pg_dbms_errlog

Emulate DBMS_ERRLOG Oracle module to log DML errors in a dedicated table.

Overview

PackageVersionCategoryLicenseLanguage
pg_dbms_errlog2.2SIMISCC
IDExtensionBinLibLoadCreateTrustRelocSchema
9270pg_dbms_errlogNoYesNoYesNoNodbms_errlog
Relatedpg_dbms_metadata pg_dbms_lock pg_dbms_job

Version

TypeRepoVersionPG VerPackageDeps
EXTPGDG2.21817161514pg_dbms_errlog-
RPMPGDG2.21817161514pg_dbms_errlog_$v-
OS / PGPG18PG17PG16PG15PG14
el8.x86_64
el8.aarch64
el9.x86_64
el9.aarch64
el10.x86_64
el10.aarch64
PGDG 2.2
PGDG 2.2
PGDG 2.2
PGDG 2.2
PGDG 2.2
d12.x86_64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
d12.aarch64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
d13.x86_64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
d13.aarch64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
u22.x86_64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
u22.aarch64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
u24.x86_64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
u24.aarch64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS

Install

You can install pg_dbms_errlog directly. First, make sure the PGDG repository is added and enabled:

pig repo add pgdg -u          # Add PGDG repo and update cache

Install the extension using pig or apt/yum/dnf:

pig install pg_dbms_errlog;          # Install for current active PG version
pig ext install -y pg_dbms_errlog -v 18  # PG 18
pig ext install -y pg_dbms_errlog -v 17  # PG 17
pig ext install -y pg_dbms_errlog -v 16  # PG 16
pig ext install -y pg_dbms_errlog -v 15  # PG 15
pig ext install -y pg_dbms_errlog -v 14  # PG 14
dnf install -y pg_dbms_errlog_18       # PG 18
dnf install -y pg_dbms_errlog_17       # PG 17
dnf install -y pg_dbms_errlog_16       # PG 16
dnf install -y pg_dbms_errlog_15       # PG 15
dnf install -y pg_dbms_errlog_14       # PG 14

Create Extension:

CREATE EXTENSION pg_dbms_errlog;

Usage

pg_dbms_errlog: Emulate DBMS_ERRLOG Oracle module to log DML errors in a dedicated table

Enables DML operations to continue after encountering errors by logging failures to an error table, rather than aborting the transaction.

Enabling

Add to shared_preload_libraries in postgresql.conf:

shared_preload_libraries = 'pg_dbms_errlog'
CREATE EXTENSION pg_dbms_errlog;
LOAD 'pg_dbms_errlog';

Create Error Log Table

BEGIN;
CALL dbms_errlog.create_error_log('employees');
END;
-- Creates table "ERR$_employees" with error logging columns

-- With custom name and schema:
BEGIN;
CALL dbms_errlog.create_error_log('hr.employees', '"ERRORS"."ERR$_EMPTABLE"');
END;

Configuration

SET pg_dbms_errlog.enabled TO true;       -- enable error logging
SET pg_dbms_errlog.query_tag TO 'daily_load';  -- tag for identifying statements
SET pg_dbms_errlog.reject_limit TO 10;    -- max errors before rollback (-1=unlimited)
SET pg_dbms_errlog.synchronous TO 'transaction'; -- 'transaction', 'query', or 'off'
SET pg_dbms_errlog.no_client_error TO true;      -- suppress client error messages

Usage with pg_statement_rollback

LOAD 'pg_dbms_errlog';
LOAD 'pg_statement_rollback';

CREATE TABLE hr.raises (emp_id integer, sal integer CHECK(sal > 8000));

BEGIN;
CALL dbms_errlog.create_error_log('hr.raises');
END;

SET pg_dbms_errlog.query_tag TO 'daily_load';
SET pg_dbms_errlog.reject_limit TO 10;
SET pg_dbms_errlog.enabled TO true;

BEGIN;
SET pg_statement_rollback.enabled TO on;
INSERT INTO hr.raises VALUES (145, 15400);  -- Success
INSERT INTO hr.raises VALUES (161, 7700);   -- Failure (logged)
ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT "PgSLRAutoSvpt";
INSERT INTO hr.raises VALUES (175, 9680);   -- Success
COMMIT;

Viewing Error Logs

SELECT * FROM "ERR$_raises";
-- pg_err_number$  | 23514
-- pg_err_mesg$    | new row for relation "raises" violates check constraint
-- pg_err_optyp$   | I
-- pg_err_tag$     | daily_load
-- pg_err_query$   | INSERT INTO hr.raises VALUES (161, 7700);

Flush Queued Errors

SELECT dbms_errlog.publish_queue();

Last Modified 2026-03-12: add pg extension catalog (95749bf)