damusix PostgreSQL Skill
This skill is the working reference for PostgreSQL 16, 17, and 18 (current baseline: PG16). Cross-version notes go back to PG14 where behavior changed; PG13 and earlier are end-of-life and out of scope. PG14 reaches end-of-life on 2026-11-12 — flag upgrade urgency when a user is on it.
The skill is provider-neutral: bare-metal/self-hosted, containers, and Kubernetes operators are all covered. Managed-service limitations are called out categorically ("most managed providers disable X") without naming or recommending any specific vendor.
Each topic lives in its own reference file under references/. SKILL.md routes a user question to the right reference; the reference contains the executable detail, version admonitions, and primary-source citations.
Usage Workflow
When this skill is loaded, follow these steps to answer the user's question:
- Identify the topic. Match the user's question against the Routing Table below using the keyword column. For multi-topic questions (e.g. "the locking behavior of REINDEX CONCURRENTLY") select multiple files.
- Load the matched reference file(s). Use the Read tool against
references/NN-topic.md. Do not paraphrase from memory — the reference holds the authoritative version notes and source URLs. - Follow See Also. Each reference ends with a See Also section linking related files. Follow it for cross-cutting questions (e.g. a VACUUM question pulls in MVCC, autovacuum, and wraparound).
- Answer using the file. Lead with the direct answer or code, then version notes via admonitions, then caveats, then citation URLs.
- Never answer from memory alone when a reference file exists for the topic. The references are the source of truth for this skill; the model's training data is not version-specific enough.
- Assume PG16 unless told otherwise. If the user does not state a version, answer for PG16 and add a one-line note for differences on PG17/PG18. Only ask the user which version they are on if the answer materially changes across supported versions (e.g. wraparound mechanics, planner statistics behavior, archive_command vs archive_library).
[!NOTE] When a Postgres question does not obviously match a single file, load these cross-cutting entry points first:
references/102-skill-cookbook.md(symptom-driven recipes spanning multiple files),references/22-indexes-overview.md(index decision routing),references/56-explain.md(plan reading),references/64-system-catalogs.md(catalog introspection).
User Response Format
Structure every answer using this skill as follows:
- Lead with the direct answer or pattern. If a SQL snippet or
psqlcommand satisfies the question, put that first. - Add version admonitions inline. Use
> [!NOTE] PostgreSQL 17for new-in-17 features,> [!WARNING] Removed/Deprecatedfor things gone (with the version they were removed in and the replacement). - Call out managed-service limitations categorically when relevant. Phrase as "most managed providers disable X" — never name a specific provider.
- End with source links. Cite the official PostgreSQL docs pinned to the correct major version (e.g.
https://www.postgresql.org/docs/16/sql-vacuum.html, not/docs/current/). - For longer answers, use headers matching the reference file's section headings so the user can jump to the source.
- For version-sensitive answers, default to PG16 + add inline
> [!NOTE] PG17/> [!NOTE] PG18deltas. Only ask the user to confirm version when the answer flips between supported majors. - For any performance investigation document or slow-query guide, always include an explicit section explaining how to read EXPLAIN plans bottom-up: start at the deepest-indented leaf node (scans execute first), work upward through parents (joins, sorts, aggregates), reach the root last. Identify the first node where
actual rowsdiverges 10× or more from estimatedrows— that is the misestimate source; everything above it operates on bad cardinality.
Routing Table
Keywords are matched case-insensitively. A single file can match multiple keyword phrases.
| Keywords | File | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| CREATE TABLE, ALTER TABLE, DROP TABLE, schema, sequence, generated column, identity column, IF NOT EXISTS | references/01-syntax-ddl.md |
DDL syntax reference |
| SELECT, JOIN, LATERAL, subquery, UNION, INTERSECT, EXCEPT, DISTINCT ON, LIMIT, OFFSET, FETCH FIRST | references/02-syntax-dql.md |
Query (DQL) reference |
| INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, RETURNING, ON CONFLICT, upsert, MERGE, DEFAULT VALUES | references/03-syntax-dml.md |
DML reference |
| WITH, CTE, recursive CTE, WITH RECURSIVE, MATERIALIZED, modifying CTE | references/04-ctes.md |
Common Table Expressions |
| view, CREATE VIEW, updatable view, INSTEAD OF, security_barrier, security_invoker, materialized view, REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW CONCURRENTLY | references/05-views.md |
Views and materialized views |
| CREATE FUNCTION, LANGUAGE, IMMUTABLE, STABLE, VOLATILE, PARALLEL SAFE, SECURITY DEFINER, RETURNS TABLE, polymorphic | references/06-functions.md |
Functions |
| CREATE PROCEDURE, CALL, transaction control in procedure, COMMIT in procedure | references/07-procedures.md |
Procedures |
| PL/pgSQL, plpgsql, DECLARE, BEGIN, EXCEPTION, RAISE, FOR LOOP, cursor in plpgsql, GET STACKED DIAGNOSTICS | references/08-plpgsql.md |
PL/pgSQL deep dive |
| plpython3u, plperl, plperlu, pltcl, plv8, procedural language, untrusted PL | references/09-procedural-languages.md |
Non-pgSQL procedural languages |
| EXECUTE, dynamic SQL, format(), quote_ident, quote_literal, SQL injection in plpgsql | references/10-dynamic-sql.md |
Dynamic SQL |
| OVER, PARTITION BY, window function, ROWS BETWEEN, RANGE BETWEEN, GROUPS, LAG, LEAD, FIRST_VALUE, LAST_VALUE, NTH_VALUE, RANK, DENSE_RANK, ROW_NUMBER, NTILE | references/11-window-functions.md |
Window functions |
| aggregate, FILTER, GROUPING SETS, ROLLUP, CUBE, percentile_cont, percentile_disc, ordered-set aggregate, CREATE AGGREGATE | references/12-aggregates-grouping.md |
Aggregates & grouping |
| DECLARE CURSOR, FETCH, MOVE, WITH HOLD, scrollable cursor, refcursor, PREPARE, EXECUTE, DEALLOCATE, plan_cache_mode | references/13-cursors-and-prepares.md |
Cursors & prepared statements |
| text, varchar, char, numeric, decimal, real, double precision, integer, boolean, bytea, inet, cidr, macaddr, bit, varbit | references/14-data-types-builtin.md |
Built-in types |
| CREATE TYPE, composite type, CREATE DOMAIN, ENUM, ALTER TYPE ADD VALUE, range type, multirange | references/15-data-types-custom.md |
Custom types (composite/domain/enum/range) |
| array, ARRAY[], unnest, array_agg, array_position, ANY, ALL, GIN on array | references/16-arrays.md |
Arrays |
| JSON, JSONB, ->, ->>, #>, #>>, @>, jsonb_set, jsonb_insert, jsonb_path_query, jsonpath, JSON_TABLE, jsonb_ops, jsonb_path_ops | references/17-json-jsonb.md |
JSON / JSONB |
| uuid, gen_random_uuid, uuidv7, uuid-ossp, NUMERIC precision, money, serial, bigserial, IDENTITY column | references/18-uuid-numeric-money.md |
UUID, numeric, money, identity |
| timestamp, timestamptz, AT TIME ZONE, interval, date_trunc, date_part, timezone, DST, infinity timestamp | references/19-timestamp-timezones.md |
Timestamps & time zones |
| tsvector, tsquery, to_tsvector, to_tsquery, plainto_tsquery, phraseto_tsquery, websearch_to_tsquery, ts_rank, ts_headline, FTS, full-text search | references/20-text-search.md |
Full-text search |
| hstore | references/21-hstore.md |
hstore extension |
| index decision, choose index type, multicolumn index, partial index, expression index, INCLUDE | references/22-indexes-overview.md |
Index decision matrix |
| B-tree, btree, deduplication, bottom-up index deletion, fillfactor, INCLUDE columns, covering index | references/23-btree-indexes.md |
B-tree indexes |
| GIN, GiST, KNN-GiST, jsonb_ops, jsonb_path_ops, EXCLUDE USING gist, fastupdate, gin_pending_list_limit | references/24-gin-gist-indexes.md |
GIN & GiST indexes |
| BRIN, minmax_multi, bloom index, hash index, SP-GiST | references/25-brin-hash-spgist-bloom-indexes.md |
BRIN, hash, SP-GiST, bloom |
| CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY, REINDEX CONCURRENTLY, INVALID index, pg_repack, pg_squeeze, index bloat | references/26-index-maintenance.md |
Index maintenance |
| MVCC, xmin, xmax, cmin, cmax, infomask, tuple visibility, snapshot, xip, MultiXact | references/27-mvcc-internals.md |
MVCC internals |
| VACUUM, autovacuum, VACUUM FULL, VACUUM FREEZE, autovacuum_vacuum_scale_factor, pg_stat_progress_vacuum, visibility map, parallel vacuum | references/28-vacuum-autovacuum.md |
VACUUM & autovacuum |
| transaction id wraparound, XID wraparound, datfrozenxid, autovacuum_freeze_max_age, MultiXact wraparound, 64-bit XID | references/29-transaction-id-wraparound.md |
TXID wraparound |
| HOT update, heap-only tuple, n_tup_hot_upd, HOT chain | references/30-hot-updates.md |
HOT updates |
| TOAST, oversized attribute, storage strategy, PLAIN, EXTENDED, EXTERNAL, MAIN, pglz, lz4 compression | references/31-toast.md |
TOAST |
| shared_buffers, buffer manager, clock sweep, bgwriter, pg_buffercache, ring buffer | references/32-buffer-manager.md |
Buffer manager |
| WAL, wal_level, full_page_writes, archive_command, archive_library, wal_compression, wal_segment_size, pg_waldump | references/33-wal.md |
Write-Ahead Log |
| checkpoint, checkpointer, checkpoint_timeout, max_wal_size, checkpoint_completion_target, bgwriter_lru_maxpages, pg_stat_checkpointer | references/34-checkpoints-bgwriter.md |
Checkpoints & bgwriter |
| partition, RANGE partition, LIST partition, HASH partition, partition pruning, ATTACH PARTITION, DETACH PARTITION, DEFAULT partition, partition-wise join | references/35-partitioning.md |
Declarative partitioning |
| inheritance, INHERITS, ONLY clause | references/36-inheritance.md |
Table inheritance |
| CHECK constraint, NOT NULL, UNIQUE, UNIQUE NULLS NOT DISTINCT, EXCLUDE constraint, NOT VALID, VALIDATE CONSTRAINT, deferrable | references/37-constraints.md |
Constraints |
| foreign key, FOREIGN KEY, REFERENCES, ON DELETE CASCADE, ON DELETE SET NULL, deferrable FK, partitioned FK, circular FK | references/38-foreign-keys-deep.md |
Foreign keys |
| CREATE TRIGGER, BEFORE trigger, AFTER trigger, INSTEAD OF, FOR EACH ROW, FOR EACH STATEMENT, NEW, OLD, transition table, REFERENCING NEW TABLE | references/39-triggers.md |
Triggers |
| event trigger, CREATE EVENT TRIGGER, ddl_command_start, ddl_command_end, sql_drop, table_rewrite, pg_event_trigger_ddl_commands | references/40-event-triggers.md |
Event triggers |
| BEGIN, COMMIT, ROLLBACK, SAVEPOINT, subtransaction, PREPARE TRANSACTION, 2PC, idle_in_transaction_session_timeout, autocommit | references/41-transactions.md |
Transactions |
| Read Committed, Repeatable Read, Serializable, SSI, snapshot isolation, default_transaction_isolation, serialization failure, retry pattern | references/42-isolation-levels.md |
Isolation levels |
| lock, FOR UPDATE, FOR NO KEY UPDATE, FOR SHARE, FOR KEY SHARE, NOWAIT, SKIP LOCKED, AccessExclusiveLock, RowExclusiveLock, pg_locks, pg_blocking_pids, deadlock | references/43-locking.md |
Locking |
| advisory lock, pg_advisory_lock, pg_advisory_xact_lock, pg_try_advisory_lock | references/44-advisory-locks.md |
Advisory locks |
| LISTEN, NOTIFY, UNLISTEN, pg_notify, notification queue | references/45-listen-notify.md |
LISTEN/NOTIFY |
| CREATE ROLE, GRANT, REVOKE, ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES, pg_read_all_data, pg_monitor, SET ROLE, REASSIGN OWNED, INHERIT, NOINHERIT, BYPASSRLS | references/46-roles-privileges.md |
Roles & privileges |
| row-level security, RLS, CREATE POLICY, USING, WITH CHECK, FORCE ROW LEVEL SECURITY, ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY | references/47-row-level-security.md |
Row-Level Security |
| pg_hba.conf, authentication method, scram-sha-256, md5, peer, trust, ident, ldap, gss, cert auth | references/48-authentication-pg-hba.md |
pg_hba.conf & auth |
| SSL, TLS, sslmode, verify-full, channel binding, server cert, client certificate, ssl_ciphers | references/49-tls-ssl.md |
TLS/SSL |
| pgcrypto, encrypt, decrypt, pgp_sym_encrypt, digest, crypt, gen_salt, TDE | references/50-encryption-pgcrypto.md |
pgcrypto |
| pgaudit, audit log, session auditing, object auditing, compliance logging | references/51-pgaudit.md |
pgaudit |
| CREATE RULE, rule system, ON SELECT DO INSTEAD | references/52-rules-system.md |
Rule system |
| postgresql.conf, postgresql.auto.conf, GUC, pg_settings, ALTER SYSTEM, reload, pg_reload_conf, parameter context | references/53-server-configuration.md |
Configuration |
| shared_buffers, effective_cache_size, work_mem, hash_mem_multiplier, maintenance_work_mem, autovacuum_work_mem, temp_buffers, wal_buffers, huge_pages | references/54-memory-tuning.md |
Memory tuning |
| ANALYZE, pg_statistic, pg_stats, default_statistics_target, extended statistics, CREATE STATISTICS, ndistinct, dependencies, MCV | references/55-statistics-planner.md |
Statistics & planner input |
| EXPLAIN, EXPLAIN ANALYZE, EXPLAIN (BUFFERS), Seq Scan, Index Scan, Index Only Scan, Bitmap Heap Scan, Nested Loop, Hash Join, Merge Join, Memoize, Gather, Append, row estimate, plan node | references/56-explain.md |
EXPLAIN deep dive |
| pg_stat_statements, query stats, top queries, calls, mean_exec_time, shared_blks_hit | references/57-pg-stat-statements.md |
pg_stat_statements |
| pg_stat_activity, wait_event, pg_stat_user_tables, pg_stat_user_indexes, pg_stat_database, pg_stat_io, pg_stat_wal, pg_stat_progress_*, performance diagnostics | references/58-performance-diagnostics.md |
pg_stat_* diagnostics |
| random_page_cost, seq_page_cost, cpu_tuple_cost, effective_io_concurrency, enable_seqscan, enable_hashjoin, join_collapse_limit, geqo, planner tuning | references/59-planner-tuning.md |
Planner tuning |
| parallel query, max_parallel_workers, max_parallel_workers_per_gather, max_parallel_maintenance_workers, parallel append, parallel hash join, force_parallel_mode | references/60-parallel-query.md |
Parallel query |
| JIT, jit_above_cost, jit_inline_above_cost, LLVM, just-in-time compilation | references/61-jit-compilation.md |
JIT compilation |
| tablespace, CREATE TABLESPACE, default_tablespace, temp_tablespaces, SET TABLESPACE | references/62-tablespaces.md |
Tablespaces |
| postmaster, backend process, autovacuum launcher, walwriter, walsender, walreceiver, archiver, bgwriter, checkpointer, logical replication worker, shared memory architecture, fork per connection | references/63-internals-architecture.md |
Process & memory architecture |
| pg_catalog, pg_class, pg_attribute, pg_index, pg_namespace, pg_constraint, pg_proc, pg_type, pg_depend, pg_inherits, pg_partitioned_table, pg_publication, pg_subscription, pg_extension, pg_authid, pg_roles, pg_database, pg_tablespace, pg_settings, relkind, information_schema, ECHO_HIDDEN, catalog exploration | references/64-system-catalogs.md |
System catalogs & exploration recipes |
| collation, ICU, libc, deterministic collation, nondeterministic collation, case-insensitive UNIQUE, collation version, encoding, UTF-8, client_encoding | references/65-collations-encoding.md |
Collations & encoding |
| COPY, \copy, bulk load, CSV import, HEADER, DELIMITER, FREEZE, ON_ERROR, LOG_VERBOSITY, parallel COPY | references/66-bulk-operations-copy.md |
COPY / bulk |
| psql, \d, \dt, \di, \df, \dn, \dx, \timing, \watch, \gexec, pg_isready, createdb, dropdb, vacuumdb, reindexdb, clusterdb | references/67-cli-tools.md |
CLI tools |
| pgbench, benchmark, TPC-B, -c clients, -j threads, scaling factor, custom pgbench script | references/68-pgbench.md |
pgbench |
| CREATE EXTENSION, ALTER EXTENSION UPDATE, pg_extension, trusted extension, contrib | references/69-extensions.md |
Extensions overview |
| FDW, foreign data wrapper, CREATE FOREIGN TABLE, postgres_fdw, file_fdw, IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA, dblink, pushdown | references/70-fdw.md |
FDW |
| large object, lo_create, lo_open, lo_read, lo_export, lo_import, pg_largeobject, vacuumlo, bytea vs LO | references/71-large-objects.md |
Large objects |
| extension development, PGXS, PG_MODULE_MAGIC, PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1, .control, hooks, C extension | references/72-extension-development.md |
Extension development |
| streaming replication, primary_conninfo, primary_slot_name, standby.signal, recovery.signal, synchronous_standby_names, synchronous_commit, cascading replication, hot_standby_feedback | references/73-streaming-replication.md |
Streaming replication |
| logical replication, CREATE PUBLICATION, CREATE SUBSCRIPTION, FOR ALL TABLES, FOR TABLES IN SCHEMA, row filter, column list, replication origin, DDL replication, two-phase decoding | references/74-logical-replication.md |
Logical replication |
| replication slot, pg_create_physical_replication_slot, pg_create_logical_replication_slot, max_slot_wal_keep_size, max_replication_slots, max_wal_senders, pg_replication_slots, slot invalidation | references/75-replication-slots.md |
Replication slots |
| logical decoding, pgoutput, wal2json, decoderbufs, test_decoding, CDC, REPLICA IDENTITY, START_REPLICATION SLOT LOGICAL | references/76-logical-decoding.md |
Logical decoding |
| standby, hot standby, max_standby_streaming_delay, hot_standby_feedback, pg_promote, pg_rewind, timeline ID, failover, switchover | references/77-standby-failover.md |
Standby & failover |
| HA, high availability, Patroni, repmgr, pg_auto_failover, Stolon, cluster manager, fencing, split brain, witness | references/78-ha-architectures.md |
HA architectures |
| Patroni, patroni.yml, DCS, etcd, consul, zookeeper, REST API, /failover, /switchover, watchdog | references/79-patroni.md |
Patroni |
| connection pool, pool sizing, transaction pool, session pool, statement pool, process-per-connection | references/80-connection-pooling.md |
Connection pooling concepts |
| pgBouncer, pool_mode, default_pool_size, reserve_pool_size, server_idle_timeout, prepared statement pgbouncer, SHOW POOLS, SHOW STATS | references/81-pgbouncer.md |
pgBouncer |
| monitoring, postgres_exporter, prometheus, pg_stat_*, alerting thresholds, log-based metrics | references/82-monitoring.md |
Monitoring |
| pg_dump, pg_dumpall, pg_restore, custom format, directory format, parallel dump, --filter, --on-conflict-do-nothing | references/83-backup-pg-dump.md |
Logical backup |
| pg_basebackup, base backup, archive_command, restore_command, recovery_target_time, recovery_target_xid, PITR, point-in-time recovery, continuous archiving | references/84-backup-physical-pitr.md |
Physical backup & PITR |
| pgBackRest, Barman, WAL-G, incremental backup, retention policy, S3 backup | references/85-backup-tools.md |
Backup tooling |
| pg_upgrade, --link, --clone, major upgrade, statistics preservation, preflight check | references/86-pg-upgrade.md |
pg_upgrade |
| major version upgrade, blue-green upgrade, logical replication upgrade, near-zero downtime, catalog version | references/87-major-version-upgrade.md |
Major-version upgrade strategy |
| corruption, data_checksums, pg_amcheck, pg_checksums, pg_resetwal, single-user mode, zero_damaged_pages | references/88-corruption-recovery.md |
Corruption recovery |
| pg_rewind, divergent timeline, wal_log_hints, --source-server, --source-pgdata | references/89-pg-rewind.md |
pg_rewind |
| disaster recovery, RPO, RTO, DR drill, runbook, failover bookkeeping | references/90-disaster-recovery.md |
Disaster recovery |
| docker postgres, docker-entrypoint-initdb.d, POSTGRES_PASSWORD, healthcheck postgres container, volume PGDATA | references/91-docker-postgres.md |
Docker postgres image |
| Kubernetes postgres, CloudNativePG, CNPG, postgres-operator, Zalando, Crunchy PGO, StatefulSet | references/92-kubernetes-operators.md |
K8s operators |
| pg_trgm, trigram, similarity, % operator, GIN trigram, LIKE acceleration, word_similarity | references/93-pg-trgm.md |
pg_trgm |
| pgvector, vector, embedding, HNSW, IVFFLAT, <->, <=>, <#>, halfvec, sparsevec, m, ef_construction, ef_search, lists, probes, ANN | references/94-pgvector.md |
pgvector |
| PostGIS, geometry, geography, SRID, ST_Transform, ST_DWithin, ST_Intersects, ST_Buffer, spatial index | references/95-postgis.md |
PostGIS |
| TimescaleDB, hypertable, continuous aggregate, compression, retention policy, chunk | references/96-timescaledb.md |
TimescaleDB |
| Citus, distributed table, reference table, coordinator, worker, shard, colocated join, columnar storage | references/97-citus.md |
Citus |
| pg_cron, cron.schedule, cron.job, cron.job_run_details, scheduled VACUUM, scheduled REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW | references/98-pg-cron.md |
pg_cron |
| pg_partman, partman.create_parent, run_maintenance_proc, partition retention, partman.part_config, sub-partition | references/99-pg-partman.md |
pg_partman |
| PG14, PG15, PG16, PG17, PG18, release notes, version features, support policy | references/100-pg-versions-features.md |
Per-major-version feature highlights |
| managed Postgres, managed PaaS, hosted Postgres, bare-metal, self-hosted, superuser restriction, extension allowlist, shared_preload_libraries restriction, vendor lock-in | references/101-managed-vs-baremetal.md |
Managed vs bare-metal trade-offs (provider-agnostic) |
| recipe, cookbook, bloat triage, slow-query investigation, deadlock investigation, replication lag investigation, PITR walkthrough, upgrade playbook, catalog exploration | references/102-skill-cookbook.md |
Multi-file recipes & catalog exploration |
Disambiguation Tips
Some terms route to multiple files — load both when in doubt.
| Term | Primary file | Secondary file | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
VACUUM blocking |
28-vacuum-autovacuum.md | 27-mvcc-internals.md, 29-transaction-id-wraparound.md | Why VACUUM exists is MVCC; what it must do is bounded by wraparound |
EXPLAIN plan |
56-explain.md | 55-statistics-planner.md, 59-planner-tuning.md | Misestimates point to stats; tuning may need GUC changes |
Index choice |
22-indexes-overview.md | 23-btree-indexes.md through 25-brin-hash-spgist-bloom-indexes.md | Overview routes to specifics |
Deadlock |
43-locking.md | 42-isolation-levels.md | Predicate locks (SSI) cause different deadlocks |
Replication is lagging |
73-streaming-replication.md | 75-replication-slots.md, 82-monitoring.md | Lag could be stream pressure or slot retention |
Upgrade |
86-pg-upgrade.md | 87-major-version-upgrade.md | pg_upgrade is one strategy; the other file covers blue/green and logical-repl-based upgrades |
JSON column performance |
17-json-jsonb.md | 24-gin-gist-indexes.md | JSONB indexing happens via GIN |
Full-text search ranking |
20-text-search.md | 24-gin-gist-indexes.md | FTS uses GIN |
Bulk load slow |
66-bulk-operations-copy.md | 33-wal.md, 28-vacuum-autovacuum.md | WAL volume and post-load vacuum dominate |
Catalog exploration / inspection |
64-system-catalogs.md | 102-skill-cookbook.md | The cookbook has runnable recipes |
shared_buffers |
32-buffer-manager.md | 54-memory-tuning.md | Mechanics live in 32; sizing guidance lives in 54 |
work_mem / hash_mem_multiplier |
54-memory-tuning.md | 59-planner-tuning.md, 56-explain.md | Sizing in 54; planner cost interaction in 59; spill-to-disk diagnosis in 56 |
archive_command / archive_library |
33-wal.md | 84-backup-physical-pitr.md, 85-backup-tools.md | WAL-level mechanics in 33; PITR consumer side in 84; pgBackRest/Barman/WAL-G in 85 |
wal_level |
33-wal.md | 74-logical-replication.md, 76-logical-decoding.md | Setting + implications in 33; logical consumers in 74/76 |
pg_basebackup |
84-backup-physical-pitr.md | 89-pg-rewind.md, 73-streaming-replication.md | Base backup in 84; rebuild-after-divergence alternative in 89; standby provisioning in 73 |
Partition rotation / retention |
35-partitioning.md | 99-pg-partman.md, 98-pg-cron.md | Native partitioning in 35; lifecycle automation in 99; scheduling in 98 |
Slow query |
56-explain.md | 57-pg-stat-statements.md, 58-performance-diagnostics.md, 55-statistics-planner.md, 102-skill-cookbook.md | Workload-wide via 57; plan via 56; misestimate root cause in 55; full investigation walk in 102 |
Connection storm / too many connections |
80-connection-pooling.md | 81-pgbouncer.md, 63-internals-architecture.md, 46-roles-privileges.md | Pooling concepts in 80; pgBouncer config in 81; fork-per-connection cost in 63; per-role connection limits in 46 |
Failover / promote |
77-standby-failover.md | 78-ha-architectures.md, 79-patroni.md, 89-pg-rewind.md | Manual mechanics in 77; cluster-manager landscape in 78; Patroni-specific in 79; rejoin-old-primary in 89 |
Versioning & Provider Neutrality
- Target compatibility baseline: every SQL example must run on PostgreSQL 16 unless explicitly marked otherwise.
- Version-pin docs URLs. Cite
https://www.postgresql.org/docs/16/..., not/docs/current/. Thecurrentalias moves with each annual release. - Provider neutrality is mandatory. Never recommend a managed provider over another. When discussing managed-service limitations, phrase categorically ("most managed providers disable untrusted PLs"), not by name.
Sources
Primary documentation roots (re-fetch before citing in any reference file; version-pin URLs to the matching major):
- PostgreSQL 14 manual (cross-version notes only): https://www.postgresql.org/docs/14/index.html
- PostgreSQL 15 manual (cross-version notes only): https://www.postgresql.org/docs/15/index.html
- PostgreSQL 16 manual (default baseline): https://www.postgresql.org/docs/16/index.html
- PostgreSQL 17 manual: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/17/index.html
- PostgreSQL 18 manual: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/18/index.html
- Per-version release notes: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/release/
- Versioning + support policy: https://www.postgresql.org/support/versioning/
- PostgreSQL Wiki: https://wiki.postgresql.org/
- Source code mirror: https://github.com/postgres/postgres