Hi Thomas, I agree that it does not seem very consistent. But is there any specific reason why are you using DEFAULT ? Why don't you simply execute : insert into test (data) values (1), (2); If you want / have to specify DEFAULT, then you should probably create your identity as "generated by default". Regards, Patrick Fiche Database Engineer, Aqsacom Sas. c. 33 6 82 80 69 96 -----Original Message----- From: Thomas Kellerer <spam_eater@xxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2019 8:42 AM To: pgsql-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Identity columns, DEFAULT keyword and multi-row inserts Hello, assume the following table: create table test ( id integer not null generated always as identity, data integer not null ); The following insert works fine: insert into test (id, data) values (default,1); However, a multi-row insert like the following: insert into test (id, data) values (default,1), (default,2); fails with: ERROR: cannot insert into column "id" Detail: Column "id" is an identity column defined as GENERATED ALWAYS. Hint: Use OVERRIDING SYSTEM VALUE to override. My question is: * If DEFAULT is not allowed for identity columns, then why does the single-row insert work? * If DEFAULT _is_ allowed, then why does the multi-row insert fail? The above happens with Postgres 10,11 and 12 Regards Thomas