PostgreSQL error 22023 occurs when a parameter passed to a function or SQL command has an invalid value, incorrect data type, or is outside the expected range. Common causes include malformed timezone settings, wrong character encoding parameters, and type mismatches in function arguments.
The "Invalid parameter value" error (SQLSTATE 22023) is a Data Exception that occurs when PostgreSQL receives a parameter that doesn't meet the requirements for a specific function or operation. This can happen at different levels: during connection initialization when setting parameters like timezone or client_encoding, or during query execution when passing arguments to functions or operations. PostgreSQL validates parameter values strictly to ensure data integrity and prevent unexpected behavior.
Review your connection string and client configuration. Look for parameters like timezone, client_encoding, application_name, or database-specific settings. Ensure they match PostgreSQL's expected format.
Example of invalid vs. valid timezone values:
# Invalid - standard timezone abbreviations don't work in PostgreSQL
SET timezone = 'PST';
# Valid - use IANA timezone names
SET timezone = 'America/Los_Angeles';
SET timezone = 'UTC';
SET timezone = 'PST8PDT';If the error mentions client_encoding, ensure you're not using MySQL-specific values. PostgreSQL supports standard encodings like UTF8, LATIN1, etc., but not MySQL's "utf8mb4".
-- Check current encoding
SHOW client_encoding;
-- Valid PostgreSQL encodings
SET client_encoding TO 'UTF8';
SET client_encoding TO 'LATIN1';
SET client_encoding TO 'SQL_ASCII';If the error occurs during query execution, check that all function arguments match expected types and ranges. For example, date functions expect specific formats.
-- Verify parameter types
SELECT version();
-- Test with known-valid values
SELECT CAST('2024-01-01' AS DATE);
SELECT CAST('12:30:45' AS TIME);Ensure your application driver uses correct PostgreSQL connection parameters:
// Node.js example - correct PostgreSQL setup
const client = new Client({
user: 'postgres',
password: 'password',
host: 'localhost',
port: 5432,
database: 'mydb',
timezone: 'UTC', // Valid IANA timezone
// Do NOT use utf8mb4 - that's MySQL
});# Python example
import psycopg2
conn = psycopg2.connect(
host="localhost",
database="mydb",
user="postgres",
password="password",
options="-c timezone=UTC" # Valid format
)If the error occurs at startup or connection time, verify server-level settings in postgresql.conf:
# View current parameter settings
SHOW ALL;
# Check specific problematic parameters
SHOW timezone;
SHOW client_encoding;
SHOW timezone_abbreviations;
# Restart PostgreSQL after modifying postgresql.conf
sudo systemctl restart postgresqlError 22023 is part of PostgreSQL's SQL error code system (SQLSTATE). The first two digits (22) indicate a "Data Exception" class, while 023 specifies the particular condition. Different PostgreSQL versions may have slightly different parameter constraints - always consult the documentation for your specific version. When using third-party tools or ORMs (Django ORM, SQLAlchemy, Prisma), they may hide parameter conversion issues, so check both application logs and PostgreSQL server logs for the full context. The timezone_abbreviations parameter is particularly problematic across versions and may require careful configuration when upgrading.
ERROR: syntax error at end of input
Syntax error at end of input in PostgreSQL
Bind message supplies N parameters but prepared statement requires M
Bind message supplies N parameters but prepared statement requires M in PostgreSQL
Multidimensional arrays must have sub-arrays with matching dimensions
Multidimensional arrays must have sub-arrays with matching dimensions
ERROR: value too long for type character varying
Value too long for type character varying
insufficient columns in unique constraint for partition key
How to fix "insufficient columns in unique constraint for partition key" in PostgreSQL