Informix Error -681: Column specified more than once in the INSERT list.

Reasons / Common Causes

-681 fires when INSERT INTO table (col1, col2, ...)'s column list names the same column more than once — per the official guidance, each column can appear at most once in the INSERT column list.

1. The same column name accidentally repeated in the INSERT column list — the direct, only cause.
2. A copy-pasted or generated column list that wasn't deduplicated before being used in the INSERT statement.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Remove the duplicate column name from the INSERT column list, keeping only one instance.
2. Review the full column list carefully if the duplication isn't among the first few entries, since it can appear anywhere in a longer list.

Examples

The disallowed duplicate

INSERT INTO orders (order_id, status, order_id) VALUES (42, 'pending', 42);
-- -681: order_id listed twice

Corrected

INSERT INTO orders (order_id, status) VALUES (42, 'pending');

Diagnostic Checks

1. Scan the INSERT column list for a repeated column name before running the statement.

Related Errors / Related Topics

No closely related error codes are cross-referenced for -681 in this set yet.

A straightforward duplicate column in the INSERT list — scan for the repeated name.