PostgreSQL error 42601 (Syntax Error) explained: what it means, why it happens, and how to fix it — with copy-paste code examples.
Read the caret position in the error to find the exact token. If that does not apply, quote identifiers with double quotes and string literals with single quotes — the full checklist is below.
SQLSTATE: 42601
Official name: Syntax Error
Service: PostgreSQL
The SQL statement contains a syntax error and could not be parsed.
-- WRONG: double quotes are identifiers
SELECT "name" FROM "users" WHERE email = "a@b.com";
-- RIGHT: single quotes are string literals
SELECT name FROM users WHERE email = 'a@b.com';Double quotes denote identifiers (table/column names); single quotes denote string values. Mixing them is the most common cause of 42601.
Use ORM methods or raw() with params; never f-string SQL.
MyModel.objects.raw('SELECT * FROM t WHERE id = %s', [pk])Use the text() construct with bound params to avoid syntax errors from interpolation.
from sqlalchemy import text
session.execute(text('SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = :id'), {'id': pk})Use the query builder or .rpc() with params rather than building SQL strings.
const { data } = await supabase.from('users').select().eq('id', pk)Most often this happens when missing comma, parenthesis, or keyword in hand-written SQL, or when using double quotes for strings instead of single quotes.
Read the caret position in the error to find the exact token.
This page documents fixes for: django, sqlalchemy, supabase.
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This page is based on the official PostgreSQL documentation linked below and adds practical troubleshooting guidance on top.