2201WERRORTier 2 — Caution✅ HIGH confidence

invalid row count in LIMIT clause

Category: Data ExceptionVersions: All Postgres versions

What this means

SQLSTATE 2201W is raised when a LIMIT clause specifies a row count that is negative. A LIMIT of zero is valid (returns no rows), but negative values are not permitted.

Why it happens

1Using a negative integer or a computed negative expression as the LIMIT argument

How to reproduce

Query with a negative LIMIT.

trigger — this will ERROR

SELECT * FROM orders LIMIT -1;

ERROR: LIMIT must not be negative

Fix 1: Clamp LIMIT to zero or above

When the LIMIT value is computed dynamically.

fix

SELECT * FROM orders LIMIT GREATEST(computed_limit, 0);

Why this works

GREATEST ensures the limit is never negative. Use LIMIT ALL or omit LIMIT to return all rows when no limit is intended.

Sources

📚 Official docs: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/errcodes-appendix.html

🔧 Source ref: Class 22 — Data Exception

Confidence assessment

✅ HIGH confidence

Standard SQLSTATE for LIMIT validation. Stable across versions.