Certain operations are too complex to perform directly using the client libraries.

Last edited: 9/9/2025

Solution In cases where operations are overly complex or not feasible to implement directly using the client libraries, it might be beneficial to leverage stored functions within your database.

Follow these steps to create and run a stored function:

Create the Stored Function:

Go to the SQL query editor on your database dashboard. Run the following SQL script to create a stored function tailored to your specific complex query:

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DROP FUNCTION IF EXISTS get_my_complex_query;
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CREATE FUNCTION get_my_complex_query(parameter INT)
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RETURNS TABLE (column1 INTEGER, column2 VARCHAR, column3 DATE) AS
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$$
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BEGIN
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    RETURN QUERY
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    SELECT t1.column1, t1.column2, t2.column3
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    FROM "TableName1" AS t1
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    INNER JOIN "TableName2" AS t2 ON t1.column = t2.column
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    INNER JOIN "TableName3" AS t3 ON t2.another_column = t3.another_column
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    LEFT JOIN "TableName4" AS t4 ON t3.some_column = t4.some_column
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    WHERE t2.column = parameter
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    AND t3.column_name = 'some_value';
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END;
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$$
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LANGUAGE plpgsql VOLATILE;

Call the Stored Function:

Use the supabase.rpc method to call the stored function from your application code. Replace "get_my_complex_query" with the appropriate function name and provide the necessary parameters:

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supabase.rpc("get_my_complex_query", { parameter: 1 })
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  .then(response => {
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    // Handle the response
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  })
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  .catch(error => {
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    // Handle errors
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  });

Further Resources:

For more information on Postgres database functions, refer to the following resource: Supabase Stored Procedures