PostgreSQL Error 22004 (null_value_not_allowed) appears when an INSERT or UPDATE attempts to put NULL into a column defined as NOT NULL or violates a domain constraint.
PostgreSQL Error 22004 – null_value_not_allowed occurs when a statement assigns NULL to a NOT NULL column or domain. Review the column definition, supply a non-NULL value, or drop the NOT NULL constraint to resolve the failure.
PostgreSQL Error 22004
Error 22004 is a PostgreSQL data-integrity exception that fires when a query attempts to store a NULL in a target that forbids NULLs. The target can be a table column declared NOT NULL, a domain with a NOT NULL constraint, or a composite field inheriting such rules.
The server aborts the statement to protect data consistency.
Fixing the violation quickly is critical, because repeated failures block ETL jobs, application writes, and downstream analytics.
INSERT or UPDATE statements that omit required columns trigger the exception when default values are not defined. ORMs often create partial column lists that silently pass NULL, causing runtime surprises.
Explicit NULL values supplied by application code will also raise error 22004 if the column is NOT NULL.
Bulk loads with COPY may fail when CSV fields are empty.
Identify the offending column in the error message. Provide a non-NULL literal or expression, use DEFAULT where appropriate, or relax the constraint.
If business logic requires NULLs, drop or alter the NOT NULL constraint.
Otherwise, backfill existing rows, then add NOT NULL and default clauses to prevent future NULLs.
Missing timestamp columns in application INSERTs break older code after a schema change. Add the column to the insert list or define DEFAULT now().
COPY FROM CSV with empty strings fails when the target is NOT NULL.
Use CSV NULL handling (NULL "") or pre-clean the file.
Always declare sensible DEFAULT values for NOT NULL columns. Continuous integration tests should run INSERT/UPDATE suites after each migration.
Enable application-side validation and leverage Galaxy’s AI copilot to warn about NULL risk during query generation.
Error 23502 (not_null_violation) is thrown when NULL violates a NOT NULL constraint at table level. Error 23514 (check_violation) fires when CHECK constraints fail.
Both are fixed by aligning input values with constraint rules.
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No. Domains, composite types, and function arguments with NOT NULL also raise this error when they receive NULL.
PostgreSQL will not allow it unless you drop the NOT NULL constraint. Ignoring is impossible without schema change.
Existing INSERT statements that list the column explicitly as NULL override the default. Remove the column from the column list or supply DEFAULT.
Galaxy’s schema-aware autocomplete highlights NOT NULL fields and suggests safe defaults, reducing the chance of runtime 22004 errors.
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