Truncating all tables in a Postgres database

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.

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');

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

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
  LANGUAGE plpgsql 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
      -- dangerous, test before you execute!
      RAISE NOTICE '%',  -- once confident, comment this line ...
      -- EXECUTE         -- ... and uncomment this one
         format('TRUNCATE TABLE %I.%I CASCADE', _sch, _tbl);
   END LOOP;
END
$func$;

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:

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/23723851/passing-table-names-in-an-array/23729229#23729229

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

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

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
$do$
BEGIN
   -- dangerous, test before you execute!
   RAISE NOTICE '%',  -- once confident, comment this line ...
   -- EXECUTE         -- ... and uncomment this one
   (SELECT 'TRUNCATE TABLE ' || string_agg(oid::regclass::text, ', ') || ' CASCADE'
    FROM   pg_class
    WHERE  relkind = 'r'  -- only tables
    AND    relnamespace = 'public'::regnamespace
   );
END
$do$;

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

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20582500/how-to-check-if-a-table-exists-in-a-given-schema/24089729#24089729

About regclass and quoted table names:

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10705616/table-name-as-a-postgresql-function-parameter/10711349#10711349

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

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

Just execute the query bellow:

DO $$ DECLARE
    r RECORD;
BEGIN
    FOR r IN (SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables WHERE schemaname = current_schema()) LOOP
        EXECUTE 'TRUNCATE TABLE ' || quote_ident(r.tablename) || '';
    END LOOP;
END $$;

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.

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

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)

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;

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.

If you can use psql you can use \gexec meta command to execute query output;

SELECT
    format('TRUNCATE TABLE %I.%I', ns.nspname, c.relname)
  FROM pg_namespace ns 
  JOIN pg_class c ON ns.oid = c.relnamespace
  JOIN pg_roles r ON r.oid = c.relowner
  WHERE
    ns.nspname = 'table schema' AND                               -- add table schema criteria 
    r.rolname = 'table owner' AND                                 -- add table owner criteria
    ns.nspname NOT IN ('pg_catalog', 'information_schema') AND    -- exclude system schemas
    c.relkind = 'r' AND                                           -- tables only
    has_table_privilege(c.oid, 'TRUNCATE')                        -- check current user has truncate privilege
  \gexec 

Note that \gexec is introduced into the version 9.6

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"

You can use something like this to get all truncate queries.

SELECT 'TRUNCATE TABLE ' ||  table_name || ';' 
  FROM information_schema.tables
 WHERE table_schema='schema_name'
   AND table_type='BASE TABLE';