Delete all data in SQL Server database

Question

How I can delete all records from all tables of my database? Can I do it with one SQL command or I need for one SQL command per one table?

Answer 1

EXEC sp_MSForEachTable 'ALTER TABLE ? NOCHECK CONSTRAINT ALL'

EXEC sp_MSForEachTable 'ALTER TABLE ? DISABLE TRIGGER ALL'

EXEC sp_MSForEachTable 'DELETE FROM ?'

EXEC sp_MSForEachTable 'ALTER TABLE ? CHECK CONSTRAINT ALL'

EXEC sp_MSForEachTable 'ALTER TABLE ? ENABLE TRIGGER ALL'

EXEC sp_MSFOREACHTABLE 'SELECT * FROM ?'

GO

Answer 2

/* Drop all non-system stored procs */
DECLARE @name VARCHAR(128)
DECLARE @SQL VARCHAR(254)

SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 [name] FROM sysobjects WHERE [type] = 'P' AND category = 0 ORDER BY [name])

WHILE @name is not null
BEGIN
    SELECT @SQL = 'DROP PROCEDURE [dbo].[' + RTRIM(@name) +']'
    EXEC (@SQL)
    PRINT 'Dropped Procedure: ' + @name
    SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 [name] FROM sysobjects WHERE [type] = 'P' AND category = 0 AND [name] > @name ORDER BY [name])
END
GO

/* Drop all views */
DECLARE @name VARCHAR(128)
DECLARE @SQL VARCHAR(254)

SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 [name] FROM sysobjects WHERE [type] = 'V' AND category = 0 ORDER BY [name])

WHILE @name IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
    SELECT @SQL = 'DROP VIEW [dbo].[' + RTRIM(@name) +']'
    EXEC (@SQL)
    PRINT 'Dropped View: ' + @name
    SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 [name] FROM sysobjects WHERE [type] = 'V' AND category = 0 AND [name] > @name ORDER BY [name])
END
GO

/* Drop all functions */
DECLARE @name VARCHAR(128)
DECLARE @SQL VARCHAR(254)

SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 [name] FROM sysobjects WHERE [type] IN (N'FN', N'IF', N'TF', N'FS', N'FT') AND category = 0 ORDER BY [name])

WHILE @name IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
    SELECT @SQL = 'DROP FUNCTION [dbo].[' + RTRIM(@name) +']'
    EXEC (@SQL)
    PRINT 'Dropped Function: ' + @name
    SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 [name] FROM sysobjects WHERE [type] IN (N'FN', N'IF', N'TF', N'FS', N'FT') AND category = 0 AND [name] > @name ORDER BY [name])
END
GO

/* Drop all Foreign Key constraints */
DECLARE @name VARCHAR(128)
DECLARE @constraint VARCHAR(254)
DECLARE @SQL VARCHAR(254)

SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 TABLE_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS WHERE constraint_catalog=DB_NAME() AND CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'FOREIGN KEY' ORDER BY TABLE_NAME)

WHILE @name is not null
BEGIN
    SELECT @constraint = (SELECT TOP 1 CONSTRAINT_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS WHERE constraint_catalog=DB_NAME() AND CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'FOREIGN KEY' AND TABLE_NAME = @name ORDER BY CONSTRAINT_NAME)
    WHILE @constraint IS NOT NULL
    BEGIN
        SELECT @SQL = 'ALTER TABLE [dbo].[' + RTRIM(@name) +'] DROP CONSTRAINT [' + RTRIM(@constraint) +']'
        EXEC (@SQL)
        PRINT 'Dropped FK Constraint: ' + @constraint + ' on ' + @name
        SELECT @constraint = (SELECT TOP 1 CONSTRAINT_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS WHERE constraint_catalog=DB_NAME() AND CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'FOREIGN KEY' AND CONSTRAINT_NAME <> @constraint AND TABLE_NAME = @name ORDER BY CONSTRAINT_NAME)
    END
SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 TABLE_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS WHERE constraint_catalog=DB_NAME() AND CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'FOREIGN KEY' ORDER BY TABLE_NAME)
END
GO

/* Drop all Primary Key constraints */
DECLARE @name VARCHAR(128)
DECLARE @constraint VARCHAR(254)
DECLARE @SQL VARCHAR(254)

SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 TABLE_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS WHERE constraint_catalog=DB_NAME() AND CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'PRIMARY KEY' ORDER BY TABLE_NAME)

WHILE @name IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
    SELECT @constraint = (SELECT TOP 1 CONSTRAINT_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS WHERE constraint_catalog=DB_NAME() AND CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'PRIMARY KEY' AND TABLE_NAME = @name ORDER BY CONSTRAINT_NAME)
    WHILE @constraint is not null
    BEGIN
        SELECT @SQL = 'ALTER TABLE [dbo].[' + RTRIM(@name) +'] DROP CONSTRAINT [' + RTRIM(@constraint)+']'
        EXEC (@SQL)
        PRINT 'Dropped PK Constraint: ' + @constraint + ' on ' + @name
        SELECT @constraint = (SELECT TOP 1 CONSTRAINT_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS WHERE constraint_catalog=DB_NAME() AND CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'PRIMARY KEY' AND CONSTRAINT_NAME <> @constraint AND TABLE_NAME = @name ORDER BY CONSTRAINT_NAME)
    END
SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 TABLE_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS WHERE constraint_catalog=DB_NAME() AND CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'PRIMARY KEY' ORDER BY TABLE_NAME)
END
GO

/* Drop all tables */
DECLARE @name VARCHAR(128)
DECLARE @SQL VARCHAR(254)

SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 [name] FROM sysobjects WHERE [type] = 'U' AND category = 0 ORDER BY [name])

WHILE @name IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
    SELECT @SQL = 'DROP TABLE [dbo].[' + RTRIM(@name) +']'
    EXEC (@SQL)
    PRINT 'Dropped Table: ' + @name
    SELECT @name = (SELECT TOP 1 [name] FROM sysobjects WHERE [type] = 'U' AND category = 0 AND [name] > @name ORDER BY [name])
END
GO

Answer 3

SQLMenace's solution worked for me with a slight tweak to how data is deleted - DELETE FROM instead of TRUNCATE.

-- disable referential integrity
EXEC sp_MSForEachTable 'ALTER TABLE ? NOCHECK CONSTRAINT ALL' 
GO 

EXEC sp_MSForEachTable 'DELETE FROM ?' 
GO 

-- enable referential integrity again 
EXEC sp_MSForEachTable 'ALTER TABLE ? WITH CHECK CHECK CONSTRAINT ALL' 
GO

Answer 4

I'm aware this is late, but I agree with AlexKuznetsov's suggestion to script the database, rather than going through the hassle of purging the data from the tables. If the TRUNCATE solution will not work, and you happen to have a large amount of data, issuing (logged) DELETE statements might take a long time, and you'll be left with identifiers that have not been reseeded (i.e. an INSERT statement into a table with an IDENTITY column would get you an ID of 50000 instead of an ID of 1).

To script a whole database, in SSMS, right-click the database, then select TASKS -> Generate scripts:

Click Next to skip the Wizard opening screen, and then select which objects you want to script:

In the Set scripting options screen, you can pick settings for the scripting, like whether to generate 1 script for all the objects, or separate scripts for the individual objects, and whether to save the file in Unicode or ANSI:

The wizard will show a summary, which you can use to verify everything is as desired, and close by clicking on 'Finish'.