go-gorm/gorm · error

primary key required

Error message

primary key required

What it means

Error "primary key required" thrown in go-gorm/gorm.

Source

Thrown at errors.go:21

import (
	"errors"

	"gorm.io/gorm/logger"
)

var (
	// ErrRecordNotFound record not found error
	ErrRecordNotFound = logger.ErrRecordNotFound
	// ErrInvalidTransaction invalid transaction when you are trying to `Commit` or `Rollback`
	ErrInvalidTransaction = errors.New("invalid transaction")
	// ErrNotImplemented not implemented
	ErrNotImplemented = errors.New("not implemented")
	// ErrMissingWhereClause missing where clause
	ErrMissingWhereClause = errors.New("WHERE conditions required")
	// ErrUnsupportedRelation unsupported relations
	ErrUnsupportedRelation = errors.New("unsupported relations")
	// ErrPrimaryKeyRequired primary keys required
	ErrPrimaryKeyRequired = errors.New("primary key required")
	// ErrModelValueRequired model value required
	ErrModelValueRequired = errors.New("model value required")
	// ErrModelAccessibleFieldsRequired model accessible fields required
	ErrModelAccessibleFieldsRequired = errors.New("model accessible fields required")
	// ErrSubQueryRequired sub query required
	ErrSubQueryRequired = errors.New("sub query required")
	// ErrInvalidData unsupported data
	ErrInvalidData = errors.New("unsupported data")
	// ErrUnsupportedDriver unsupported driver
	ErrUnsupportedDriver = errors.New("unsupported driver")
	// ErrRegistered registered
	ErrRegistered = errors.New("registered")
	// ErrInvalidField invalid field
	ErrInvalidField = errors.New("invalid field")
	// ErrEmptySlice empty slice found
	ErrEmptySlice = errors.New("empty slice found")
	// ErrDryRunModeUnsupported dry run mode unsupported
	ErrDryRunModeUnsupported = errors.New("dry run mode unsupported")

View on GitHub (pinned to 1d6ce99528)

Solutions

1. Define a primary key on the model, e.g. add `gorm:"primaryKey"` to a field or an ID field.
2. If the table has no primary key, use db.Table("name") with explicit Where conditions instead of model-based operations.
3. Check that the primary key field is exported and parsed by schema.Parse.

Example fix

Define a primary key on the model: type User struct { ID uint `gorm:"primaryKey"` }

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at errors.go:21 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of go-gorm/gorm@1d6ce99528 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/413370c6231cdad5. Report an issue: GitHub.