Inserting Data into PostgreSQL Tables

Learn how to use the INSERT INTO statement in PostgreSQL to efficiently add single or multiple rows of data to your database tables. This guide provides clear examples and explanations for inserting data into PostgreSQL.

PostgreSQL Insert Data

Insert Into

To add data into a table in PostgreSQL, the INSERT INTO statement is used.

The following example demonstrates how to insert a single row of data into the cars table:

INSERT INTO cars (brand, model, year)
VALUES ('Honda', 'Civic', 1999);

Output

After running the above SQL command, the SQL Shell application will display:

INSERT 0 1

This indicates that one row was inserted successfully. The number 0 represents an internal value that can be ignored for now.

SQL Statement Explained

Here are some important points about the INSERT INTO statement:

• String values must be enclosed in single quotes (apostrophes).
• Numeric values can be written without quotes, although including them is optional.

Display Table

To verify the inserted data, use the following SQL statement to display the table:

SELECT * FROM cars;

Output

Executing this command will show the following table:

 brand |  model  | year
-------+---------+------
 Honda | Civic   | 1999
(1 row)

Insert Multiple Rows

To insert multiple rows into a table, use the INSERT INTO statement with multiple VALUES entries:

INSERT INTO cars (brand, model, year)
VALUES
  ('Chevrolet', 'Impala', 1967),
  ('Audi', 'Quattro', 1983),
  ('Nissan', 'Skyline', 1995);

Output

After executing the command, the SQL Shell will return:

INSERT 0 3

This output confirms that three rows were inserted successfully.

Display Table

To verify all the inserted rows, use the same command to display the table:

SELECT * FROM cars;

Output

The table will display the following data:

 brand      |   model   | year
------------+-----------+------
 Honda      | Civic     | 1999
 Chevrolet  | Impala    | 1967
 Audi       | Quattro   | 1983
 Nissan     | Skyline   | 1995
(4 rows)