How to update selected rows with values from a CSV file in Postgres?
I'm using Postgres and would like to make a big update query that would pick up from a CSV file, lets say I got a table that's got (id, banana, apple).
I'd like to run an update that changes the Bananas and not the Apples, each new Banana and their ID would be in a CSV file.
I tried looking at the Postgres site but the examples are killing me.
Answer
COPY the file to a temporary staging table and update the actual table from there. Like:
CREATE TEMP TABLE tmp_x (id int, apple text, banana text); -- but see below
COPY tmp_x FROM '/absolute/path/to/file' (FORMAT csv);
UPDATE tbl
SET banana = tmp_x.banana
FROM tmp_x
WHERE tbl.id = tmp_x.id;
DROP TABLE tmp_x; -- else it is dropped at end of session automatically
If the imported table matches the table to be updated exactly, this may be convenient:
CREATE TEMP TABLE tmp_x AS SELECT * FROM tbl LIMIT 0;
Creates an empty temporary table matching the structure of the existing table, without constraints.
Privileges
SQL COPY requires superuser privileges for this. (The manual):
COPYnaming a file or command is only allowed to database superusers, since it allows reading or writing any file that the server has privileges to access.
The psql meta-command \copy works for any db role. The manual:
Performs a frontend (client) copy. This is an operation that runs an SQL
COPYcommand, but instead of the server reading or writing the specified file, psql reads or writes the file and routes the data between the server and the local file system. This means that file accessibility and privileges are those of the local user, not the server, and no SQL superuser privileges are required.
The scope of temporary tables is limited to a single session of a single role, so the above has to be executed in the same psql session:
CREATE TEMP TABLE ...;
\copy tmp_x FROM '/absolute/path/to/file' (FORMAT csv);
UPDATE ...;
If you are scripting this in a bash command, be sure to wrap it all in a single psql call. Like:
echo 'CREATE TEMP TABLE tmp_x ...; \copy tmp_x FROM ...; UPDATE ...;' | psql
Normally, you need the meta-command \\ to switch between psql meta commands and SQL comands in psql, but \copy is an exception to this rule. The manual again:
special parsing rules apply to the
\copymeta-command. Unlike most other meta-commands, the entire remainder of the line is always taken to be the arguments of\copy, and neither variable interpolation nor backquote expansion are performed in the arguments.
Big tables
If the import-table is big it may pay to increase temp_buffers temporarily for the session (first thing in the session):
SET temp_buffers = '500MB'; -- example value
Add an index to the temporary table:
CREATE INDEX tmp_x_id_idx ON tmp_x(id);
And run ANALYZE manually, since temporary tables are not covered by autovacuum / auto-analyze.
ANALYZE tmp_x;
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