Release: 1.0.12 | Release Date: February 15, 2016

SQLAlchemy 1.0 Documentation

ORM Events

The ORM includes a wide variety of hooks available for subscription.

For an introduction to the most commonly used ORM events, see the section Tracking Object and Session Changes with Events. The event system in general is discussed at Events. Non-ORM events such as those regarding connections and low-level statement execution are described in Core Events.

Attribute Events

class sqlalchemy.orm.events.AttributeEvents

Bases: sqlalchemy.event.base.Events

Define events for object attributes.

These are typically defined on the class-bound descriptor for the target class.

e.g.:

from sqlalchemy import event

def my_append_listener(target, value, initiator):
    print "received append event for target: %s" % target

event.listen(MyClass.collection, 'append', my_append_listener)

Listeners have the option to return a possibly modified version of the value, when the retval=True flag is passed to listen():

def validate_phone(target, value, oldvalue, initiator):
    "Strip non-numeric characters from a phone number"

    return re.sub(r'(?![0-9])', '', value)

# setup listener on UserContact.phone attribute, instructing
# it to use the return value
listen(UserContact.phone, 'set', validate_phone, retval=True)

A validation function like the above can also raise an exception such as ValueError to halt the operation.

Several modifiers are available to the listen() function.

Parameters:
  • active_history=False – When True, indicates that the “set” event would like to receive the “old” value being replaced unconditionally, even if this requires firing off database loads. Note that active_history can also be set directly via column_property() and relationship().
  • propagate=False – When True, the listener function will be established not just for the class attribute given, but for attributes of the same name on all current subclasses of that class, as well as all future subclasses of that class, using an additional listener that listens for instrumentation events.
  • raw=False – When True, the “target” argument to the event will be the InstanceState management object, rather than the mapped instance itself.
  • retval=False – when True, the user-defined event listening must return the “value” argument from the function. This gives the listening function the opportunity to change the value that is ultimately used for a “set” or “append” event.
append(target, value, initiator)

Receive a collection append event.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass.some_attribute, 'append')
def receive_append(target, value, initiator):
    "listen for the 'append' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...
Parameters:
  • target – the object instance receiving the event. If the listener is registered with raw=True, this will be the InstanceState object.
  • value – the value being appended. If this listener is registered with retval=True, the listener function must return this value, or a new value which replaces it.
  • initiator

    An instance of attributes.Event representing the initiation of the event. May be modified from its original value by backref handlers in order to control chained event propagation.

    Changed in version 0.9.0: the initiator argument is now passed as a attributes.Event object, and may be modified by backref handlers within a chain of backref-linked events.

Returns:

if the event was registered with retval=True, the given value, or a new effective value, should be returned.

dispose_collection(target, collection, collection_adpater)

Receive a ‘collection dispose’ event.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass.some_attribute, 'dispose_collection')
def receive_dispose_collection(target, collection, collection_adpater):
    "listen for the 'dispose_collection' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is triggered for a collection-based attribute when a collection is replaced, that is:

u1.addresses.append(a1)

u1.addresses = [a2, a3]  # <- old collection is disposed

The mechanics of the event will typically include that the given collection is empty, even if it stored objects while being replaced.

New in version 1.0.0: the AttributeEvents.init_collection() and AttributeEvents.dispose_collection() events supersede the collection.linker hook.

init_collection(target, collection, collection_adapter)

Receive a ‘collection init’ event.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass.some_attribute, 'init_collection')
def receive_init_collection(target, collection, collection_adapter):
    "listen for the 'init_collection' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is triggered for a collection-based attribute, when the initial “empty collection” is first generated for a blank attribute, as well as for when the collection is replaced with a new one, such as via a set event.

E.g., given that User.addresses is a relationship-based collection, the event is triggered here:

u1 = User()
u1.addresses.append(a1)  #  <- new collection

and also during replace operations:

u1.addresses = [a2, a3]  #  <- new collection
Parameters:
  • target – the object instance receiving the event. If the listener is registered with raw=True, this will be the InstanceState object.
  • collection – the new collection. This will always be generated from what was specified as RelationshipProperty.collection_class, and will always be empty.
  • collection_adpater – the CollectionAdapter that will mediate internal access to the collection.

New in version 1.0.0: the AttributeEvents.init_collection() and AttributeEvents.dispose_collection() events supersede the collection.linker hook.

remove(target, value, initiator)

Receive a collection remove event.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass.some_attribute, 'remove')
def receive_remove(target, value, initiator):
    "listen for the 'remove' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...
Parameters:
  • target – the object instance receiving the event. If the listener is registered with raw=True, this will be the InstanceState object.
  • value – the value being removed.
  • initiator

    An instance of attributes.Event representing the initiation of the event. May be modified from its original value by backref handlers in order to control chained event propagation.

    Changed in version 0.9.0: the initiator argument is now passed as a attributes.Event object, and may be modified by backref handlers within a chain of backref-linked events.

Returns:

No return value is defined for this event.

set(target, value, oldvalue, initiator)

Receive a scalar set event.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass.some_attribute, 'set')
def receive_set(target, value, oldvalue, initiator):
    "listen for the 'set' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

# named argument style (new in 0.9)
@event.listens_for(SomeClass.some_attribute, 'set', named=True)
def receive_set(**kw):
    "listen for the 'set' event"
    target = kw['target']
    value = kw['value']

    # ... (event handling logic) ...
Parameters:
  • target – the object instance receiving the event. If the listener is registered with raw=True, this will be the InstanceState object.
  • value – the value being set. If this listener is registered with retval=True, the listener function must return this value, or a new value which replaces it.
  • oldvalue – the previous value being replaced. This may also be the symbol NEVER_SET or NO_VALUE. If the listener is registered with active_history=True, the previous value of the attribute will be loaded from the database if the existing value is currently unloaded or expired.
  • initiator

    An instance of attributes.Event representing the initiation of the event. May be modified from its original value by backref handlers in order to control chained event propagation.

    Changed in version 0.9.0: the initiator argument is now passed as a attributes.Event object, and may be modified by backref handlers within a chain of backref-linked events.

Returns:

if the event was registered with retval=True, the given value, or a new effective value, should be returned.

Mapper Events

class sqlalchemy.orm.events.MapperEvents

Bases: sqlalchemy.event.base.Events

Define events specific to mappings.

e.g.:

from sqlalchemy import event

def my_before_insert_listener(mapper, connection, target):
    # execute a stored procedure upon INSERT,
    # apply the value to the row to be inserted
    target.calculated_value = connection.scalar(
                                "select my_special_function(%d)"
                                % target.special_number)

# associate the listener function with SomeClass,
# to execute during the "before_insert" hook
event.listen(
    SomeClass, 'before_insert', my_before_insert_listener)

Available targets include:

  • mapped classes
  • unmapped superclasses of mapped or to-be-mapped classes (using the propagate=True flag)
  • Mapper objects
  • the Mapper class itself and the mapper() function indicate listening for all mappers.

Changed in version 0.8.0: mapper events can be associated with unmapped superclasses of mapped classes.

Mapper events provide hooks into critical sections of the mapper, including those related to object instrumentation, object loading, and object persistence. In particular, the persistence methods before_insert(), and before_update() are popular places to augment the state being persisted - however, these methods operate with several significant restrictions. The user is encouraged to evaluate the SessionEvents.before_flush() and SessionEvents.after_flush() methods as more flexible and user-friendly hooks in which to apply additional database state during a flush.

When using MapperEvents, several modifiers are available to the event.listen() function.

Parameters:
  • propagate=False – When True, the event listener should be applied to all inheriting mappers and/or the mappers of inheriting classes, as well as any mapper which is the target of this listener.
  • raw=False – When True, the “target” argument passed to applicable event listener functions will be the instance’s InstanceState management object, rather than the mapped instance itself.
  • retval=False

    when True, the user-defined event function must have a return value, the purpose of which is either to control subsequent event propagation, or to otherwise alter the operation in progress by the mapper. Possible return values are:

    • sqlalchemy.orm.interfaces.EXT_CONTINUE - continue event processing normally.
    • sqlalchemy.orm.interfaces.EXT_STOP - cancel all subsequent event handlers in the chain.
    • other values - the return value specified by specific listeners.
after_configured()

Called after a series of mappers have been configured.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'after_configured')
def receive_after_configured():
    "listen for the 'after_configured' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

The MapperEvents.after_configured() event is invoked each time the orm.configure_mappers() function is invoked, after the function has completed its work. orm.configure_mappers() is typically invoked automatically as mappings are first used, as well as each time new mappers have been made available and new mapper use is detected.

Contrast this event to the MapperEvents.mapper_configured() event, which is called on a per-mapper basis while the configuration operation proceeds; unlike that event, when this event is invoked, all cross-configurations (e.g. backrefs) will also have been made available for any mappers that were pending. Also constrast to MapperEvents.before_configured(), which is invoked before the series of mappers has been configured.

This event can only be applied to the Mapper class or mapper() function, and not to individual mappings or mapped classes. It is only invoked for all mappings as a whole:

from sqlalchemy.orm import mapper

@event.listens_for(mapper, "after_configured")
def go():
    # ...

Theoretically this event is called once per application, but is actually called any time new mappers have been affected by a orm.configure_mappers() call. If new mappings are constructed after existing ones have already been used, this event will likely be called again. To ensure that a particular event is only called once and no further, the once=True argument (new in 0.9.4) can be applied:

from sqlalchemy.orm import mapper

@event.listens_for(mapper, "after_configured", once=True)
def go():
    # ...
after_delete(mapper, connection, target)

Receive an object instance after a DELETE statement has been emitted corresponding to that instance.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'after_delete')
def receive_after_delete(mapper, connection, target):
    "listen for the 'after_delete' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is used to emit additional SQL statements on the given connection as well as to perform application specific bookkeeping related to a deletion event.

The event is often called for a batch of objects of the same class after their DELETE statements have been emitted at once in a previous step.

Warning

Mapper-level flush events only allow very limited operations, on attributes local to the row being operated upon only, as well as allowing any SQL to be emitted on the given Connection. Please read fully the notes at Mapper-level Events for guidelines on using these methods; generally, the SessionEvents.before_flush() method should be preferred for general on-flush changes.

Parameters:
  • mapper – the Mapper which is the target of this event.
  • connection – the Connection being used to emit DELETE statements for this instance. This provides a handle into the current transaction on the target database specific to this instance.
  • target – the mapped instance being deleted. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
Returns:

No return value is supported by this event.

after_insert(mapper, connection, target)

Receive an object instance after an INSERT statement is emitted corresponding to that instance.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'after_insert')
def receive_after_insert(mapper, connection, target):
    "listen for the 'after_insert' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is used to modify in-Python-only state on the instance after an INSERT occurs, as well as to emit additional SQL statements on the given connection.

The event is often called for a batch of objects of the same class after their INSERT statements have been emitted at once in a previous step. In the extremely rare case that this is not desirable, the mapper() can be configured with batch=False, which will cause batches of instances to be broken up into individual (and more poorly performing) event->persist->event steps.

Warning

Mapper-level flush events only allow very limited operations, on attributes local to the row being operated upon only, as well as allowing any SQL to be emitted on the given Connection. Please read fully the notes at Mapper-level Events for guidelines on using these methods; generally, the SessionEvents.before_flush() method should be preferred for general on-flush changes.

Parameters:
  • mapper – the Mapper which is the target of this event.
  • connection – the Connection being used to emit INSERT statements for this instance. This provides a handle into the current transaction on the target database specific to this instance.
  • target – the mapped instance being persisted. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
Returns:

No return value is supported by this event.

after_update(mapper, connection, target)

Receive an object instance after an UPDATE statement is emitted corresponding to that instance.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'after_update')
def receive_after_update(mapper, connection, target):
    "listen for the 'after_update' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is used to modify in-Python-only state on the instance after an UPDATE occurs, as well as to emit additional SQL statements on the given connection.

This method is called for all instances that are marked as “dirty”, even those which have no net changes to their column-based attributes, and for which no UPDATE statement has proceeded. An object is marked as dirty when any of its column-based attributes have a “set attribute” operation called or when any of its collections are modified. If, at update time, no column-based attributes have any net changes, no UPDATE statement will be issued. This means that an instance being sent to after_update() is not a guarantee that an UPDATE statement has been issued.

To detect if the column-based attributes on the object have net changes, and therefore resulted in an UPDATE statement, use object_session(instance).is_modified(instance, include_collections=False).

The event is often called for a batch of objects of the same class after their UPDATE statements have been emitted at once in a previous step. In the extremely rare case that this is not desirable, the mapper() can be configured with batch=False, which will cause batches of instances to be broken up into individual (and more poorly performing) event->persist->event steps.

Warning

Mapper-level flush events only allow very limited operations, on attributes local to the row being operated upon only, as well as allowing any SQL to be emitted on the given Connection. Please read fully the notes at Mapper-level Events for guidelines on using these methods; generally, the SessionEvents.before_flush() method should be preferred for general on-flush changes.

Parameters:
  • mapper – the Mapper which is the target of this event.
  • connection – the Connection being used to emit UPDATE statements for this instance. This provides a handle into the current transaction on the target database specific to this instance.
  • target – the mapped instance being persisted. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
Returns:

No return value is supported by this event.

before_configured()

Called before a series of mappers have been configured.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'before_configured')
def receive_before_configured():
    "listen for the 'before_configured' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

The MapperEvents.before_configured() event is invoked each time the orm.configure_mappers() function is invoked, before the function has done any of its work. orm.configure_mappers() is typically invoked automatically as mappings are first used, as well as each time new mappers have been made available and new mapper use is detected.

This event can only be applied to the Mapper class or mapper() function, and not to individual mappings or mapped classes. It is only invoked for all mappings as a whole:

from sqlalchemy.orm import mapper

@event.listens_for(mapper, "before_configured")
def go():
    # ...

Constrast this event to MapperEvents.after_configured(), which is invoked after the series of mappers has been configured, as well as MapperEvents.mapper_configured(), which is invoked on a per-mapper basis as each one is configured to the extent possible.

Theoretically this event is called once per application, but is actually called any time new mappers are to be affected by a orm.configure_mappers() call. If new mappings are constructed after existing ones have already been used, this event will likely be called again. To ensure that a particular event is only called once and no further, the once=True argument (new in 0.9.4) can be applied:

from sqlalchemy.orm import mapper

@event.listens_for(mapper, "before_configured", once=True)
def go():
    # ...

New in version 0.9.3.

before_delete(mapper, connection, target)

Receive an object instance before a DELETE statement is emitted corresponding to that instance.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'before_delete')
def receive_before_delete(mapper, connection, target):
    "listen for the 'before_delete' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is used to emit additional SQL statements on the given connection as well as to perform application specific bookkeeping related to a deletion event.

The event is often called for a batch of objects of the same class before their DELETE statements are emitted at once in a later step.

Warning

Mapper-level flush events only allow very limited operations, on attributes local to the row being operated upon only, as well as allowing any SQL to be emitted on the given Connection. Please read fully the notes at Mapper-level Events for guidelines on using these methods; generally, the SessionEvents.before_flush() method should be preferred for general on-flush changes.

Parameters:
  • mapper – the Mapper which is the target of this event.
  • connection – the Connection being used to emit DELETE statements for this instance. This provides a handle into the current transaction on the target database specific to this instance.
  • target – the mapped instance being deleted. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
Returns:

No return value is supported by this event.

before_insert(mapper, connection, target)

Receive an object instance before an INSERT statement is emitted corresponding to that instance.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'before_insert')
def receive_before_insert(mapper, connection, target):
    "listen for the 'before_insert' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is used to modify local, non-object related attributes on the instance before an INSERT occurs, as well as to emit additional SQL statements on the given connection.

The event is often called for a batch of objects of the same class before their INSERT statements are emitted at once in a later step. In the extremely rare case that this is not desirable, the mapper() can be configured with batch=False, which will cause batches of instances to be broken up into individual (and more poorly performing) event->persist->event steps.

Warning

Mapper-level flush events only allow very limited operations, on attributes local to the row being operated upon only, as well as allowing any SQL to be emitted on the given Connection. Please read fully the notes at Mapper-level Events for guidelines on using these methods; generally, the SessionEvents.before_flush() method should be preferred for general on-flush changes.

Parameters:
  • mapper – the Mapper which is the target of this event.
  • connection – the Connection being used to emit INSERT statements for this instance. This provides a handle into the current transaction on the target database specific to this instance.
  • target – the mapped instance being persisted. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
Returns:

No return value is supported by this event.

before_update(mapper, connection, target)

Receive an object instance before an UPDATE statement is emitted corresponding to that instance.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'before_update')
def receive_before_update(mapper, connection, target):
    "listen for the 'before_update' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is used to modify local, non-object related attributes on the instance before an UPDATE occurs, as well as to emit additional SQL statements on the given connection.

This method is called for all instances that are marked as “dirty”, even those which have no net changes to their column-based attributes. An object is marked as dirty when any of its column-based attributes have a “set attribute” operation called or when any of its collections are modified. If, at update time, no column-based attributes have any net changes, no UPDATE statement will be issued. This means that an instance being sent to before_update() is not a guarantee that an UPDATE statement will be issued, although you can affect the outcome here by modifying attributes so that a net change in value does exist.

To detect if the column-based attributes on the object have net changes, and will therefore generate an UPDATE statement, use object_session(instance).is_modified(instance, include_collections=False).

The event is often called for a batch of objects of the same class before their UPDATE statements are emitted at once in a later step. In the extremely rare case that this is not desirable, the mapper() can be configured with batch=False, which will cause batches of instances to be broken up into individual (and more poorly performing) event->persist->event steps.

Warning

Mapper-level flush events only allow very limited operations, on attributes local to the row being operated upon only, as well as allowing any SQL to be emitted on the given Connection. Please read fully the notes at Mapper-level Events for guidelines on using these methods; generally, the SessionEvents.before_flush() method should be preferred for general on-flush changes.

Parameters:
  • mapper – the Mapper which is the target of this event.
  • connection – the Connection being used to emit UPDATE statements for this instance. This provides a handle into the current transaction on the target database specific to this instance.
  • target – the mapped instance being persisted. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
Returns:

No return value is supported by this event.

instrument_class(mapper, class_)

Receive a class when the mapper is first constructed, before instrumentation is applied to the mapped class.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'instrument_class')
def receive_instrument_class(mapper, class_):
    "listen for the 'instrument_class' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is the earliest phase of mapper construction. Most attributes of the mapper are not yet initialized.

This listener can either be applied to the Mapper class overall, or to any un-mapped class which serves as a base for classes that will be mapped (using the propagate=True flag):

Base = declarative_base()

@event.listens_for(Base, "instrument_class", propagate=True)
def on_new_class(mapper, cls_):
    " ... "
Parameters:
  • mapper – the Mapper which is the target of this event.
  • class_ – the mapped class.
mapper_configured(mapper, class_)

Called when a specific mapper has completed its own configuration within the scope of the configure_mappers() call.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'mapper_configured')
def receive_mapper_configured(mapper, class_):
    "listen for the 'mapper_configured' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

The MapperEvents.mapper_configured() event is invoked for each mapper that is encountered when the orm.configure_mappers() function proceeds through the current list of not-yet-configured mappers. orm.configure_mappers() is typically invoked automatically as mappings are first used, as well as each time new mappers have been made available and new mapper use is detected.

When the event is called, the mapper should be in its final state, but not including backrefs that may be invoked from other mappers; they might still be pending within the configuration operation. Bidirectional relationships that are instead configured via the orm.relationship.back_populates argument will be fully available, since this style of relationship does not rely upon other possibly-not-configured mappers to know that they exist.

For an event that is guaranteed to have all mappers ready to go including backrefs that are defined only on other mappings, use the MapperEvents.after_configured() event; this event invokes only after all known mappings have been fully configured.

The MapperEvents.mapper_configured() event, unlike MapperEvents.before_configured() or MapperEvents.after_configured(), is called for each mapper/class individually, and the mapper is passed to the event itself. It also is called exactly once for a particular mapper. The event is therefore useful for configurational steps that benefit from being invoked just once on a specific mapper basis, which don’t require that “backref” configurations are necessarily ready yet.

Parameters:
  • mapper – the Mapper which is the target of this event.
  • class_ – the mapped class.

Instance Events

class sqlalchemy.orm.events.InstanceEvents

Bases: sqlalchemy.event.base.Events

Define events specific to object lifecycle.

e.g.:

from sqlalchemy import event

def my_load_listener(target, context):
    print "on load!"

event.listen(SomeClass, 'load', my_load_listener)

Available targets include:

  • mapped classes
  • unmapped superclasses of mapped or to-be-mapped classes (using the propagate=True flag)
  • Mapper objects
  • the Mapper class itself and the mapper() function indicate listening for all mappers.

Changed in version 0.8.0: instance events can be associated with unmapped superclasses of mapped classes.

Instance events are closely related to mapper events, but are more specific to the instance and its instrumentation, rather than its system of persistence.

When using InstanceEvents, several modifiers are available to the event.listen() function.

Parameters:
  • propagate=False – When True, the event listener should be applied to all inheriting classes as well as the class which is the target of this listener.
  • raw=False – When True, the “target” argument passed to applicable event listener functions will be the instance’s InstanceState management object, rather than the mapped instance itself.
expire(target, attrs)

Receive an object instance after its attributes or some subset have been expired.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'expire')
def receive_expire(target, attrs):
    "listen for the 'expire' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

‘keys’ is a list of attribute names. If None, the entire state was expired.

Parameters:
  • target – the mapped instance. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
  • attrs – sequence of attribute names which were expired, or None if all attributes were expired.
first_init(manager, cls)

Called when the first instance of a particular mapping is called.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'first_init')
def receive_first_init(manager, cls):
    "listen for the 'first_init' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is called when the __init__ method of a class is called the first time for that particular class. The event invokes before __init__ actually proceeds as well as before the InstanceEvents.init() event is invoked.

init(target, args, kwargs)

Receive an instance when its constructor is called.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'init')
def receive_init(target, args, kwargs):
    "listen for the 'init' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This method is only called during a userland construction of an object, in conjunction with the object’s constructor, e.g. its __init__ method. It is not called when an object is loaded from the database; see the InstanceEvents.load() event in order to intercept a database load.

The event is called before the actual __init__ constructor of the object is called. The kwargs dictionary may be modified in-place in order to affect what is passed to __init__.

Parameters:
  • target – the mapped instance. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
  • args – positional arguments passed to the __init__ method. This is passed as a tuple and is currently immutable.
  • kwargs – keyword arguments passed to the __init__ method. This structure can be altered in place.
init_failure(target, args, kwargs)

Receive an instance when its constructor has been called, and raised an exception.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'init_failure')
def receive_init_failure(target, args, kwargs):
    "listen for the 'init_failure' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This method is only called during a userland construction of an object, in conjunction with the object’s constructor, e.g. its __init__ method. It is not called when an object is loaded from the database.

The event is invoked after an exception raised by the __init__ method is caught. After the event is invoked, the original exception is re-raised outwards, so that the construction of the object still raises an exception. The actual exception and stack trace raised should be present in sys.exc_info().

Parameters:
  • target – the mapped instance. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
  • args – positional arguments that were passed to the __init__ method.
  • kwargs – keyword arguments that were passed to the __init__ method.
load(target, context)

Receive an object instance after it has been created via __new__, and after initial attribute population has occurred.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'load')
def receive_load(target, context):
    "listen for the 'load' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This typically occurs when the instance is created based on incoming result rows, and is only called once for that instance’s lifetime.

Note that during a result-row load, this method is called upon the first row received for this instance. Note that some attributes and collections may or may not be loaded or even initialized, depending on what’s present in the result rows.

Parameters:
  • target – the mapped instance. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
  • context – the QueryContext corresponding to the current Query in progress. This argument may be None if the load does not correspond to a Query, such as during Session.merge().
pickle(target, state_dict)

Receive an object instance when its associated state is being pickled.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'pickle')
def receive_pickle(target, state_dict):
    "listen for the 'pickle' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...
Parameters:
  • target – the mapped instance. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
  • state_dict – the dictionary returned by InstanceState.__getstate__, containing the state to be pickled.
refresh(target, context, attrs)

Receive an object instance after one or more attributes have been refreshed from a query.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'refresh')
def receive_refresh(target, context, attrs):
    "listen for the 'refresh' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

Contrast this to the InstanceEvents.load() method, which is invoked when the object is first loaded from a query.

Parameters:
  • target – the mapped instance. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
  • context – the QueryContext corresponding to the current Query in progress.
  • attrs – sequence of attribute names which were populated, or None if all column-mapped, non-deferred attributes were populated.
refresh_flush(target, flush_context, attrs)

Receive an object instance after one or more attributes have been refreshed within the persistence of the object.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'refresh_flush')
def receive_refresh_flush(target, flush_context, attrs):
    "listen for the 'refresh_flush' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is the same as InstanceEvents.refresh() except it is invoked within the unit of work flush process, and the values here typically come from the process of handling an INSERT or UPDATE, such as via the RETURNING clause or from Python-side default values.

New in version 1.0.5.

Parameters:
  • target – the mapped instance. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
  • flush_context – Internal UOWTransaction object which handles the details of the flush.
  • attrs – sequence of attribute names which were populated.
unpickle(target, state_dict)

Receive an object instance after its associated state has been unpickled.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeClass, 'unpickle')
def receive_unpickle(target, state_dict):
    "listen for the 'unpickle' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...
Parameters:
  • target – the mapped instance. If the event is configured with raw=True, this will instead be the InstanceState state-management object associated with the instance.
  • state_dict – the dictionary sent to InstanceState.__setstate__, containing the state dictionary which was pickled.

Session Events

class sqlalchemy.orm.events.SessionEvents

Bases: sqlalchemy.event.base.Events

Define events specific to Session lifecycle.

e.g.:

from sqlalchemy import event
from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker

def my_before_commit(session):
    print "before commit!"

Session = sessionmaker()

event.listen(Session, "before_commit", my_before_commit)

The listen() function will accept Session objects as well as the return result of sessionmaker() and scoped_session().

Additionally, it accepts the Session class which will apply listeners to all Session instances globally.

after_attach(session, instance)

Execute after an instance is attached to a session.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_attach')
def receive_after_attach(session, instance):
    "listen for the 'after_attach' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This is called after an add, delete or merge.

Note

As of 0.8, this event fires off after the item has been fully associated with the session, which is different than previous releases. For event handlers that require the object not yet be part of session state (such as handlers which may autoflush while the target object is not yet complete) consider the new before_attach() event.

after_begin(session, transaction, connection)

Execute after a transaction is begun on a connection

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_begin')
def receive_after_begin(session, transaction, connection):
    "listen for the 'after_begin' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...
Parameters:
after_bulk_delete(delete_context)

Execute after a bulk delete operation to the session.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style (arguments as of 0.9)
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_bulk_delete')
def receive_after_bulk_delete(delete_context):
    "listen for the 'after_bulk_delete' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

# legacy calling style (pre-0.9)
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_bulk_delete')
def receive_after_bulk_delete(session, query, query_context, result):
    "listen for the 'after_bulk_delete' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

Changed in version 0.9: The after_bulk_delete event now accepts the arguments delete_context. Listener functions which accept the previous argument signature(s) listed above will be automatically adapted to the new signature.

This is called as a result of the Query.delete() method.

Parameters:delete_context

a “delete context” object which contains details about the update, including these attributes:

  • session - the Session involved
  • query -the Query object that this update operation was called upon.
  • context The QueryContext object, corresponding to the invocation of an ORM query.
  • result the ResultProxy returned as a result of the bulk DELETE operation.
after_bulk_update(update_context)

Execute after a bulk update operation to the session.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style (arguments as of 0.9)
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_bulk_update')
def receive_after_bulk_update(update_context):
    "listen for the 'after_bulk_update' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

# legacy calling style (pre-0.9)
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_bulk_update')
def receive_after_bulk_update(session, query, query_context, result):
    "listen for the 'after_bulk_update' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

Changed in version 0.9: The after_bulk_update event now accepts the arguments update_context. Listener functions which accept the previous argument signature(s) listed above will be automatically adapted to the new signature.

This is called as a result of the Query.update() method.

Parameters:update_context

an “update context” object which contains details about the update, including these attributes:

  • session - the Session involved
  • query -the Query object that this update operation was called upon.
  • context The QueryContext object, corresponding to the invocation of an ORM query.
  • result the ResultProxy returned as a result of the bulk UPDATE operation.
after_commit(session)

Execute after a commit has occurred.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_commit')
def receive_after_commit(session):
    "listen for the 'after_commit' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

Note

The after_commit() hook is not per-flush, that is, the Session can emit SQL to the database many times within the scope of a transaction. For interception of these events, use the before_flush(), after_flush(), or after_flush_postexec() events.

Note

The Session is not in an active transaction when the after_commit() event is invoked, and therefore can not emit SQL. To emit SQL corresponding to every transaction, use the before_commit() event.

Parameters:session – The target Session.
after_flush(session, flush_context)

Execute after flush has completed, but before commit has been called.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_flush')
def receive_after_flush(session, flush_context):
    "listen for the 'after_flush' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

Note that the session’s state is still in pre-flush, i.e. ‘new’, ‘dirty’, and ‘deleted’ lists still show pre-flush state as well as the history settings on instance attributes.

Parameters:
  • session – The target Session.
  • flush_context – Internal UOWTransaction object which handles the details of the flush.
after_flush_postexec(session, flush_context)

Execute after flush has completed, and after the post-exec state occurs.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_flush_postexec')
def receive_after_flush_postexec(session, flush_context):
    "listen for the 'after_flush_postexec' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This will be when the ‘new’, ‘dirty’, and ‘deleted’ lists are in their final state. An actual commit() may or may not have occurred, depending on whether or not the flush started its own transaction or participated in a larger transaction.

Parameters:
  • session – The target Session.
  • flush_context – Internal UOWTransaction object which handles the details of the flush.
after_rollback(session)

Execute after a real DBAPI rollback has occurred.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_rollback')
def receive_after_rollback(session):
    "listen for the 'after_rollback' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

Note that this event only fires when the actual rollback against the database occurs - it does not fire each time the Session.rollback() method is called, if the underlying DBAPI transaction has already been rolled back. In many cases, the Session will not be in an “active” state during this event, as the current transaction is not valid. To acquire a Session which is active after the outermost rollback has proceeded, use the SessionEvents.after_soft_rollback() event, checking the Session.is_active flag.

Parameters:session – The target Session.
after_soft_rollback(session, previous_transaction)

Execute after any rollback has occurred, including “soft” rollbacks that don’t actually emit at the DBAPI level.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_soft_rollback')
def receive_after_soft_rollback(session, previous_transaction):
    "listen for the 'after_soft_rollback' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This corresponds to both nested and outer rollbacks, i.e. the innermost rollback that calls the DBAPI’s rollback() method, as well as the enclosing rollback calls that only pop themselves from the transaction stack.

The given Session can be used to invoke SQL and Session.query() operations after an outermost rollback by first checking the Session.is_active flag:

@event.listens_for(Session, "after_soft_rollback")
def do_something(session, previous_transaction):
    if session.is_active:
        session.execute("select * from some_table")
Parameters:

New in version 0.7.3.

after_transaction_create(session, transaction)

Execute when a new SessionTransaction is created.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_transaction_create')
def receive_after_transaction_create(session, transaction):
    "listen for the 'after_transaction_create' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event differs from after_begin() in that it occurs for each SessionTransaction overall, as opposed to when transactions are begun on individual database connections. It is also invoked for nested transactions and subtransactions, and is always matched by a corresponding after_transaction_end() event (assuming normal operation of the Session).

Parameters:

New in version 0.8.

after_transaction_end(session, transaction)

Execute when the span of a SessionTransaction ends.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'after_transaction_end')
def receive_after_transaction_end(session, transaction):
    "listen for the 'after_transaction_end' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event differs from after_commit() in that it corresponds to all SessionTransaction objects in use, including those for nested transactions and subtransactions, and is always matched by a corresponding after_transaction_create() event.

Parameters:

New in version 0.8.

before_attach(session, instance)

Execute before an instance is attached to a session.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'before_attach')
def receive_before_attach(session, instance):
    "listen for the 'before_attach' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This is called before an add, delete or merge causes the object to be part of the session.

New in version 0.8.: Note that after_attach() now fires off after the item is part of the session. before_attach() is provided for those cases where the item should not yet be part of the session state.

before_commit(session)

Execute before commit is called.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'before_commit')
def receive_before_commit(session):
    "listen for the 'before_commit' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

Note

The before_commit() hook is not per-flush, that is, the Session can emit SQL to the database many times within the scope of a transaction. For interception of these events, use the before_flush(), after_flush(), or after_flush_postexec() events.

Parameters:session – The target Session.
before_flush(session, flush_context, instances)

Execute before flush process has started.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeSessionOrFactory, 'before_flush')
def receive_before_flush(session, flush_context, instances):
    "listen for the 'before_flush' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...
Parameters:
  • session – The target Session.
  • flush_context – Internal UOWTransaction object which handles the details of the flush.
  • instances – Usually None, this is the collection of objects which can be passed to the Session.flush() method (note this usage is deprecated).

Query Events

class sqlalchemy.orm.events.QueryEvents

Bases: sqlalchemy.event.base.Events

Represent events within the construction of a Query object.

The events here are intended to be used with an as-yet-unreleased inspection system for Query. Some very basic operations are possible now, however the inspection system is intended to allow complex query manipulations to be automated.

New in version 1.0.0.

before_compile(query)

Receive the Query object before it is composed into a core Select object.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeQuery, 'before_compile')
def receive_before_compile(query):
    "listen for the 'before_compile' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

This event is intended to allow changes to the query given:

@event.listens_for(Query, "before_compile", retval=True)
def no_deleted(query):
    for desc in query.column_descriptions:
        if desc['type'] is User:
            entity = desc['entity']
            query = query.filter(entity.deleted == False)
    return query

The event should normally be listened with the retval=True parameter set, so that the modified query may be returned.

Instrumentation Events

Defines SQLAlchemy’s system of class instrumentation.

This module is usually not directly visible to user applications, but defines a large part of the ORM’s interactivity.

instrumentation.py deals with registration of end-user classes for state tracking. It interacts closely with state.py and attributes.py which establish per-instance and per-class-attribute instrumentation, respectively.

The class instrumentation system can be customized on a per-class or global basis using the sqlalchemy.ext.instrumentation module, which provides the means to build and specify alternate instrumentation forms.

class sqlalchemy.orm.events.InstrumentationEvents

Bases: sqlalchemy.event.base.Events

Events related to class instrumentation events.

The listeners here support being established against any new style class, that is any object that is a subclass of ‘type’. Events will then be fired off for events against that class. If the “propagate=True” flag is passed to event.listen(), the event will fire off for subclasses of that class as well.

The Python type builtin is also accepted as a target, which when used has the effect of events being emitted for all classes.

Note the “propagate” flag here is defaulted to True, unlike the other class level events where it defaults to False. This means that new subclasses will also be the subject of these events, when a listener is established on a superclass.

Changed in version 0.8: - events here will emit based on comparing the incoming class to the type of class passed to event.listen(). Previously, the event would fire for any class unconditionally regardless of what class was sent for listening, despite documentation which stated the contrary.

attribute_instrument(cls, key, inst)

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeBaseClass, 'attribute_instrument')
def receive_attribute_instrument(cls, key, inst):
    "listen for the 'attribute_instrument' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

Called when an attribute is instrumented.

class_instrument(cls)

Called after the given class is instrumented.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeBaseClass, 'class_instrument')
def receive_class_instrument(cls):
    "listen for the 'class_instrument' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

To get at the ClassManager, use manager_of_class().

class_uninstrument(cls)

Called before the given class is uninstrumented.

Example argument forms:

from sqlalchemy import event

# standard decorator style
@event.listens_for(SomeBaseClass, 'class_uninstrument')
def receive_class_uninstrument(cls):
    "listen for the 'class_uninstrument' event"

    # ... (event handling logic) ...

To get at the ClassManager, use manager_of_class().