postgres syntax error at or near "ON"

Question

I created this table:

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS config_activity_log
(
  id                      serial primary key,
  activity_name           varchar(100) NOT NULL,
  last_config_version     varchar(50) NOT NULL,
  activity_status         varchar(100) NOT NULL DEFAULT 'Awaiting for cofman',
  cofman_last_update      bigint NOT NULL DEFAULT -1,
  is_error                boolean DEFAULT FALSE,
  activity_timestamp      timestamp DEFAULT current_timestamp
);

I try to run this postgres script:

INSERT INTO config_activity_log
    (activity_name, last_config_version, activity_status)
VALUES
    ('test awating deployment','5837-2016-08-24_09-12-22', 'Awaiting for deployment')
ON CONFLICT (activity_name)
DO UPDATE SET
    activity_status = EXCLUDED.activity_status

why do i get this syntax error?

psql:upsert_test_log.sql:7: ERROR:  syntax error at or near "ON"
LINE 5: ON CONFLICT (activity_name)

PSQL docs say that if using brackets on "ON CONFLICT" the thing inside is an index expression. Is activity_name an index expression, or is it just a column ? postgresql.org/docs/9.5/static/sql-insert.html — Neil Stockton
just column. "id" is an index column but it's auto populated. how can i fix this? — Elad Benda2
Do you have a unique index on activity_name that would cause a conflict? — JohnLBevan
no, i have added my table creation script. activity_name has no index nor it's unique — Elad Benda2
If the activity_name doesn't have a unique constraint, there can't be a conflict on that field (i.e. what is there for it to conflict with if there's no constraint?). By adding a unique index on that column the conflict action makes sense, so should then work. — JohnLBevan

JohnLBevan JohnLBevan · Accepted Answer · 2016-10-30T09:12:39

Supported Version

Per @klin's comment above, ON CONFLICT is only supported from PostgreSQL 9.5 onwards.

If you're on an earlier version, there's some great info in this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/17267423/361842

Unique Constraint

Add a unique index on activity_name. At present there's no constraints on that column, so there's no possibility for a conflict on that column.

CREATE UNIQUE INDEX UK_config_activity_log__activity_name 
ON config_activity_log (activity_name);

If, however, you don't want that column to be unique, what conflict are you envisaging / what's the issue you're hoping to resolve with the on conflict action?

See conflict_target in https://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.5/static/sql-insert.html#SQL-ON-CONFLICT

An alternative syntax is to modify your create statement to include the unique condition there; e.g.

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS config_activity_log
(
  id                      serial primary key,
  activity_name           varchar(100) NOT NULL UNIQUE,
  last_config_version     varchar(50) NOT NULL,
  activity_status         varchar(100) NOT NULL DEFAULT 'Awaiting for cofman',
  cofman_last_update      bigint NOT NULL DEFAULT -1,
  is_error                boolean DEFAULT FALSE,
  activity_timestamp      timestamp DEFAULT current_timestamp
);

postgres syntax error at or near "ON"

2 Answers