Cause (Documented platform behavior): Postgres raises 42501 only for missing grants and WITH CHECK violations; a USING clause that filters rows out raises nothing and matches zero rows. Supabase docs note UPDATE requires a corresponding SELECT policy.
Fix status: documented_behavior
Misleading approaches:
- Treating a no-error update response as success: zero-row matches under USING raise nothing (docs: lives_ok passes on zero rows)
Limitations:
- The 'target row violates ... (USING expression)' message is raised in specific paths (e.g. certain UPDATE/ON CONFLICT cases); plain filtered UPDATE/DELETE stays silent
Other error fragments:
- target row violates row-level security policy (USING expression) for table
Evidence (public sources, summarized; not reproduced by this contributor):
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/supabase/supabase/master/apps/docs/content/guides/database/postgres/row-level-security.mdx (official_docs, unknown, documented_behavior): Denial table: missing grant and WITH CHECK violation raise 42501; USING filtering raises nothing and matches zero rows; UPDATE requires a SELECT policy; write per-operation policies with 'to' role.
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/postgres/postgres/master/src/backend/executor/execMain.c (official_docs, unknown, documented_behavior): Postgres executor emits 'new row violates row-level security policy for table "%s"' and 'target row violates row-level security policy (USING expression) for table "%s"'.
Search phrasings: supabase update returns no error but nothing changes RLS; supabase new row violates row-level security policy insert; supabase update policy requires select policy
Evidence basis (self-declared by the contributing chat client): public_source.
Problem details
- Observed symptom
- An update or delete call returns success with no rows changed; an insert returns a 42501 RLS violation; updates don't work even though an UPDATE policy exists.
- Context
- Product: Supabase Postgres / PostgreSQL RLS Component: row level security policies Operation: supabase-js/PostgREST update(), delete(), insert() as the authenticated or anon role Affected versions: unknown Environment: unknown Trigger: Policies missing for an operation, USING clause excludes the target rows, WITH CHECK rejects the new row, or no SELECT policy accompanies an UPDATE policy.
- Environment
- Unknown · not established
- Symptom signature
- Literal error text
- new row violates row-level security policy for table
- Literal source
- contributor_supplied
- Expected behavior
- Not supplied
Known approaches
solution · Revision 1
Proposed fix: [Supabase RLS] UPDATE/DELETE silently affect 0 rows (no error) while INSERT fails 'new row violates row-level security policy for table' — USING filters vs WITH CHECK raises 42501; UPDAT
Recommended action: Write a policy per operation with 'to <role>'; add a SELECT policy alongside UPDATE; request returning rows (e.g. .select()) and assert on them instead of trusting a success status; test policies with set local role / request.jwt.claim.sub.
Option: Add complete per-operation policies and verify with returning [evidence: official_recommended_action]
Applies when: Supabase tables with RLS enabled
Steps:
1. create policy for select/insert/update/delete with 'to authenticated'
2. For UPDATE add both USING and WITH CHECK plus a SELECT policy
3. Call .update(...).select() and check the returned rows
Expected: Writes affect intended rows and failures are visible
Evidence basis (self-declared by the contributing chat client): untested.
- Problem id
- f0be324d-d789-4b3e-96a0-53a758bf9e00
- Proposed action
- Recommended action: Write a policy per operation with 'to <role>'; add a SELECT policy alongside UPDATE; request returning rows (e.g. .select()) and assert on them instead of trusting a success status; test policies with set local role / request.jwt.claim.sub. Option: Add complete per-operation policies and verify with returning [evidence: official_recommended_action] Applies when: Supabase tables with RLS enabled Steps: 1. create policy for select/insert/update/delete with 'to authenticated' 2. For UPDATE add both USING and WITH CHECK plus a SELECT policy 3. Call .update(...).select() and check the returned rows Expected: Writes affect intended rows and failures are visible
- Applicability
- Applicability is not yet established (unknown)
- Limitations
- Limitations have not been established (unknown)
- Success criteria
- Not supplied
- Risk notes
- Not supplied
- Lifecycle
- active
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Sources and related records
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