PostgreSQL Field Notes

Notes for the problems that show up after launch: bad plans, awkward migrations, index debt, vacuum pressure, replica lag, and the small decisions that make PostgreSQL easier to operate.

PostgreSQL Topic Hubs

PostgreSQL Guide (Pillar)

pgvector Monitoring Query Optimizer Sizing Slow Query Monitoring Query Monitoring

PostgreSQL Tools

HNSW Tuning Lab Plan Autopsy Index Rollout

Tool Comparisons

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January 10, 20267 min read

The Postgres Health Check I Run Before Blaming the App

Before the application team and the database team start arguing, run this 90-second sweep. Half the time it ends the discussion.

January 9, 20265 min read

auto_explain in Postgres: Catching Bad Plans After They Happen

auto_explain is the extension that captures slow query plans automatically. Without it, slow-query investigations are mostly guessing.

January 8, 20265 min read

pgbench for Load Testing: Useful, Limited, and Often Misinterpreted

pgbench measures Postgres throughput under a synthetic workload. It tells you something useful, but only if you understand what its numbers mean.

January 7, 20266 min read

The Postgres Migration Review Checklist I Use Before Approving Any Schema Change

Most production schema bugs are caused by migrations that looked fine in review. Here is the checklist that catches the dangerous ones before they merge.

January 3, 20267 min read

JSONB Indexing in Postgres: Where It Helps and Where People Get Surprised

JSONB columns are great. JSONB indexing has a steeper learning curve than the docs admit. Here is what works in production.