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P0000ERRORTier 2 — Caution✅ HIGH confidence

plpgsql_error

Category: PL/pgSQL ErrorVersions: All PostgreSQL versions with PL/pgSQL

What this means

A generic PL/pgSQL error that does not fall into a more specific PL/pgSQL error category. Used as the catch-all SQLSTATE for PL/pgSQL runtime errors.

Why it happens

  1. 1PL/pgSQL RAISE with SQLSTATE P0000 (or no SQLSTATE specified)
  2. 2Unclassified runtime error in a PL/pgSQL function
  3. 3Exception block catches and re-raises with P0000

How to reproduce

Execution of a PL/pgSQL function or procedure that encounters a generic error

trigger — this will ERROR
DO $ BEGIN RAISE EXCEPTION USING ERRCODE = 'P0000', MESSAGE = 'generic plpgsql error'; END $;
ERROR: P0000: generic plpgsql error

Fix 1: Use a more specific SQLSTATE or error message

You control the PL/pgSQL code raising this error

fix
RAISE EXCEPTION 'More descriptive error message' USING ERRCODE = '22023';

Why this works

Using a specific SQLSTATE helps callers catch and handle specific error types

What not to do

Do not use P0000 for application errors you want callers to handle specifically

Why it's wrong: P0000 is a catch-all; callers cannot distinguish it from other P0000 errors

Sources

📚 Official docs: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/plpgsql-errors-and-messages.html

🔧 Source ref: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/errcodes-appendix.html

📖 Further reading:

Confidence assessment

✅ HIGH confidence

Standard PL/pgSQL error SQLSTATE from official PostgreSQL appendix.

See also

📄 Reference pages

PL/pgSQL error handling
⚙️ This error reference was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy. Examples are provided to illustrate common scenarios and may not cover every case. Always test fixes in a development environment before applying to production. Spotted an error? Suggest a correction →