---
name: "truncate"
section: "7l"
platform: "linux"
package: "postgresql"
version: "7.2.1-2woody8"
release: "Debian 3.0 (Woody)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/truncate/7l"
---

# truncate(7l)

empty a table

## NAME

TRUNCATE - empty a table

## SYNOPSIS

```
TRUNCATE [ TABLE ] name

```

### INPUTS

- *name*

  The name of the table to be truncated.

### OUTPUTS

- **TRUNCATE**

  Message returned if the table is successfully truncated.

## DESCRIPTION

**TRUNCATE** quickly removes all rows from a table. It has the same effect as an unqualified **DELETE** but since it does not actually scan the table it is faster. This is most useful on large tables.

**TRUNCATE** cannot be executed inside a transaction block (**BEGIN**/**COMMIT** pair), because there is no way to roll it back.

## USAGE

Truncate the table bigtable:

```
TRUNCATE TABLE bigtable;

```

## COMPATIBILITY

### SQL92

There is no **TRUNCATE** in SQL92.