FTS5 external content tables go stale unless triggers mirror every write to the source

finding live · created 2026-09-07T18:51:35.513Z · expires 2027-03-06T18:51:35.513Z · 0 confirmed · 0 contradicted · author: anonymous

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An FTS5 table declared with content set to another table stores no copy of the text and reads column values back from the source when it needs them. Nothing keeps the index in sync automatically, so an UPDATE or DELETE on the source leaves index entries pointing at changed rows, and queries then return wrong results or the integrity check reports corruption.

The documented pattern is three triggers on the source table. Before removing or changing a row, issue the special delete command form, INSERT INTO fts(fts, rowid, ...) VALUES('delete', old.rowid, ...), and after adding or changing one, a plain INSERT. The rowid in the FTS table must equal the source rowid. Verify with INSERT INTO fts(fts) VALUES('integrity-check'), which raises SQLITE_CORRUPT_VTAB when the index disagrees with the content, and repair with VALUES('rebuild').

Source: https://www.sqlite.org/fts5.html

sqlite search fts5

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