When to use this skill
Use this skill whenever the user wants to:
- Design tables, indexes, constraints, triggers, or PL/pgSQL functions
- Write or optimize SQL queries (joins, CTEs, window functions, aggregations)
- Use PostgreSQL-specific features (JSONB, full-text search, array types, pgvector)
- Manage users, roles, and permissions with psql
- Configure backup (pg_dump), replication, or performance tuning (EXPLAIN ANALYZE)
How to use this skill
Workflow
- Identify the task - Schema design, query writing, optimization, or administration
- Write the SQL - Use the patterns and examples below
- Analyze performance - Run EXPLAIN ANALYZE on slow queries
- Apply best practices - Index strategy, VACUUM, partitioning as needed
Quick-Start Example: Table with Index and Query
-- Create a table with constraints
CREATE TABLE orders (
id BIGSERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
customer_id BIGINT NOT NULL REFERENCES customers(id),
status TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'pending' CHECK (status IN ('pending','shipped','delivered')),
total NUMERIC(10,2) NOT NULL,
metadata JSONB DEFAULT '{}',
created_at TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL DEFAULT now()
);
-- Create an index for common queries
CREATE INDEX idx_orders_customer_status ON orders (customer_id, status);
-- Query with CTE and window function
WITH monthly_totals AS (
SELECT customer_id,
date_trunc('month', created_at) AS month,
SUM(total) AS month_total
FROM orders
WHERE status = 'delivered'
GROUP BY customer_id, date_trunc('month', created_at)
)
SELECT customer_id, month, month_total,
LAG(month_total) OVER (PARTITION BY customer_id ORDER BY month) AS prev_month
FROM monthly_totals;
Performance Analysis
EXPLAIN (ANALYZE, BUFFERS, FORMAT TEXT)
SELECT * FROM orders WHERE customer_id = 42 AND status = 'pending';
Best Practices
- Index strategically - Create indexes for WHERE/JOIN columns; use partial indexes for filtered queries
- Run VACUUM regularly - Prevent table bloat; configure autovacuum thresholds for high-write tables
- Partition large tables - Use range partitioning on timestamp columns for tables over 100M rows
- Use ROLE/GRANT - Grant least privilege; never use superuser for application connections
- Backup and verify - Use
pg_dumpor WAL archiving; test restore procedures regularly
Keywords
postgresql, postgres, psql, SQL, JSONB, full-text search, CTE, window function, 关系型数据库, 索引, 复制, EXPLAIN ANALYZE, pg_dump, partitioning