PostgreSQL Patterns

Purpose

Provide a highly optimized, high-fidelity PostgreSQL query design, database schema configuration, index optimization, and performance monitoring diagnostics guide.

When to Use This Skill

• Designing schema datatypes and constraints for database tables.
• Building composite, GIN, BRIN, covering, or partial indexes.
• Implementing optimized Row Level Security (RLS) policies.
• Running diagnostics to identify slow queries, table bloat, or missing foreign key indexes.

Output Format / Delivery

Provide highly optimized SQL query scripts, index configurations, or RLS policies. Ensure composite indexes prioritize equality columns before range columns, and timeouts are systematically configured.

Behavior Rules

1. Never use random UUIDs or generic varchar(255) as default datatypes without a domain reason — favor bigint/text or structured maps.
2. Never build indexes concurrently inside transactions — concurrent indexes must run in isolated connections.
3. Always wrap RLS policy user-id subqueries in SELECT statements to allow Postgres to compile and cache them efficiently.
4. Never query without statement and transaction timeouts — prevent connection exhaustion in production.

Maintenance Notes

This skill is locked for PostgreSQL v15+ features. Update when new major postgres releases introduce advanced core indexing structures.

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Phase 1: PostgreSQL Quick Reference Cheat Sheets

Index Cheat Sheet

Query Pattern	Index Type	Example
WHERE col = value	B-tree (default)	CREATE INDEX idx ON t (col)
WHERE col > value	B-tree	CREATE INDEX idx ON t (col)
WHERE a = x AND b > y	Composite	CREATE INDEX idx ON t (a, b)
WHERE jsonb @> '{}'	GIN	CREATE INDEX idx ON t USING gin (col)
WHERE tsv @@ query	GIN	CREATE INDEX idx ON t USING gin (col)
Time-series ranges	BRIN	CREATE INDEX idx ON t USING brin (col)

Data Type Quick Reference

Use Case	Correct Type	Avoid
IDs	bigint	int, random UUID
Strings	text	varchar(255)
Timestamps	timestamptz	timestamp
Money	numeric(10,2)	float
Flags	boolean	varchar, int

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Phase 2: Common PostgreSQL Query Patterns

Composite Index Order:

-- Equality columns first, then range columns
CREATE INDEX idx ON orders (status, created_at);
-- Works for: WHERE status = 'pending' AND created_at > '2024-01-01'

Covering Index:

CREATE INDEX idx ON users (email) INCLUDE (name, created_at);
-- Avoids table lookup for SELECT email, name, created_at

Partial Index:

CREATE INDEX idx ON users (email) WHERE deleted_at IS NULL;
-- Smaller index, only includes active users

RLS Policy (Optimized):

CREATE POLICY policy ON orders
  USING ((SELECT auth.uid()) = user_id);  -- Wrap in SELECT!

UPSERT:

INSERT INTO settings (user_id, key, value)
VALUES (123, 'theme', 'dark')
ON CONFLICT (user_id, key)
DO UPDATE SET value = EXCLUDED.value;

Cursor Pagination:

SELECT * FROM products WHERE id > $last_id ORDER BY id LIMIT 20;
-- O(1) vs OFFSET which is O(n)

Queue Processing:

UPDATE jobs SET status = 'processing'
WHERE id = (
  SELECT id FROM jobs WHERE status = 'pending'
  ORDER BY created_at LIMIT 1
  FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED
) RETURNING *;

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Phase 3: Diagnostic and Configuration Patterns

Anti-Pattern Detection

-- Find unindexed foreign keys
SELECT conrelid::regclass, a.attname
FROM pg_constraint c
JOIN pg_attribute a ON a.attrelid = c.conrelid AND a.attnum = ANY(c.conkey)
WHERE c.contype = 'f'
  AND NOT EXISTS (
    SELECT 1 FROM pg_index i
    WHERE i.indrelid = c.conrelid AND a.attnum = ANY(i.indkey)
  );

-- Find slow queries
SELECT query, mean_exec_time, calls
FROM pg_stat_statements
WHERE mean_exec_time > 100
ORDER BY mean_exec_time DESC;

-- Check table bloat
SELECT relname, n_dead_tup, last_vacuum
FROM pg_stat_user_tables
WHERE n_dead_tup > 1000
ORDER BY n_dead_tup DESC;

Configuration Template

-- Connection limits (adjust for RAM)
ALTER SYSTEM SET max_connections = 100;
ALTER SYSTEM SET work_mem = '8MB';

-- Timeouts
ALTER SYSTEM SET idle_in_transaction_session_timeout = '30s';
ALTER SYSTEM SET statement_timeout = '30s';

-- Monitoring
CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pg_stat_statements;

-- Security defaults
REVOKE ALL ON SCHEMA public FROM public;

SELECT pg_reload_conf();