How to fix SQLITE_FULL: Insertion failed because database is full in SQLite

Run df -h (Unix/Linux) or dir (Windows) to see free space on all partitions. Pay special attention to the partition containing your database file and temporary directories.

# Unix/Linux
df -h

# Check SQLite temp directory specifically
echo $SQLITE_TMPDIR

If the partition is full or nearly full, proceed to step 2.

Delete unnecessary files or archives to reclaim space. If using the database for testing or caching, clear old data:

-- Delete old records (example for timestamps)
DELETE FROM your_table WHERE created_at < datetime('now', '-30 days');

Alternatively, move files to external storage or increase storage capacity.

If the issue is temp directory space (common when /tmp is on a small partition), redirect SQLite to a partition with more space:

# Set SQLITE_TMPDIR to a directory with ample space
export SQLITE_TMPDIR=/path/to/large/partition

# Your application now uses this directory for temp files

For persistent configuration, add this to your shell profile (.bashrc, .zshrc, etc.):

echo 'export SQLITE_TMPDIR=/path/to/large/partition' >> ~/.bashrc

Enable auto-vacuum pragma to automatically reclaim space from deleted records:

PRAGMA auto_vacuum = FULL;

For existing databases, run VACUUM once to reclaim space (ensure sufficient temp directory space first):

VACUUM;

Note: VACUUM is a maintenance operation that can take time on large databases.

If using WAL mode (Write-Ahead Logging), monitor WAL file growth and ensure connections are properly released:

-- Check WAL mode status
PRAGMA journal_mode;

-- Force checkpoint to reduce WAL file size
PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE);

In your application code, ensure database connections are closed/released regularly:

// Node.js example
const db = new Database('file.db');
try {
  // use db
} finally {
  db.close(); // Always close the connection
}