PostgreSQL TRUNCATE TABLE

Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use PostgreSQL TRUNCATE TABLE statement to quickly delete all data from large tables.

Introduction to PostgreSQL TRUNCATE TABLE statement

To remove all data from a table, you use the DELETE statement without a WHERE clause. However, when the table has numerous data, the DELETE statement is not efficient. In this case, you can use the TRUNCATE TABLE statement.

The TRUNCATE TABLE statement deletes all data from a table very fast. Here’s the basic syntax of the TRUNCATE TABLE statement:

TRUNCATE TABLE table_name;

In this syntax, you specify the name of the table that you want to delete data after the TRUNCATE TABLE keywords.

Remove all data from multiple tables

To remove all data from multiple tables at once, you separate the tables by commas (,) as follows:

TRUNCATE TABLE
    table_name1,
    table_name2,
    ...;

In this syntax, you specify the name of the tables that you want to delete all data after the TRUNCATE TABLE keywords.

Remove all data from a table that has foreign key references

In practice, the table you want to delete all data often has foreign key references from other tables.

By default, the TRUNCATE TABLE statement does not remove any data from the table that has foreign key references.

To remove data from a table and other tables that have foreign key references the table, you use CASCADE option in the TRUNCATE TABLE statement as follows :

TRUNCATE TABLE table_name
CASCADE;

PostgreSQL TRUNCATE TABLE statement examples

Let’s explore some examples of using the TRUNCATE TABLE statement.

1) Basic PostgreSQL TRUNCATE TABLE statement example

First, create a new table called products:

CREATE TABLE products(
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    price DECIMAL(10,2) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0
);

Second, insert some rows into the products table:

INSERT INTO products (name, price)
VALUES
    ('A', 19.99),
    ('B', 29.99),
    ('C', 39.99),
    ('D', 49.99)
RETURNING *;

Output:

id | name | price
----+------+-------
  1 | A    | 19.99
  2 | B    | 29.99
  3 | C    | 39.99
  4 | D    | 49.99
(4 rows)

Third, delete all data from the products table using the TRUNCATE TABLE statement:

TRUNCATE TABLE products;

Output:

TRUNCATE TABLE

2) Using PostgreSQL TRUNCATE TABLE statement to delete all data from multiple tables

First, create a table called customers and insert data into it:

CREATE TABLE customers(
   id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
   name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
   phone VARCHAR(25) NOT NULL
);

INSERT INTO customers (name, phone) VALUES
    ('John Doe', '123-456-7890'),
    ('Jane Smith', '987-654-3210'),
    ('Robert Johnson', '555-123-4567')

RETURNING *;

Second, create a table called vendors and insert data into it:

CREATE TABLE vendors(
   id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
   name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
   phone VARCHAR(25) NOT NULL
);

INSERT INTO vendors (name, phone) VALUES
    ('ABC Electronics', '555-123-4567'),
    ('XYZ Supplies', '999-888-7777'),
    ('Tech Solutions Inc.', '111-222-3333')

RETURNING *;

Third, delete data from the customers and vendors tables using the TRUNCATE TABLE statement:

TRUNCATE TABLE customers, vendors;

3) Using PostgreSQL TRUNCATE TABLE statement to delete data from a table referenced by a foreign key

First, create tables orders and order_details:

CREATE TABLE orders(
  order_id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  customer_name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
  ordered_date DATE NOT NULL,
  status VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE order_items (
  order_id INT NOT NULL,
  item_id INT NOT NULL,
  product_name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
  quantity INT NOT NULL,
  FOREIGN KEY (order_id)
     REFERENCES orders(order_id) ON DELETE CASCADE ON UPDATE CASCADE,
  PRIMARY KEY (order_id, item_id)
);

INSERT INTO orders (customer_name, ordered_date, status)
VALUES
  ('John Doe', '2024-01-25', 'Processing'),
  ('Jane Smith', '2024-01-26', 'Shipped'),
  ('Bob Johnson', '2024-01-27', 'Delivered');

INSERT INTO order_items (order_id, item_id, product_name, quantity)
VALUES
  (1, 1, 'A', 2),
  (1, 2, 'B', 1),
  (2, 1, 'C', 3),
  (3, 1, 'D', 5),
  (3, 2, 'E', 2);

Second, attempt to truncate data from the orders table:

TRUNCATE TABLE orders;

PostgreSQL issues the following error:

DETAIL:  Table "order_items" references "orders".
HINT:  Truncate table "order_items" at the same time, or use TRUNCATE ... CASCADE.

The reason is that the orders table is referenced by the order_items table. To truncate both the orders and order_items tables at the same time, you can use the CASCADE option.

Third, truncate data from both orders and order_items tables:

TRUNCATE TABLE orders CASCADE;

PostgreSQL issues the following notice indicating that the order_items is also truncated:

NOTICE:  truncate cascades to table "order_items"
TRUNCATE TABLE

Note that the TRUNCATE TABLE statement uses the RESTRICT option by default to prevent a table that is referenced by a foreign key from being truncated.

Restarting sequence

Besides removing data, you may want to reset the values of the identity column by using the RESTART IDENTITY option like this:

TRUNCATE TABLE table_name
RESTART IDENTITY;

For example, the following statement removes all rows from the products table and resets the sequence associated with the id column:

TRUNCATE TABLE products
RESTART IDENTITY;

By default, the TRUNCATE TABLE statement uses the CONTINUE IDENTITY option. This option does not restart the value in the sequence associated with the column in the table.

TRUNCATE TABLE statement and ON DELETE trigger

Even though the TRUNCATE TABLE statement removes all data from a table, it does not fire any ON DELETE triggers associated with the table.

To fire the trigger when the TRUNCATE TABLE statement executes, you need to define BEFORE TRUNCATE and/or AFTER TRUNCATE triggers for that table.

TRUNCATE TABLE statement and transactions

The TRUNCATE TABLE is transaction-safe, meaning that you can place it within a transaction.

Why TRUNCATE TABLE statement is more efficient than the DELETE statement

The TRUNCATE TABLE statement is more efficient than the DELETE statement due to the following main reasons:

Minimal logging: The TRUNCATE TABLE statement doesn’t generate individual row deletion logs. Instead, it deallocates entire data pages making it faster than the DELETE statement.
Fewer resources: The truncate operation is more lightweight than the delete option because it doesn’t generate as much undo and redo information. It releases storage space without scanning individual rows.
Lower-level locking mechanism: The truncate operation often requires lower-level locks and is less prone to conflicts with other transactions, which improves overall system concurrency.

Summary

Use the TRUNCATE TABLE statement to delete all data from a large table very fast.
Use the CASCADE option to truncate a table that is referenced by foreign key constraints.
The TRUNCATE TABLE deletes data but does not fire ON DELETE triggers. Instead, it fires the BEFORE TRUNCATE and AFTER TRUNCATE triggers.
The TRUNCATE TABLE statement is transaction-safe.