Remember learning INSERT and UPDATE? Sometimes you need both operations: insert a row if it doesn't exist, or update it if it does.

This "insert or update" pattern is called UPSERT.

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When might you want to insert OR update the same row?

Imagine adding a new customer to your database. But what if they already exist? A regular INSERT would fail with a duplicate key error.

The ON CONFLICT command lets you handle both scenarios gracefully in one command.

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What happens if an INSERT fails due to duplicates?

Think of ON CONFLICT like a smart doorman. If someone's not on the guest list, add them. If they're already there, update their information.

One command handles both possibilities without errors or duplicate logic.

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What's one advantage of using one INSERT ... ON CONFLICT instead of separate INSERT and UPDATEs?

The basic UPSERT pattern in PostgreSQL looks like:

It checks for conflicts on the specified column(s) and decides whether to insert or update.

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Which part of this statement determines if the row will be inserted or updated?

Here's a practical example with PostgreSQL syntax:

This inserts or updates based on the id column.

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What happens if product id 1 already exists in the table?