MySQLMySQL 1093

MySQL 1093: Can't Specify Target Table for Update in FROM Clause

MySQL 1093 is raised when a DELETE or UPDATE statement uses the same table in the outer query and in a subquery in the FROM clause. MySQL does not allow modifying a table while reading from it in the same query.

Example Query

DELETE FROM users
WHERE id IN (SELECT id FROM users WHERE active = 0);
-- Cannot SELECT from the table being DELETEd

Common Causes

  1. 1Self-referencing subquery in DELETE or UPDATE on the same table
  2. 2Attempting to delete rows based on a condition queried from the same table
  3. 3ORM-generated query that creates this pattern

How to Fix It

Wrap the subquery in another level: DELETE FROM users WHERE id IN (SELECT id FROM (SELECT id FROM users WHERE active = 0) AS t). Or use a JOIN-based DELETE: DELETE u FROM users u JOIN (SELECT id FROM users WHERE active = 0) t ON u.id = t.id.

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