EC
57014
PostgreSQLERRORNotableOperator InterventionHIGH confidence

canceling statement due to statement timeout

What this means

The statement exceeded the statement_timeout threshold set for the session or role and Postgres cancelled it. The transaction remains open but the statement is rolled back; a ROLLBACK is required before new statements can run in the same transaction block.

Why it happens
  1. 1A slow query (full table scan, missing index, heavy join) exceeded the configured statement_timeout
  2. 2statement_timeout is set too aggressively for the workload (e.g. 100ms for a reporting query)
  3. 3Lock wait caused the statement to take longer than the timeout (lock wait counts toward statement_timeout)
  4. 4Autovacuum or heavy write activity slowed down the query
How to reproduce

A session has statement_timeout set and a slow query exceeds it.

trigger — this will error
trigger — this will error
SET statement_timeout = '100ms';

-- A query that takes longer than 100ms:
SELECT pg_sleep(1); -- triggers 57014

expected output

ERROR:  canceling statement due to statement timeout

Fix 1

Add an index to make the query fast enough

WHEN When the query is legitimately slow due to a missing index.

Add an index to make the query fast enough
-- Find the slow query plan:
EXPLAIN (ANALYZE, BUFFERS) SELECT * FROM orders WHERE customer_id = 42;

-- Add missing index:
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY idx_orders_customer_id ON orders (customer_id);

Why this works

A sequential scan on a large table touches every heap page, taking O(n) I/O. An index lookup is O(log n) plus a small number of heap fetches. By adding an appropriate index the executor chooses an index scan, reducing wall time well below the timeout threshold.

Fix 2

Increase statement_timeout for specific operations

WHEN When the query is genuinely long-running by design (reporting, bulk export) and the timeout is too short.

Increase statement_timeout for specific operations
-- Increase for this session only:
SET statement_timeout = '30s';
SELECT * FROM large_report_view;

-- Or set per role:
ALTER ROLE reporter SET statement_timeout = '5min';

Why this works

statement_timeout is checked by the query executor at each tuple fetch and at lock acquisition points. Setting a larger value raises the threshold for the affected session or role without affecting other connections.

What not to do

✕ Set statement_timeout = 0 (disabled) globally to stop the errors

Removes the safety net against runaway queries; a single bad query can monopolise the database for hours.

Sources
Official documentation ↗

src/backend/tcop/postgres.c — ProcessInterrupts()

Client Configuration — Timeouts ↗

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