insert_all!

Inserts multiple records into the database in a single SQL INSERT statement. It does not instantiate any models nor does it trigger Active Record callbacks or validations. Though passed values go through Active Record’s type casting and serialization.

The attributes parameter is an Array of Hashes. Every Hash determines the attributes for a single row and must have the same keys.

Raises ActiveRecord::RecordNotUnique if any rows violate a unique index on the table. In that case, no rows are inserted.

To skip duplicate rows, see ActiveRecord::Persistence#insert_all. To replace them, see ActiveRecord::Persistence#upsert_all.

Returns an ActiveRecord::Result with its contents based on :returning (see below).

Options

:returning

(PostgreSQL only) An array of attributes to return for all successfully inserted records, which by default is the primary key. Pass returning: %w[ id name ] for both id and name or returning: false to omit the underlying RETURNING SQL clause entirely.

You can also pass an SQL string if you need more control on the return values (for example, returning: "id, name as new_name").

:record_timestamps

By default, automatic setting of timestamp columns is controlled by the model’s record_timestamps config, matching typical behavior.

To override this and force automatic setting of timestamp columns one way or the other, pass :record_timestamps:

record_timestamps: true  # Always set timestamps automatically
record_timestamps: false # Never set timestamps automatically

Examples

# Insert multiple records
Book.insert_all!([
  { title: "Rework", author: "David" },
  { title: "Eloquent Ruby", author: "Russ" }
])

# Raises ActiveRecord::RecordNotUnique because "Eloquent Ruby"
# does not have a unique id.
Book.insert_all!([
  { id: 1, title: "Rework", author: "David" },
  { id: 1, title: "Eloquent Ruby", author: "Russ" }
])