↑↓ select↵ open⌫ change scopeOpen full search

PG.CENTER connects PostgreSQL documentation, reference, and ecosystem knowledge. Maintained by Pigsty.

Wiki / SQLSTATE

24000 — invalid_cursor_state

24000 means the cursor or portal state does not satisfy the operation. The selected CURRENT OF case declares a valid cursor but tries to update before FETCH has positioned it, producing “cursor ... is not positioned on a row”.

English manual coverage begins with PostgreSQL 8.1. Source history and runtime observations have their own recorded version boundaries.

Reading PG 18·Select a recorded version

8.18.28.38.49.09.19.29.39.49.59.61011121314151617181920
aliases
Unknown
class name
Invalid Cursor State
condition name
invalid_cursor_state
lang
en
sqlstate
24000

Definition PG 18

24000 — invalid_cursor_state

At a glance {#at-a-glance}

24000 means the cursor or portal state does not satisfy the operation. The selected CURRENT OF case declares a valid cursor but tries to update before FETCH has positioned it, producing “cursor ... is not positioned on a row”.

Meaning {#meaning}

WHERE CURRENT OF needs a cursor declared for an updatable query, with a current row selected by FETCH. Declaration alone is not positioning. PostgreSQL uses 24000 for other cursor states too, including non-SELECT, held, non-updatable, or missing FOR UPDATE/SHARE references.

Diagnosis {#diagnosis}

Record the cursor name and operation, then inspect declaration, transaction lifetime, FETCH direction, and whether the cursor is updatable. In an explicit transaction the selected error leaves INERROR; ROLLBACK restores IDLE. The selected repair updates by primary key, so it verifies transaction recovery and a safe direct repair, not a second DECLARE/FETCH path.

Response {#response}

Position the cursor with FETCH before CURRENT OF, or use a deterministic key-based update when that is the intended operation. Keep cursor lifetime and transaction boundaries explicit, and roll back a failed transaction before issuing the repair.

Observed diagnostics {#messages}

18.6 (Homebrew) / latest:SQLSTATE 24000; primary cursor "item_cursor" is not positioned on a row; after_error INERROR; after_rollback IDLE. 10.21 (Debian 10.21-1.pgdg90+1) / pg10:SQLSTATE 24000; primary cursor "item_cursor" is not positioned on a row; after_error INERROR; after_rollback IDLE.

Representative case {#case}

The runner reads these statements from verify/cases/24000/snippets.json (SHA-256 cafca57825378362df0527384614bf658bf86cd3101e1eb520ea0641819f2789) and qualifies the temporary table names; the complete setup, assertions, and cleanup are in the case export.

-- create
CREATE TABLE items(id integer PRIMARY KEY, note text NOT NULL);
-- seed
INSERT INTO items VALUES (1, 'seed');
-- begin
BEGIN;
-- declare
DECLARE item_cursor CURSOR FOR SELECT id FROM items FOR UPDATE;
-- trigger
UPDATE items SET note = 'bad' WHERE CURRENT OF item_cursor;
-- rollback
ROLLBACK;
-- repair
UPDATE items SET note = 'repaired' WHERE id = 1;
-- verify
SELECT id, note FROM items;

The SQLSTATE, diagnostic, transaction-state, and repair assertions for this excerpt are produced from the shared registry; structured evidence · case export.

Authored evidence IDs: identity, current-of, runtime. Selected runtime records: runtime.24000-batch1-latest2-20260909.latest, runtime.24000-batch1-pg10-20260909.pg10.

Versions {#versions}

The locked catalogue observes the condition by 7.4 and in all listed formal snapshots. The selected before-FETCH path passes on 18.6 and 10.21; other cursor-state templates require separate cases.

Related {#related}

Compare 25001 active SQL transaction, 25P02 failed SQL transaction, and 34000 invalid cursor name.

Sources {#sources}

Compare versions

SQLSTATE evidence and recorded runtime versions

cases · current_of_before_fetch
{
  "assertions": [
    "SQLSTATE is 24000",
    "The connection recovers after rollback",
    "A direct update succeeds afterward"
  ],
  "case_id": "current_of_before_fetch",
  "cleanup": "Drop the case schema with an owner connection.",
  "has_snippet": true,
  "position": 0,
  "preconditions": [
    "A cursor is declared for a SELECT ... FOR UPDATE",
    "The cursor has not fetched a row"
  ],
  "repair": "Fetch or otherwise position the cursor before CURRENT OF, or use a key-based update whose concurrency semantics are explicit.",
  "trigger": "Use WHERE CURRENT OF before the cursor is positioned on a row.",
  "versions": [
    "10",
    "18"
  ]
}
claims · identity
{
  "claim_id": "identity",
  "limits": "The class has several cursor/portal states; the observed message is one path.",
  "method": "Read the fixed condition row.",
  "position": 0,
  "runtime": [],
  "sources": [
    "src.errcodes.18.6"
  ],
  "statement": "24000 is invalid_cursor_state in Class 24."
}
claims · current-of
{
  "claim_id": "current-of",
  "limits": "A cursor can be validly declared yet still be unpositioned; declaration alone does not make CURRENT OF usable.",
  "method": "Trace execCurrent and the documented DECLARE/CURRENT OF rules.",
  "position": 1,
  "runtime": [],
  "sources": [
    "src.execCurrent.18.6",
    "doc.declare.18.6",
    "doc.update.18.6",
    "src.calls.REL_18_6"
  ],
  "statement": "UPDATE or DELETE ... WHERE CURRENT OF requires a positioned, updatable cursor row; before FETCH the executor reports 24000."
}
claims · runtime
{
  "claim_id": "runtime",
  "limits": "Only the before-FETCH CURRENT OF path was run; other cursor states use other source templates.",
  "method": "Read the selected summaries and raw diagnostics.",
  "position": 2,
  "runtime": [],
  "sources": [
    "runtime.24000-batch1-latest2-20260909.latest",
    "runtime.24000-batch1-pg10-20260909.pg10"
  ],
  "statement": "The selected explicit transaction case returned 24000 before FETCH, entered INERROR, recovered after ROLLBACK, and then directly repaired the row on PG18.6 and PG10.21."
}
messages · unpositioned
{
  "limits": "The same template is also used by another CURRENT OF path; the cursor name is substituted at runtime.",
  "message_id": "unpositioned",
  "path": "",
  "position": 0,
  "raw": {
    "id": "unpositioned",
    "limits": "The same template is also used by another CURRENT OF path; the cursor name is substituted at runtime.",
    "primary_template": "cursor \"%s\" is not positioned on a row",
    "severity_source": "ERROR",
    "sources": [
      "src.execCurrent.18.6"
    ],
    "sqlstate": "24000"
  },
  "severity": "ERROR",
  "sources": [
    "src.execCurrent.18.6"
  ],
  "templates": [
    {
      "kind": "primary",
      "literal": "cursor \" \" is not positioned on a row",
      "position": 0,
      "role": "",
      "template": "cursor \"%s\" is not positioned on a row"
    }
  ]
}
runtimes · runtime.24000-batch1-latest2-20260909.latest · 18.6 (Homebrew) · passed
{
  "cases": [
    "current_of_before_fetch"
  ],
  "limits": "",
  "position": 0,
  "raw": {
    "case_manifest": {
      "path": "verify/cases/24000/cases.json",
      "sha256": "5a52a1c37d8702961515d9d32e7c5285ca3a9cebe0a16492858864ce933a1b1c"
    },
    "cases": [
      "current_of_before_fetch"
    ],
    "id": "runtime.24000-batch1-latest2-20260909.latest",
    "observed": {
      "after_error": "INERROR",
      "after_rollback": "IDLE",
      "primary": "cursor \"item_cursor\" is not positioned on a row",
      "repaired_row": [
        1,
        "repaired"
      ],
      "sqlstate": "24000"
    },
    "raw": "verify/results/24000-batch1-latest2-20260909/latest/raw.jsonl",
    "raw_sha256": "567d6fb5a4c4f6e881050992aa833c79999d5018cba753b41021483f59e7069c",
    "run_id": "24000-batch1-latest2-20260909",
    "server_version": "18.6 (Homebrew)",
    "server_version_num": 180006,
    "snippet_registry": {
      "path": "verify/cases/24000/snippets.json",
      "sha256": "cafca57825378362df0527384614bf658bf86cd3101e1eb520ea0641819f2789"
    },
    "status": "passed",
    "summary": "verify/results/24000-batch1-latest2-20260909/latest/summary.json",
    "summary_sha256": "d14d912dad21157c8911b7ec6f16eb5b995b4efd387cca830b826a4ff17039d6",
    "target": "latest"
  },
  "run_id": "24000-batch1-latest2-20260909",
  "runtime_id": "runtime.24000-batch1-latest2-20260909.latest",
  "server_version": "18.6 (Homebrew)",
  "status": "passed",
  "target": "latest"
}
runtimes · runtime.24000-batch1-pg10-20260909.pg10 · 10.21 (Debian 10.21-1.pgdg90+1) · passed
{
  "cases": [
    "current_of_before_fetch"
  ],
  "limits": "",
  "position": 1,
  "raw": {
    "case_manifest": {
      "path": "verify/cases/24000/cases.json",
      "sha256": "5a52a1c37d8702961515d9d32e7c5285ca3a9cebe0a16492858864ce933a1b1c"
    },
    "cases": [
      "current_of_before_fetch"
    ],
    "id": "runtime.24000-batch1-pg10-20260909.pg10",
    "observed": {
      "after_error": "INERROR",
      "after_rollback": "IDLE",
      "primary": "cursor \"item_cursor\" is not positioned on a row",
      "repaired_row": [
        1,
        "repaired"
      ],
      "sqlstate": "24000"
    },
    "raw": "verify/results/24000-batch1-pg10-20260909/pg10/raw.jsonl",
    "raw_sha256": "cf77c7f96913d2a33315afa186be2fd51eb100f69da7d5540ed708f41b5bde3f",
    "run_id": "24000-batch1-pg10-20260909",
    "server_version": "10.21 (Debian 10.21-1.pgdg90+1)",
    "server_version_num": 100021,
    "snippet_registry": {
      "path": "verify/cases/24000/snippets.json",
      "sha256": "cafca57825378362df0527384614bf658bf86cd3101e1eb520ea0641819f2789"
    },
    "status": "passed",
    "summary": "verify/results/24000-batch1-pg10-20260909/pg10/summary.json",
    "summary_sha256": "9a38d0b3ee7ffa8f3018ceb09045cc78ae4c2bccd004a6c369cf9cbc76089851",
    "target": "pg10"
  },
  "run_id": "24000-batch1-pg10-20260909",
  "runtime_id": "runtime.24000-batch1-pg10-20260909.pg10",
  "server_version": "10.21 (Debian 10.21-1.pgdg90+1)",
  "status": "passed",
  "target": "pg10"
}
sources · src.errcodes.18.6
{
  "commit": "724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7",
  "docs_url": "",
  "kind": "upstream_source",
  "location": "",
  "path": "src/backend/utils/errcodes.txt",
  "position": 0,
  "sha256": "6e8de346643ba84aa3c9c6a73360acfc7b2dfb89162c06c08ce9bf5bcd5bbcba",
  "source_id": "src.errcodes.18.6",
  "tag": "REL_18_6",
  "url": "https://github.com/postgres/postgres/blob/724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7/src/backend/utils/errcodes.txt"
}
sources · src.calls.REL_18_6
{
  "commit": "",
  "docs_url": "",
  "kind": "local_artifact",
  "location": "",
  "path": "raw/calls/REL_18_6.jsonl",
  "position": 1,
  "sha256": "9ee8a0e81d8f0825c5c1ae45583439859a26e602bdd4ce2f2a62aa278867ccbf",
  "source_id": "src.calls.REL_18_6",
  "tag": "",
  "url": ""
}
sources · src.execCurrent.18.6
{
  "commit": "724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7",
  "docs_url": "",
  "kind": "upstream_source",
  "location": "",
  "path": "src/backend/executor/execCurrent.c",
  "position": 2,
  "sha256": "45c8e48b3a5dc46f1014482dc88e0a26c25c3a4c403372112474d9171253d8a9",
  "source_id": "src.execCurrent.18.6",
  "tag": "REL_18_6",
  "url": "https://github.com/postgres/postgres/blob/724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7/src/backend/executor/execCurrent.c#L135-L138"
}
sources · doc.declare.18.6
{
  "commit": "724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7",
  "docs_url": "https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/sql-declare.html",
  "kind": "upstream_source",
  "location": "",
  "path": "doc/src/sgml/ref/declare.sgml",
  "position": 3,
  "sha256": "f1d72befb9a989aa32123560aea784a8bccfcb3d3930804a101d8245e5a3cc95",
  "source_id": "doc.declare.18.6",
  "tag": "REL_18_6",
  "url": "https://github.com/postgres/postgres/blob/724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7/doc/src/sgml/ref/declare.sgml#L275-L285"
}
sources · doc.update.18.6
{
  "commit": "724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7",
  "docs_url": "https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/sql-update.html",
  "kind": "upstream_source",
  "location": "",
  "path": "doc/src/sgml/ref/update.sgml",
  "position": 4,
  "sha256": "47dd724cd724bd77478215a4853aa1f985996a0e5bba9b2451a1ad1ebb6e51fc",
  "source_id": "doc.update.18.6",
  "tag": "REL_18_6",
  "url": "https://github.com/postgres/postgres/blob/724edf9bde9d356724ad384a2e196edc3c9f80f7/doc/src/sgml/ref/update.sgml#L203-L211"
}

Source references

Full definition and evidence JSON

Definition sources

center · PostgreSQL 18 · english-manuals:ea437c8357667a89d3001ec920203a65b1f5087d24d2e4eaa5d31bfe0929cc46

Text language: en · english-manuals:ea437c8357667a89d3001ec920203a65b1f5087d24d2e4eaa5d31bfe0929cc46