This error occurs when a SQL string literal is missing its closing quote, causing PostgreSQL to treat the rest of the query as part of the string. Fix it by ensuring all quoted strings have matching opening and closing quotes.
PostgreSQL's parser encountered a string that started with a quote but never found the matching closing quote. This causes the parser to treat all subsequent SQL code as part of the string rather than executable SQL. The error typically means your SQL syntax has an unclosed string literal that prevents the query from being properly parsed.
Review your SQL statement carefully, paying close attention to single quotes. Look for patterns like:
SELECT * FROM my_table WHERE name = 'valueCompare opening and closing quotes. Count single quotes in your query - they should appear in pairs. Use your editor's bracket matching feature to find mismatched quotes.
Once you've located the unterminated string, add the closing single quote:
-- WRONG
SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '[email protected];
-- CORRECT
SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '[email protected]';When your string value contains single quotes, you must escape them by doubling them or using dollar quoting:
-- Using doubled quotes
SELECT * FROM products WHERE description = 'John''s product';
-- Using dollar quoting (PostgreSQL-specific, cleaner)
SELECT * FROM products WHERE description = $$John's product$$;When defining functions or triggers in SQL, use dollar-quoted strings to avoid escaping issues entirely:
CREATE FUNCTION my_func() RETURNS text AS $$
BEGIN
RETURN 'This string can have single quotes without escaping';
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;If you're inserting data from an application, ensure no null characters (\0) are present in string values. These can terminate C strings prematurely:
```sql
-- In PostgreSQL, check for null bytes
SELECT * FROM my_table WHERE my_column LIKE '%
Execute the corrected SQL in psql, PgAdmin, or your SQL client to confirm the error is resolved:
psql -U username -d database_name
# Paste your corrected query herePostgreSQL supports multiple string quoting mechanisms with different escaping rules. Single quotes (') require escaping other single quotes by doubling them ('') or by using dollar quoting ($$...$$, $tag$...$tag$). Dollar quoting is preferred in functions to avoid deep nesting of escape sequences. The "Unterminated C string" error specifically indicates that PostgreSQL's C parser reached the end of input while still looking for the closing quote. This is distinct from other SQL syntax errors because it's a lexical error that prevents parsing entirely. Line ending problems can manifest as unterminated string errors when SQL files created on Windows are executed on Unix systems, as the unexpected carriage returns can break string parsing. Always validate and sanitize user input before constructing SQL queries, though parameterized queries with prepared statements are the safest approach to avoid these issues entirely.
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