Truncating all tables in a Postgres database

Question

I regularly need to delete all the data from my PostgreSQL database before a rebuild. How would I do this directly in SQL?

At the moment I've managed to come up with a SQL statement that returns all the commands I need to execute:

SELECT 'TRUNCATE TABLE ' ||  tablename || ';' FROM pg_tables WHERE tableowner='MYUSER';

But I can't see a way to execute them programmatically once I have them.

Answer 1

FrustratedWithFormsDesigner is correct, PL/pgSQL can do this. Here's the script:

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION truncate_tables(username IN VARCHAR) RETURNS void AS $$
DECLARE
    statements CURSOR FOR
        SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables
        WHERE tableowner = username AND schemaname = 'public';
BEGIN
    FOR stmt IN statements LOOP
        EXECUTE 'TRUNCATE TABLE ' || quote_ident(stmt.tablename) || ' CASCADE;';
    END LOOP;
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

This creates a stored function (you need to do this just once) which you can afterwards use like this:

SELECT truncate_tables('MYUSER');

Answer 2

Explicit cursors are rarely needed in plpgsql. Use the simpler and faster implicit cursor of a FOR loop:

Note: Since table names are not unique per database, you have to schema-qualify table names to be sure. Also, I limit the function to the default schema 'public'. Adapt to your needs, but be sure to exclude the system schemas pg_* and information_schema.

Be very careful with these functions. They nuke your database. I added a child safety device. Comment the RAISE NOTICE line and uncomment EXECUTE to prime the bomb ...

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION f_truncate_tables(_username text)
  RETURNS void AS
$func$
DECLARE
   _tbl text;
   _sch text;
BEGIN
   FOR _sch, _tbl IN 
      SELECT schemaname, tablename
      FROM   pg_tables
      WHERE  tableowner = _username
      AND    schemaname = 'public'
   LOOP
      RAISE NOTICE '%',
      -- EXECUTE  -- dangerous, test before you execute!
         format('TRUNCATE TABLE %I.%I CASCADE', _sch, _tbl);
   END LOOP;
END
$func$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

format() requires Postgres 9.1 or later. In older versions concatenate the query string like this:

'TRUNCATE TABLE ' || quote_ident(_sch) || '.' || quote_ident(_tbl)  || ' CASCADE';

Single command, no loop

Since we can TRUNCATE multiple tables at once we don't need any cursor or loop at all:

• Passing table names in an array

Aggregate all table names and execute a single statement. Simpler, faster:

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION f_truncate_tables(_username text)
  RETURNS void AS
$func$
BEGIN
   RAISE NOTICE '%', 
   -- EXECUTE  -- dangerous, test before you execute!
  (SELECT 'TRUNCATE TABLE '
       || string_agg(format('%I.%I', schemaname, tablename), ', ')
       || ' CASCADE'
   FROM   pg_tables
   WHERE  tableowner = _username
   AND    schemaname = 'public'
   );
END
$func$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

Call:

SELECT truncate_tables('postgres');

Refined query

You don't even need a function. In Postgres 9.0+ you can execute dynamic commands in a DO statement. And in Postgres 9.5+ the syntax can be even simpler:

DO
$func$
BEGIN
   RAISE NOTICE '%', 
   -- EXECUTE
   (SELECT 'TRUNCATE TABLE ' || string_agg(oid::regclass::text, ', ') || ' CASCADE'
    FROM   pg_class
    WHERE  relkind = 'r'  -- only tables
    AND    relnamespace = 'public'::regnamespace
   );
END
$func$;

About the difference between pg_class, pg_tables and information_schema.tables:

• How to check if a table exists in a given schema

About regclass and quoted table names:

• Table name as a PostgreSQL function parameter

For repeated use

Create a "template" database (let's name it my_template) with your vanilla structure and all empty tables. Then go through a DROP / CREATE DATABASE cycle:

DROP DATABASE mydb;
CREATE DATABASE mydb TEMPLATE my_template;

This is extremely fast, because Postgres copies the whole structure on the file level. No concurrency issues or other overhead slowing you down.

If concurrent connections keep you from dropping the DB, consider:

• Force drop db while others may be connected

Answer 3

If I have to do this, I will simply create a schema sql of current db, then drop & create db, then load db with schema sql.

Below are the steps involved:

1) Create Schema dump of database (--schema-only)

pg_dump mydb -s > schema.sql

2) Drop database

drop database mydb;

3) Create Database

create database mydb;

4) Import Schema

psql mydb < schema.sql

Answer 4

In this case it would probably be better to just have an empty database that you use as a template and when you need to refresh, drop the existing database and create a new one from the template.

Answer 5

Could you use dynamic SQL to execute each statement in turn? You would probably have to write a PL/pgSQL script to do this.

http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.3/static/plpgsql-statements.html (section 38.5.4. Executing Dynamic Commands)

Answer 6

You can do this with bash also:

#!/bin/bash
PGPASSWORD='' psql -h 127.0.0.1 -Upostgres sng --tuples-only --command "SELECT 'TRUNCATE TABLE ' || schemaname || '.' ||  tablename || ';' FROM pg_tables WHERE schemaname in ('cms_test', 'ids_test', 'logs_test', 'sps_test');" | 
tr "\\n" " " | 
xargs -I{} psql -h 127.0.0.1 -Upostgres sng --command "{}"

You will need to adjust schema names, passwords and usernames to match your schemas.

Answer 7

Cleaning AUTO_INCREMENT version:

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION truncate_tables(username IN VARCHAR) RETURNS void AS $$
DECLARE
    statements CURSOR FOR
        SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables
        WHERE tableowner = username AND schemaname = 'public';
BEGIN
    FOR stmt IN statements LOOP
        EXECUTE 'TRUNCATE TABLE ' || quote_ident(stmt.tablename) || ' CASCADE;';

        IF EXISTS (
            SELECT column_name 
            FROM information_schema.columns 
            WHERE table_name=quote_ident(stmt.tablename) and column_name='id'
        ) THEN
           EXECUTE 'ALTER SEQUENCE ' || quote_ident(stmt.tablename) || '_id_seq RESTART WITH 1';
        END IF;

    END LOOP;
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

Answer 8

For removing the data and preserving the table-structures in pgAdmin you can do:

• Right-click database -> backup, select "Schema only"
• Drop the database
• Create a new database and name it like the former
• Right-click the new database -> restore -> select the backup, select "Schema only"

Answer 9

Guys the better and clean way is to :

1) Create Schema dump of database (--schema-only) pg_dump mydb -s > schema.sql

2) Drop database drop database mydb;

3) Create Database create database mydb;

4) Import Schema psql mydb < schema.sql

It´s work for me!

Have a nice day. Hiram Walker