📝 What You’ll Learn

• What INSERT INTO is used for
• Syntax to insert single and multiple rows
• Examples with real-world context
• Things to watch out for

🧩 What Is INSERT INTO?

The INSERT INTO statement is used to add new records to a database table.

It allows you to populate your table with fresh data, either one row at a time or multiple rows at once.

🧱 Basic Syntax

Insert a single row (specifying columns):

INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, column3)
VALUES (value1, value2, value3);

Insert multiple rows:

INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2)
VALUES
  (value1a, value2a),
  (value1b, value2b);

🧪 Example: Adding New Users

Single user

INSERT INTO users (name, email, country)
VALUES ('Alice', 'alice@example.com', 'USA');

Multiple users

INSERT INTO users (name, email, country)
VALUES
  ('Bob', 'bob@example.com', 'UK'),
  ('Lena', 'lena@example.com', 'Canada');

⚠️ Tips & Common Pitfalls

• 🔒 Always specify column names to avoid order mismatch issues
• ❗ Data types must match the column definitions (e.g., no text in numeric fields)
• 🚫 Missing NOT NULL fields without default values will cause errors
• 🔄 Use RETURNING * (PostgreSQL) to get the inserted data back

📘 Recap

• INSERT INTO adds data to a table
• You can insert one or many rows at once
• Always match value types to column types
• Naming columns explicitly is a best practice