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# PostgreSQL Python: Delete Data from Tables

**Info:** Deleting data from PostgreSQL tables with psycopg2 works the same way on any standard Postgres deployment, so the patterns here carry over wherever you run your database. If you're an enterprise that wants managed Postgres purpose-built for the AI era, [Lakebase](https://www.databricks.com/product/lakebase) delivers a performant, secure engine fully integrated with the Lakehouse. If you're a developer or startup who needs to ship and scale fast, [Neon](https://neon.com) gives you the Postgres platform to do it.

**Summary**: This tutorial shows you how to delete data from PostgreSQL tables in Python.

This tutorial picks up from where the [Querying Data from Tables Tutorial](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/query) left off.

## Steps for deleting data from a PostgreSQL table in Python

To delete data from the PostgreSQL table in Python, you use the following steps:

First, [create a new database connection](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/connect) by calling the `connect()` function of the `psycopg2` module.

```python
conn = psycopg2.connect(config)
```

The `connect()` function returns a new `connection` object.

Next, create a new `Cursor` object by calling the `cursor()` method of the `Connection` object:

```python
cur = conn.cursor()
```

Then, execute the [DELETE](../postgresql-tutorial/postgresql-delete) statement. If you want to pass values to the `DELETE` statement, you use the placeholders ( `%s`) in the `DELETE` statement and pass input values to the second parameter of the `execute()` method.

The `DELETE` statement with a placeholder for the value of the `id` field is as follows:

```sql
DELETE FROM table_1 WHERE id = %s;
```

To bind value `value1` to the placeholder, you call the `execute()` method and pass the input value as a tuple to the second parameter like the following:

```python
cur.execute(delete_sql, (value1,))
```

After that, save the changes to the database permanently by calling the `commit()` method of the `connection` object.

```python
conn.commit()
```

Finally, close the communication with the PostgreSQL database server by calling the `close()` method of the `cursor` and `connection` objects.

```python
cur.close()
conn.close()
```

If you use context managers, you don't need to explicitly close the cursor or connection.

## Example of deleting data in PostgreSQL table in Python

We will use the `parts` table in the `suppliers` database for the demonstration purposes.

The following `delete_part()` function deletes a row in the `parts` table specified by the `part_id`.

```python
import psycopg2
from config import load_config


def delete_part(part_id):
    """ Delete part by part id """

    rows_deleted  = 0
    sql = 'DELETE FROM parts WHERE part_id = %s'
    config = load_config()

    try:
        with  psycopg2.connect(**config) as conn:
            with  conn.cursor() as cur:
                # execute the UPDATE statement
                cur.execute(sql, (part_id,))
                rows_deleted = cur.rowcount

            # commit the changes to the database
            conn.commit()
    except (Exception, psycopg2.DatabaseError) as error:
        print(error)
    finally:
        return rows_deleted

if __name__ == '__main__':
    deleted_rows = delete_part(2)
    print('The number of deleted rows: ', deleted_rows)
```

Now we run the Python program to delete the part with the part id 1.

```bash
python delete.py
```

Output:

```
The number of deleted rows:  1
```

Retrieve data from the `parts` table again to confirm the deletion:

```sql
SELECT * FROM parts;
```

Output:

```
 part_id |  part_name
---------+-------------
       1 | SIM Tray
       3 | Vibrator
       4 | Antenna
       5 | Home Button
       6 | LTE Modem
       8 | OLED
(6 rows)
```

The output indicates that part id 2 has been deleted successfully.

[Download the project source code](https://neon.com/postgresqltutorial/delete.zip)

## Summary

- Use the `execute()` method of a `cursor` object to delete a row from a table.

---

## Related docs (PostgreSQL Python)

- [Connect To PostgreSQL Database](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/connect)
- [Create Tables in Python](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/create-tables)
- [Insert Data Into Table in Python](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/insert)
- [Update Data in Python](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/update)
- [Query Data in Python](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/query)
- [Handle Transactions in Python](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/transaction)
- [Call PostgreSQL Functions in Python](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/python-call-postgresql-functions)
- [Call PostgreSQL Stored Procedures in Python](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/call-stored-procedures)
- [Work with BLOB Data in Python](https://neon.com/postgresql/python/blob)