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Description

This error signifies that an attempt was made to store a value in a database column that is larger than the column's defined maximum length or capacity. It typically occurs during INSERT or UPDATE operations when the data provided for a specific column exceeds its data type limits, preventing the operation from completing successfully.

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Error Message

Data too long for column '%s' at row %ld

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Known Causes

4 known causes

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Data Exceeds Column Length

The value being inserted or updated is longer than the column's defined maximum length for string types (e.g., VARCHAR, CHAR, TEXT).

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Incorrect Data Type Capacity

Attempting to store a numeric value too large for an INT, DECIMAL, or FLOAT column, or a date/time value that doesn't fit its respective type.

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Character Set Conversion Issues

When converting data between different character sets, multi-byte characters may require more bytes, causing the data to exceed the column's byte-length limit.

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Strict SQL Mode Enforcement

With strict SQL modes enabled, MariaDB explicitly throws this error instead of silently truncating data that is too long for a column.

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Solutions

4 solutions available

1. Increase Column Length medium

Modify the table schema to accommodate larger data.

1

Identify the table and column causing the error. The error message usually provides this information.

2

Determine the maximum possible length of the data you need to store. Consider the data type and potential future growth.

3

Alter the table to increase the column's length. For `VARCHAR` or `TEXT` types, you can specify a larger length. For `BLOB` or `TEXT` types, you might need to choose a larger variant (e.g., `MEDIUMTEXT` to `LONGTEXT`).

ALTER TABLE your_table_name MODIFY COLUMN your_column_name VARCHAR(255); -- Example for VARCHAR
ALTER TABLE your_table_name MODIFY COLUMN your_column_name LONGTEXT; -- Example for TEXT/BLOB

4

Re-run the operation that caused the error.

2. Truncate Data Before Insertion easy

Shorten the data to fit within the existing column's capacity.

1

Identify the specific data that is too long. This might require inspecting the application code or the data itself.

2

Modify your application code or SQL queries to truncate the data before attempting to insert or update it. Use appropriate string manipulation functions.

INSERT INTO your_table_name (your_column_name) VALUES (LEFT(your_data, 255)); -- Example for VARCHAR
UPDATE your_table_name SET your_column_name = LEFT(your_data, 255) WHERE id = your_id; -- Example for VARCHAR

3

Consider if data loss is acceptable. Truncation means losing information.

3. Use a More Suitable Data Type medium

Switch to a data type that supports larger data storage.

1

Analyze the type of data being stored. If it's text that can be very long, consider `TEXT` variants like `MEDIUMTEXT` or `LONGTEXT` instead of `VARCHAR` with a fixed, insufficient length.

2

If you are storing binary data (images, files), ensure you are using `BLOB` types (`TINYBLOB`, `BLOB`, `MEDIUMBLOB`, `LONGBLOB`) appropriately.

3

Alter the table to change the column's data type to one that can accommodate the required data size.

ALTER TABLE your_table_name MODIFY COLUMN your_column_name MEDIUMTEXT; -- Example for long text
ALTER TABLE your_table_name MODIFY COLUMN your_column_name LONGBLOB; -- Example for large binary data

4

Re-run the operation that caused the error.

4. Normalize Data to a Separate Table advanced

Move overly large data to a related table to keep the primary table lean.

1

If the oversized data is not critical to every record in the primary table, consider creating a new table to store it.

2

Create a new table with a foreign key relationship to the original table. The new table will hold the large data.

CREATE TABLE your_table_name_large_data (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    your_table_id INT,
    your_large_column_name TEXT,
    FOREIGN KEY (your_table_id) REFERENCES your_table_name(id)
);

3

Modify your application logic to insert the large data into the new table and store only a reference (or null) in the original table.

4

When you need the large data, join the tables. This approach improves performance for queries that don't require the large data.

SELECT t1.*, t2.your_large_column_name FROM your_table_name t1 JOIN your_table_name_large_data t2 ON t1.id = t2.your_table_id;

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Related Errors

5 related errors

MariaDB Error 1406: Data Length Exceeds Column Capacity