58P02ERRORTier 2 — Caution✅ HIGH confidence

duplicate file

Category: System ErrorVersions: All Postgres versions

What this means

SQLSTATE 58P02 is a Postgres-specific error raised when Postgres attempts to create a file that already exists on the filesystem in a context where file uniqueness is required.

Why it happens

1A Postgres internal operation attempts to create a data file that already exists (e.g., during table space or relation creation)
2Filesystem inconsistency where a file exists that should not

How to reproduce

Internal duplicate file conflict.

trigger — this will ERROR

ERROR: duplicate file

Fix 1: Investigate filesystem and data directory consistency

When this error appears.

fix

Why this works

Run pg_dump for a fresh backup, then investigate the data directory for unexpected files. If the error follows a failed upgrade or crash recovery, consider restoring from backup.

What not to do

✗

Manually delete files from the Postgres data directory

Why it's wrong: Manually removing files from the data directory can corrupt the database. Always use Postgres tools.

Sources

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

🔧 Source ref: Class 58 — System Error (Postgres-specific)

Confidence assessment

✅ HIGH confidence

Postgres-specific. Rarely encountered in normal operation. Stable across versions.