go-gorm/gorm · error

violates foreign key constraint

Error message

violates foreign key constraint

What it means

Error "violates foreign key constraint" thrown in go-gorm/gorm.

Source

Thrown at errors.go:51

	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")
	// ErrInvalidDB invalid db
	ErrInvalidDB = errors.New("invalid db")
	// ErrInvalidValue invalid value
	ErrInvalidValue = errors.New("invalid value, should be pointer to struct or slice")
	// ErrInvalidValueOfLength invalid values do not match length
	ErrInvalidValueOfLength = errors.New("invalid association values, length doesn't match")
	// ErrPreloadNotAllowed preload is not allowed when count is used
	ErrPreloadNotAllowed = errors.New("preload is not allowed when count is used")
	// ErrDuplicatedKey occurs when there is a unique key constraint violation
	ErrDuplicatedKey = errors.New("duplicated key not allowed")
	// ErrForeignKeyViolated occurs when there is a foreign key constraint violation
	ErrForeignKeyViolated = errors.New("violates foreign key constraint")
	// ErrCheckConstraintViolated occurs when there is a check constraint violation
	ErrCheckConstraintViolated = errors.New("violates check constraint")
)

View on GitHub (pinned to 1d6ce99528)

Solutions

1. Insert the referenced parent record first, then the child with the foreign key.
2. Check the foreign key value exists in the referenced table.
3. Verify the foreign key column names and constraint definitions match the schema.

Example fix

Insert referenced parent rows first, then the child rows, to satisfy the foreign key constraint.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at errors.go:51 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/417ac4504c8c39a7. Report an issue: GitHub.