# Avoid inserts in autocommit mode if possible

To improve insert performance, avoid inserts in autocommit mode if possible.

Inserts can be painfully slow in autocommit mode because each commit involves an update of the log on the disk for each INSERT statement. The commit will not return until a physical disk write is executed. To speed things up:

- Run in autocommit false mode, execute a number of inserts in one transaction, and then explicitly issue a commit.
- If your application allows an initial load into the table, you can use the import procedures to insert data into a table. Derby will not log the individual inserts when loading into an empty table using these interfaces. See the Derby Reference Manual and the Derby Server and Administration Guide for more information on the import procedures.

Parent topic: Performance tips and tricks
Related concepts
Use prepared statements with substitution parameters
Create indexes, and make sure they are being used
Ensure that table statistics are accurate
Increase the size of the data page cache
Tune the size of database pages
Avoid expensive queries
Use the appropriate getXXX and setXXX methods for the type
Tune database booting/class loading
Improve the performance of table functions
Configure Derby to use an in-memory database
Increase the concurrency of sequences
Shut down the system properly
Put Derby first in your classpath