Thrown when a duplicate value violates a unique constraint.
Identify the constraint causing the violation by checking the error message detail. The error message typically specifies which constraint was violated (e.g., "DETAIL: Key (column_name)=(value) already exists.").
Query the table to confirm the existence of the duplicate data causing the violation. For example, if the error mentions a unique constraint on column_name, run:
SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column_name = 'value_that_violates_constraint';
Decide on an action based on the query results:
If the duplicate data should not exist, and it's safe to remove, delete or update the conflicting record. For deletion:
DELETE FROM table_name WHERE column_name = 'value_that_violates_constraint';
If the new data should be inserted without the conflicting value, adjust the data to not violate the unique constraint and attempt the operation again.
If you are trying to update a record and hit this issue, ensure you are not inadvertently trying to set a value in a unique column that already exists in another row. Adjust the update statement accordingly.
If the operation should allow duplicates under certain conditions, consider whether the database schema needs to be adjusted, such as adding a WHERE clause to a partial unique index to allow for the specific use case.
Log or report the incident as appropriate for your environment to keep track of such errors for future schema or application logic improvements.
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