Coding⏱️ 3 min read📅 2026-06-03

How to Fix: Flask-SQLalchemy update a row's information

Update a row's information using Flask-SQLAlchemy

Quick Answer: Use the `session.query()` method to retrieve the row, then call the `update()` method with the updated values.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 💡 Why You Are Getting This Error
  2. 🚀 How to Resolve This Issue
  3. 💡 Conclusion

Updating a row's information in Flask-SQLAlchemy can be a bit tricky, especially if you're not familiar with SQLAlchemy's ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) capabilities. This guide will walk you through the process of updating a specific column's value for a given row ID.

This issue affects developers who are using Flask-SQLAlchemy to interact with their database and need to update data in real-time.

💡 Why You Are Getting This Error

  • The primary reason why this error happens is that SQLAlchemy requires you to specify the exact column name and its new value when updating a row. If you don't, it will throw an AttributeError.
  • Another possible cause could be if your table schema has changed since you last created your models, which would require you to re-run `flask db migrate` and `flask db upgrade` to update the database schema.

🚀 How to Resolve This Issue

Using SQLAlchemy's `session.query()` method

  1. Step 1: First, import the necessary modules: from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy, session.
  2. Step 2: Next, query the row you want to update using `session.query(YourModel).filter_by(id=5)`. This will return a single instance of your model class.
  3. Step 3: Now, access the column you want to update and assign it its new value. For example: `row.name = 'New Name'`.
  4. Step 4: Finally, commit the changes by calling `session.commit()`.

Using SQLAlchemy's `session.query().update()` method

  1. Step 1: First, query the row you want to update using `session.query(YourModel).filter_by(id=5)`. This will return a single instance of your model class.
  2. Step 2: Next, use the `update()` method to specify the column(s) you want to update. For example: `row.name = 'New Name'`.
  3. Step 3: Finally, commit the changes by calling `session.commit()`. Note that this method can be more efficient than `session.query().filter_by().update()` for large updates.

💡 Conclusion

By following these steps and using SQLAlchemy's ORM capabilities, you should be able to update a row's information in your Flask-SQLAlchemy application. Remember to always commit your changes after making updates to ensure they persist in the database.

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