Wiki / Locks

ROW EXCLUSIVE

Conflicts with the SHARE, SHARE ROW EXCLUSIVE, EXCLUSIVE, and ACCESS EXCLUSIVE lock modes. The commands UPDATE, DELETE, INSERT, and MERGE acquire this lock mode on the target table (in addition to ACCESS SHARE locks on any other referenced tables). In general, this lock mode will be acquired by any command that modifies data in a table.

Reading PG 18·Select a recorded version

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Compatibility

Compare different transactions holding locks on the same Table lock.

× Conflicting modes

· Compatible modes

View the full compatibility matrices

Commands acquiring this mode

SQL command	Object, phase and conditions
INSERT	Lock the insertion target. Inserting a new row is not equivalent to locking an existing row FOR UPDATE. Source
UPDATE	Lock the target table; affected existing rows also receive row locks. Source
DELETE	Lock the target table; deleted rows also receive FOR UPDATE locks. Source
COPY … FROM	Lock the target and insert new rows. This does not generally lock existing rows FOR UPDATE. Source
MERGE	Lock the target table. Row locking depends on the INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE action actually taken. Source
LOCK TABLE … IN ROW EXCLUSIVE MODE	Request this table mode explicitly. Omitting IN MODE defaults to ACCESS EXCLUSIVE. Source
UPDATE (non-key update)	This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. Source
UPDATE (key update)	This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. Source
MERGE … WHEN MATCHED THEN UPDATE (non-key)	This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. Source
MERGE … WHEN MATCHED THEN DELETE / UPDATE (key)	This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. Source
INSERT … ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE (non-key)	This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. Source
INSERT … ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE (key)	This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. Source
INSERT (foreign-key check)	The write target takes ROW EXCLUSIVE. The foreign-key check takes ROW SHARE and FOR KEY SHARE on a different object: the referenced table and its matching rows. Source
UPDATE (foreign-key check)	The write target takes ROW EXCLUSIVE. The foreign-key check takes ROW SHARE and FOR KEY SHARE on a different object: the referenced table and its matching rows. Source
COPY … FROM (foreign-key check)	The write target takes ROW EXCLUSIVE. The foreign-key check takes ROW SHARE and FOR KEY SHARE on a different object: the referenced table and its matching rows. Source
MERGE (foreign-key check)	The write target takes ROW EXCLUSIVE. The foreign-key check takes ROW SHARE and FOR KEY SHARE on a different object: the referenced table and its matching rows. Source

Other lock modes

conflicts: share, share-row-exclusive, exclusive, access-exclusive
summary: Conflicts with the SHARE, SHARE ROW EXCLUSIVE, EXCLUSIVE, and ACCESS EXCLUSIVE lock modes.

Definition PG 18

Compare versions

Complete source facts

commands

map[label:INSERT note:Lock the insertion target. Inserting a new row is not equivalent to locking an existing row FOR UPDATE. slug:insert source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:011bda5384fe], map[label:UPDATE note:Lock the target table; affected existing rows also receive row locks. slug:update source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:0c9208f1d36f], map[label:DELETE note:Lock the target table; deleted rows also receive FOR UPDATE locks. slug:delete source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:a1f051f53cf5], map[label:COPY … FROM note:Lock the target and insert new rows. This does not generally lock existing rows FOR UPDATE. slug:copy source:map[kind:source path:src/backend/commands/copy.c revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:f50ecc1531109fc172d841d461e209cef611f3d017ef4184034c39e128deabbe url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/src/backend/commands/copy.c] source_url:https://github.com/postgres/postgres/blob/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/src/backend/commands/copy.c variant:35ae102cb391], map[label:MERGE note:Lock the target table. Row locking depends on the INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE action actually taken. slug:merge source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:807c472ed453], map[label:LOCK TABLE … IN ROW EXCLUSIVE MODE note:Request this table mode explicitly. Omitting IN MODE defaults to ACCESS EXCLUSIVE. slug:lock source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:421ca5bc15d6], map[label:UPDATE (non-key update) note:This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. slug:update source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:ff82a8ae4e60], map[label:UPDATE (key update) note:This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. slug:update source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:1982fd8d6bd7], map[label:MERGE … WHEN MATCHED THEN UPDATE (non-key) note:This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. slug:merge source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:85e4fea63221], map[label:MERGE … WHEN MATCHED THEN DELETE / UPDATE (key) note:This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. slug:merge source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:8341438966ce], map[label:INSERT … ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE (non-key) note:This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. slug:insert source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:22d6f52ccf90], map[label:INSERT … ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE (key) note:This write variant takes ROW EXCLUSIVE on its target table. Existing-row locks depend on the action actually performed. slug:insert source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:211a0191f91b], map[label:INSERT (foreign-key check) note:The write target takes ROW EXCLUSIVE. The foreign-key check takes ROW SHARE and FOR KEY SHARE on a different object: the referenced table and its matching rows. slug:insert source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:ffddc0fc16b6], map[label:UPDATE (foreign-key check) note:The write target takes ROW EXCLUSIVE. The foreign-key check takes ROW SHARE and FOR KEY SHARE on a different object: the referenced table and its matching rows. slug:update source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:65d8638ef74c], map[label:COPY … FROM (foreign-key check) note:The write target takes ROW EXCLUSIVE. The foreign-key check takes ROW SHARE and FOR KEY SHARE on a different object: the referenced table and its matching rows. slug:copy source:map[kind:source path:src/backend/commands/copy.c revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:f50ecc1531109fc172d841d461e209cef611f3d017ef4184034c39e128deabbe url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/src/backend/commands/copy.c] source_url:https://github.com/postgres/postgres/blob/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/src/backend/commands/copy.c variant:b85f269c1b8e], map[label:MERGE (foreign-key check) note:The write target takes ROW EXCLUSIVE. The foreign-key check takes ROW SHARE and FOR KEY SHARE on a different object: the referenced table and its matching rows. slug:merge source:map[kind:documentation path:doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml revision:753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd sha256:4b7bf77ee0af4b86052330ff2421d567df3604b75fe7d4f522bec84fdea87340 url:https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/753057e340da8f22e57c9a409ea7a235fd6a46bd/doc/src/sgml/mvcc.sgml] source_url:https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/explicit-locking.html variant:e00dfdc184d6]

provenance

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Source references

Full definition and evidence JSON

Definition sources

center · PostgreSQL 18 · wiki-repair-20261023:ee990d709adaa4dfe9da95e3234f61847b04aa2601710143d523eba675269b3e

Text language: en · wiki-repair-20261023:ee990d709adaa4dfe9da95e3234f61847b04aa2601710143d523eba675269b3e