { column_name = { expression | DEFAULT } |
( column_name [, ...] ) = [ ROW ] ( { expression | DEFAULT } [, ...] ) |
( column_name [, ...] ) = ( sub-SELECT )
} [, ...]
and merge_delete is:
DELETE
DESCRIPTION
MERGE performs actions that modify rows in the target table identified
as target_table_name, using the data_source. MERGE provides a single
SQL statement that can conditionally INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE rows, a
task that would otherwise require multiple procedural language
statements.
First, the MERGE command performs a join from data_source to the target
table producing zero or more candidate change rows. For each candidate
change row, the status of MATCHED, NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE, or NOT
MATCHED [BY TARGET] is set just once, after which WHEN clauses are
evaluated in the order specified. For each candidate change row, the
first clause to evaluate as true is executed. No more than one WHEN
clause is executed for any candidate change row.
MERGE actions have the same effect as regular UPDATE, INSERT, or DELETE
commands of the same names. The syntax of those commands is different,
notably that there is no WHERE clause and no table name is specified.
All actions refer to the target table, though modifications to other
tables may be made using triggers.
When DO NOTHING is specified, the source row is skipped. Since actions
are evaluated in their specified order, DO NOTHING can be handy to skip
non-interesting source rows before more fine-grained handling.
The optional RETURNING clause causes MERGE to compute and return
value(s) based on each row inserted, updated, or deleted. Any
expression using the source or target table's columns, or the
merge_action() function can be computed. When an INSERT or UPDATE
action is performed, the new values of the target table's columns are
used. When a DELETE is performed, the old values of the target table's
columns are used. The syntax of the RETURNING list is identical to that
of the output list of SELECT.
There is no separate MERGE privilege. If you specify an update action,
you must have the UPDATE privilege on the column(s) of the target table
that are referred to in the SET clause. If you specify an insert
action, you must have the INSERT privilege on the target table. If you
specify a delete action, you must have the DELETE privilege on the
target table. If you specify a DO NOTHING action, you must have the
SELECT privilege on at least one column of the target table. You will
also need SELECT privilege on any column(s) of the data_source and of
the target table referred to in any condition (including
join_condition) or expression. Privileges are tested once at statement
start and are checked whether or not particular WHEN clauses are
executed.
MERGE is not supported if the target table is a materialized view,
foreign table, or if it has any rules defined on it.
PARAMETERS
with_query
The WITH clause allows you to specify one or more subqueries that
can be referenced by name in the MERGE query. See Section 7.8 and
SELECT(7) for details. Note that WITH RECURSIVE is not supported by
MERGE.
target_table_name
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the target table or view
to merge into. If ONLY is specified before a table name, matching
rows are updated or deleted in the named table only. If ONLY is not
specified, matching rows are also updated or deleted in any tables
inheriting from the named table. Optionally, * can be specified
after the table name to explicitly indicate that descendant tables
are included. The ONLY keyword and * option do not affect insert
actions, which always insert into the named table only.
If target_table_name is a view, it must either be automatically
updatable with no INSTEAD OF triggers, or it must have INSTEAD OF
triggers for every type of action (INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE)
specified in the WHEN clauses. Views with rules are not supported.
target_alias
A substitute name for the target table. When an alias is provided,
it completely hides the actual name of the table. For example,
given MERGE INTO foo AS f, the remainder of the MERGE statement
must refer to this table as f not foo.
source_table_name
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the source table, view,
or transition table. If ONLY is specified before the table name,
matching rows are included from the named table only. If ONLY is
not specified, matching rows are also included from any tables
inheriting from the named table. Optionally, * can be specified
after the table name to explicitly indicate that descendant tables
are included.
source_query
A query (SELECT statement or VALUES statement) that supplies the
rows to be merged into the target table. Refer to the SELECT(7)
statement or VALUES(7) statement for a description of the syntax.
source_alias
A substitute name for the data source. When an alias is provided,
it completely hides the actual name of the table or the fact that a
query was issued.
join_condition
join_condition is an expression resulting in a value of type
boolean (similar to a WHERE clause) that specifies which rows in
the data_source match rows in the target table.
Warning
Only columns from the target table that attempt to match
data_source rows should appear in join_condition.
join_condition subexpressions that only reference the target
table's columns can affect which action is taken, often in
surprising ways.
If both WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE and WHEN NOT MATCHED [BY
TARGET] clauses are specified, the MERGE command will perform a
FULL join between data_source and the target table. For this to
work, at least one join_condition subexpression must use an
operator that can support a hash join, or all of the
subexpressions must use operators that can support a merge
join.
when_clause
At least one WHEN clause is required.
The WHEN clause may specify WHEN MATCHED, WHEN NOT MATCHED BY
SOURCE, or WHEN NOT MATCHED [BY TARGET]. Note that the SQL standard
only defines WHEN MATCHED and WHEN NOT MATCHED (which is defined to
mean no matching target row). WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE is an
extension to the SQL standard, as is the option to append BY TARGET
to WHEN NOT MATCHED, to make its meaning more explicit.
If the WHEN clause specifies WHEN MATCHED and the candidate change
row matches a row in the data_source to a row in the target table,
the WHEN clause is executed if the condition is absent or it
evaluates to true.
If the WHEN clause specifies WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE and the
candidate change row represents a row in the target table that does
not match a row in the data_source, the WHEN clause is executed if
the condition is absent or it evaluates to true.
If the WHEN clause specifies WHEN NOT MATCHED [BY TARGET] and the
candidate change row represents a row in the data_source that does
not match a row in the target table, the WHEN clause is executed if
the condition is absent or it evaluates to true.
condition
An expression that returns a value of type boolean. If this
expression for a WHEN clause returns true, then the action for that
clause is executed for that row.
A condition on a WHEN MATCHED clause can refer to columns in both
the source and the target relations. A condition on a WHEN NOT
MATCHED BY SOURCE clause can only refer to columns from the target
relation, since by definition there is no matching source row. A
condition on a WHEN NOT MATCHED [BY TARGET] clause can only refer
to columns from the source relation, since by definition there is
no matching target row. Only the system attributes from the target
table are accessible.
merge_insert
The specification of an INSERT action that inserts one row into the
target table. 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.
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 target table is a partitioned table, each row is routed to
the appropriate partition and inserted into it. If the target table
is a partition, an error will occur if any input row violates the
partition constraint.
Column names may not be specified more than once. INSERT actions
cannot contain sub-selects.
Only one VALUES clause can be specified. The VALUES clause can only
refer to columns from the source relation, since by definition
there is no matching target row.
merge_update
The specification of an UPDATE action that updates the current row
of the target table. Column names may not be specified more than
once.
Neither a table name nor a WHERE clause are allowed.
merge_delete
Specifies a DELETE action that deletes the current row of the
target table. Do not include the table name or any other clauses,
as you would normally do with a DELETE(7) command.
column_name
The name of a column in the target table. 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.) Do not include the table's name in the
specification of a target column.
OVERRIDING SYSTEM VALUE
Without this clause, it is an error to specify an explicit value
(other than DEFAULT) for an identity column defined as GENERATED
ALWAYS. This clause overrides that restriction.
OVERRIDING USER VALUE
If this clause is specified, then any values supplied for identity
columns defined as GENERATED BY DEFAULT are ignored and the default
sequence-generated values are applied.
DEFAULT VALUES
All columns will be filled with their default values. (An
OVERRIDING clause is not permitted in this form.)
expression
An expression to assign to the column. If used in a WHEN MATCHED
clause, the expression can use values from the original row in the
target table, and values from the data_source row. If used in a
WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE clause, the expression can only use
values from the original row in the target table. If used in a WHEN
NOT MATCHED [BY TARGET] clause, the expression can only use values
from the data_source row.
DEFAULT
Set the column to its default value (which will be NULL if no
specific default expression has been assigned to it).
sub-SELECT
A SELECT sub-query that produces as many output columns as are
listed in the parenthesized column list preceding it. The sub-query
must yield no more than one row when executed. If it yields one
row, its column values are assigned to the target columns; if it
yields no rows, NULL values are assigned to the target columns. If
used in a WHEN MATCHED clause, the sub-query can refer to values
from the original row in the target table, and values from the
data_source row. If used in a WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE clause,
the sub-query can only refer to values from the original row in the
target table.
output_expression
An expression to be computed and returned by the MERGE command
after each row is changed (whether inserted, updated, or deleted).
The expression can use any columns of the source or target tables,
or the merge_action() function to return additional information
about the action executed.
Writing * will return all columns from the source table, followed
by all columns from the target table. Often this will lead to a lot
of duplication, since it is common for the source and target tables
to have a lot of the same columns. This can be avoided by
qualifying the * with the name or alias of the source or target
table.
output_name
A name to use for a returned column.
OUTPUTS
On successful completion, a MERGE command returns a command tag of the
form
MERGE total_count
The total_count is the total number of rows changed (whether inserted,
updated, or deleted). If total_count is 0, no rows were changed in any
way.
If the MERGE 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,
updated, or deleted by the command.
NOTES
The following steps take place during the execution of MERGE.
1. Perform any BEFORE STATEMENT triggers for all actions specified,
whether or not their WHEN clauses match.
2. Perform a join from source to target table. The resulting query
will be optimized normally and will produce a set of candidate
change rows. For each candidate change row,
1. Evaluate whether each row is MATCHED, NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE, or
NOT MATCHED [BY TARGET].
2. Test each WHEN condition in the order specified until one
returns true.
3. When a condition returns true, perform the following actions:
1. Perform any BEFORE ROW triggers that fire for the action's
event type.
2. Perform the specified action, invoking any check
constraints on the target table.
3. Perform any AFTER ROW triggers that fire for the action's
event type.
If the target relation is a view with INSTEAD OF ROW triggers
for the action's event type, they are used to perform the
action instead.
3. Perform any AFTER STATEMENT triggers for actions specified, whether
or not they actually occur. This is similar to the behavior of an
UPDATE statement that modifies no rows.
In summary, statement triggers for an event type (say, INSERT) will be
fired whenever we specify an action of that kind. In contrast,
row-level triggers will fire only for the specific event type being
executed. So a MERGE command might fire statement triggers for both
UPDATE and INSERT, even though only UPDATE row triggers were fired.
You should ensure that the join produces at most one candidate change
row for each target row. In other words, a target row shouldn't join to
more than one data source row. If it does, then only one of the
candidate change rows will be used to modify the target row; later
attempts to modify the row will cause an error. This can also occur if
row triggers make changes to the target table and the rows so modified
are then subsequently also modified by MERGE. If the repeated action is
an INSERT, this will cause a uniqueness violation, while a repeated
UPDATE or DELETE will cause a cardinality violation; the latter
behavior is required by the SQL standard. This differs from historical
PostgreSQL behavior of joins in UPDATE and DELETE statements where
second and subsequent attempts to modify the same row are simply
ignored.
If a WHEN clause omits an AND sub-clause, it becomes the final
reachable clause of that kind (MATCHED, NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE, or NOT
MATCHED [BY TARGET]). If a later WHEN clause of that kind is specified
it would be provably unreachable and an error is raised. If no final
reachable clause is specified of either kind, it is possible that no
action will be taken for a candidate change row.
The order in which rows are generated from the data source is
indeterminate by default. A source_query can be used to specify a
consistent ordering, if required, which might be needed to avoid
deadlocks between concurrent transactions.
When MERGE is run concurrently with other commands that modify the
target table, the usual transaction isolation rules apply; see
Section 13.2 for an explanation on the behavior at each isolation
level. You may also wish to consider using INSERT ... ON CONFLICT as an
alternative statement which offers the ability to run an UPDATE if a
concurrent INSERT occurs. There are a variety of differences and
restrictions between the two statement types and they are not
interchangeable.
EXAMPLES
Perform maintenance on customer_accounts based upon new
recent_transactions.
MERGE INTO customer_account ca
USING recent_transactions t
ON t.customer_id = ca.customer_id
WHEN MATCHED THEN
UPDATE SET balance = balance + transaction_value
WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN
INSERT (customer_id, balance)
VALUES (t.customer_id, t.transaction_value);
Notice that this would be exactly equivalent to the following statement
because the MATCHED result does not change during execution.
MERGE INTO customer_account ca
USING (SELECT customer_id, transaction_value FROM recent_transactions) AS t
ON t.customer_id = ca.customer_id
WHEN MATCHED THEN
UPDATE SET balance = balance + transaction_value
WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN
INSERT (customer_id, balance)
VALUES (t.customer_id, t.transaction_value);
Attempt to insert a new stock item along with the quantity of stock. If
the item already exists, instead update the stock count of the existing
item. Don't allow entries that have zero stock. Return details of all
changes made.
MERGE INTO wines w
USING wine_stock_changes s
ON s.winename = w.winename
WHEN NOT MATCHED AND s.stock_delta > 0 THEN
INSERT VALUES(s.winename, s.stock_delta)
WHEN MATCHED AND w.stock + s.stock_delta > 0 THEN
UPDATE SET stock = w.stock + s.stock_delta
WHEN MATCHED THEN
DELETE
RETURNING merge_action(), w.*;
The wine_stock_changes table might be, for example, a temporary table
recently loaded into the database.
Update wines based on a replacement wine list, inserting rows for any
new stock, updating modified stock entries, and deleting any wines not
present in the new list.
MERGE INTO wines w
USING new_wine_list s
ON s.winename = w.winename
WHEN NOT MATCHED BY TARGET THEN
INSERT VALUES(s.winename, s.stock)
WHEN MATCHED AND w.stock != s.stock THEN
UPDATE SET stock = s.stock
WHEN NOT MATCHED BY SOURCE THEN
DELETE;
COMPATIBILITY
This command conforms to the SQL standard.
The WITH clause, BY SOURCE and BY TARGET qualifiers to WHEN NOT
MATCHED, DO NOTHING action, and RETURNING clause are extensions to the
SQL standard.
PostgreSQL 17.4 2025 MERGE(7)
postgresql 17.4 - Generated Sat Mar 22 18:47:34 CDT 2025