Fix · Supabase and databases

My query returns an empty list but the data is in the table

Blocks your work

What you may see

The table has rows in the dashboard but my app shows nothing, with no error
It works when I am the admin, not for visitors

Most likely cause

Row level security hides rows from the role that asks (no select policy), so the answer is empty rather than an error.

Check first (about two minutes)

Check whether the user is logged in at that moment and which role the call uses.
Look in the table's policies for a SELECT policy.

The fix prompt

What you type here never leaves your browser. The search runs on this page, and nothing is sent to a server or to an AI.

The exact error or what you see

What you did before it happened

Kept only in this browser, on this device. Keys and passwords are removed before anything is saved.

Prompt language

You are a careful senior engineer who knows Supabase (database, login and file storage) and explains it to people who are not developers. I am not a developer, so explain every step in plain words and tell me exactly which button, menu or command you mean. If you are not sure about something, say so; do not guess.

THE PROBLEM
My query returns an empty list but the data is in the table

THE EXACT ERROR OR WHAT I SEE
[paste the exact error here]

WHAT I DID BEFORE IT HAPPENED
[write in a few words what you did before it happened]

MOST LIKELY CAUSE
Row level security hides rows from the role that asks (no select policy), so the answer is empty rather than an error.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Check the table has row level security on and list its select policies.
2. Test the same query as anon and as a logged-in test user (not as the admin) and tell me which one returns rows.
3. Write the narrowest select policy for the rows that role should see (for example published = true, or user_id = auth.uid()).
4. Also check filters, the table name and the project address in the app.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- The app lists the rows meant for that visitor and no private rows.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not use the service key in the browser to see the rows.
- Anything I did not ask about: the design, the text, other pages, other settings or the data.
- Do not delete files, data or branches, do not reset or force-push, and do not rewrite history, unless you first show me exactly what would be lost and I say yes.
- Do not paste, print or ask me to paste a password or secret key into this chat. If one is needed, tell me which settings page of the right service to store it in.

WHEN YOU FINISH
Explain in simple words what you changed (file by file or setting by setting), why you changed it, and how I can undo it.

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Cursor, then follow what it says.

After you tried it, did it work?

Steps

Check the table has row level security on and list its select policies.
Test the same query as anon and as a logged-in test user (not as the admin) and tell me which one returns rows.
Write the narrowest select policy for the rows that role should see (for example published = true, or user_id = auth.uid()).
Also check filters, the table name and the project address in the app.

Do not do this

Do not use using (true) on a table that has private columns.
Do not use the service key in the browser to see the rows.

Try another entry