The “quota exceeded” error means the database or user reached its disk-space limit, blocking new writes until space is freed or the limit is raised.
PostgreSQL throws the error when the operating-system quota, tablespace size, or temp_file_limit
is hit. No new rows, indexes, or temporary files can be created until space is reclaimed or limits are adjusted.
Run pg_size_pretty(pg_total_relation_size(...))
on large relations or query pg_tablespace_size
. Focus on write-heavy tables like Orders
and OrderItems
.
Delete obsolete rows, archive old partitions, or move tables to cheaper storage. Follow up with VACUUM FULL
or CLUSTER
to release disk blocks.
Yes. Increase filesystem quotas, extend the disk, or add a new tablespace and move data with ALTER TABLE ... SET TABLESPACE
.
Raise temp_file_limit
at user or database level. Optimize queries to create fewer sort/hash spill files by adding indexes or using LIMIT
.
Use pg_stat_statements
and alerts on pg_tablespace_size
to catch growth early, avoiding sudden outages.
max_wal_size
help?No. The error is about data or temp space, not WAL size. Focus on tablespace usage.
Yes. Use ALTER INDEX idx_name SET TABLESPACE new_ts
for large indexes like those on OrderItems(product_id)
.