SQLSTATE / CLASS 54 · PROGRAM LIMIT EXCEEDED

54001

statement_too_complex

SQLSTATE: 54001
Condition name: statement_too_complex
Class: Program Limit Exceeded
Source macro: ERRCODE_STATEMENT_TOO_COMPLEX
Evidence: Source path confirmed

Analysis & operational context

English SQLSTATE atlas: authored explanations and source/runtime evidence are separate from the manual definitions. View source ↗

At a glance

54001 covers a statement that exceeds a planner, parser, or execution-stack limit. Fixed paths include the 4096 grouping-set ceiling and max_stack_depth enforcement.

Meaning

The source separates a structural query limit (too many grouping sets present (maximum 4096)) from recursive execution depth (stack depth limit exceeded) with a hint naming max_stack_depth. They need different repairs: reducing query structure is not the same as changing a stack setting.

Diagnosis

Preserve the message and phase. For grouping sets, count the generated grouping sets and simplify the query. For stack depth, inspect recursive SQL/function expansion and compare the setting with the platform stack limit before changing it.

Response

Rewrite or decompose a structurally excessive statement. For stack depth, remove unintended recursion or reduce nesting; change max_stack_depth only after checking the operating-system stack allowance and operational policy. If this ERROR occurs inside an explicit transaction, use ROLLBACK or ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT before retrying; in autocommit, retry only after the statement or stack setting is corrected. The GUC rlimit check validates a SET or configuration value against the platform allowance; a failed SET still follows the transaction context that issued it. Validate the rewritten statement rather than automatically replaying it.

Versions

The locked catalogue records this condition from 7.4; cited parser and stack-depth paths are PostgreSQL 18.6 source. No complexity limit was forced.

Sources

src/backend/parser/parse_agg.c#L1166-L1172

src/backend/utils/misc/stack_depth.c#L100-L105

src/backend/utils/misc/stack_depth.c#L156-L168

The structured evidence record records fixed messages and the source/runtime boundary.

Source evidence

Evidence belongs to the frozen source and runtime versions listed here. It is not a runtime verification of the selected manual version.

54001 is statement_too_complex in SQLSTATE Class 54.

Method: Read fixed definition.

src.errcodes.18.6

The cited PostgreSQL 18.6 source paths support the representative resource and object-state mechanisms described.

Method: Read complete fixed source contexts.

Limits: Source confirmation is not natural runtime.

src.path.0 src.path.1 src.path.2

The max_stack_depth GUC check rejects a value above the platform stack rlimit and points to increasing the platform limit, while recursive checks emit 54001 before stack overflow.

Method: Read the complete stack-depth error and GUC check hooks.

src.path.1 src.path.2

The locked catalogue records 54001 from 7.4; that boundary does not prove exact implementation introduction.

Method: Use catalogue boundary.

src.errcodes.18.6

src/backend/utils/errcodes.txt · REL_18_6 ·
724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7
src/backend/parser/parse_agg.c · REL_18_6 ·
724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7
src/backend/utils/misc/stack_depth.c · REL_18_6 ·
724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7
src/backend/utils/misc/stack_depth.c · REL_18_6 ·
724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7

Message templates

ERROR · message.0

Primary

too many grouping sets present (maximum 4096)

ERROR · message.1

Primary

stack depth limit exceeded

Hint

Increase the configuration parameter "max_stack_depth" (currently %dkB), after ensuring the platform stack depth limit is adequate.

Reproduction & repair cases

No reproduction case is attached to this condition.

Recorded runtime evidence

No runtime observation is attached to this entry.

Definition snapshot: english-manuals:d60729725aa8adf5fe33e7e1b8c… · English manual source