Insert data

Insert data into a hypertable with a standard INSERT SQL command.

Insert a single row

To insert a single row into a hypertable, use the syntax INSERT INTO ... VALUES. For example, to insert data into a hypertable named conditions:

INSERT INTO conditions(time, location, temperature, humidity)
  VALUES (NOW(), 'office', 70.0, 50.0);

Insert multiple rows

You can also insert multiple rows into a hypertable using a single INSERT call. This works even for thousands of rows at a time. This is more efficient than inserting data row-by-row, and is recommended when possible.

Use the same syntax, separating rows with a comma:

INSERT INTO conditions
  VALUES
    (NOW(), 'office', 70.0, 50.0),
    (NOW(), 'basement', 66.5, 60.0),
    (NOW(), 'garage', 77.0, 65.2);

note

You can insert multiple rows belonging to different chunks within the same INSERT statement. Behind the scenes, the TimescaleDB engine batches the rows by chunk, and writes to each chunk in a single transaction.

Insert and return data

In the same INSERT command, you can return some or all of the inserted data by adding a RETURNING clause. For example, to return all the inserted data, run:

INSERT INTO conditions
  VALUES (NOW(), 'office', 70.1, 50.1)
  RETURNING *;

This returns:

time                          | location | temperature | humidity
------------------------------+----------+-------------+----------
2017-07-28 11:42:42.846621+00 | office   |        70.1 |     50.1
(1 row)