Vol. I · A Postgres Handbook

The Query & the Schema

A reading-room reference for writing PostgreSQL by hand — selects to window functions, with the schema in plain view.

EasyINSERT, UPDATE, DELETE

INSERT with RETURNING to get generated ID

The query

SQL
INSERT INTO customers (name, email, country, tier)
VALUES ('Priya Singh', 'priya@example.com', 'India', 'premium')
RETURNING cust_id, name, joined_at;
Tested against PostgreSQL 16

Note

“RETURNING is PostgreSQL-specific. Returns columns from the inserted row — no separate SELECT needed.

Tables referenced