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Postgres how-to guides

A comprehensive collection of practical PostgreSQL how-to guides covering database management, optimization, troubleshooting, and best practices. These guides are derived from real-world scenarios and provide actionable solutions to common PostgreSQL challenges.

Each how-to page includes "Copy for LLM" and "View raw" buttons for easy copying.

📚 Guide Categories​

Performance & query optimization​

Master query optimization, indexing strategies, and performance tuning techniques to make your PostgreSQL database blazing fast.

Database administration​

Essential guides for DBAs covering maintenance, backup strategies, configuration, and operational best practices.

Monitoring & troubleshooting​

Learn to effectively monitor your PostgreSQL instances and troubleshoot common issues including locks, performance problems, and system diagnostics.

Schema design & DDL operations​

Best practices for schema design, safe DDL operations, data type selection, and maintaining data integrity with constraints.

Development tools & techniques​

Powerful tips for psql, advanced SQL techniques, and effective use of PostgreSQL client tools.

Advanced topics​

Deep dives into PostgreSQL internals, extensions, replication, and other advanced features.

Miscellaneous​

Various PostgreSQL tips, antipatterns, and general advice that don't fit into specific categories but are valuable to know.

📊 Guide statistics​

  • Total guides: Dozens of guides (and growing!)
  • Categories: 7
  • Difficulty levels: Beginner to advanced
  • PostgreSQL versions: 12+ (most guides work with 10+)

Credits​

Author and main maintainer: Nikolay Samokhvalov (except where otherwise noted in individual guides)

Reviewers: We gratefully acknowledge the following people who helped review these guides:

  • Sadeq Dousti
  • Dmitry Fomin
  • Bogdan Tsechoev
  • Denis Morozov

Contributing​

We welcome contributions from the PostgreSQL community! This is a public, collaborative effort. You can help by:

  • Fixing typos or improving existing guides
  • Adding new how-to articles based on your experience
  • Providing additional examples and use cases

The source files are available at: https://gitlab.com/postgres-ai/docs/-/tree/master/docs/postgres-howtos

Feel free to submit merge requests!