Pg_stat_all_tables on Postgres Scripts

Find Missing Indexes in PostgreSQL with SQL

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How to Find Missing Indexes in PostgreSQL

A missing index means PostgreSQL reads every row in a table to find what it needs. This is called a sequential scan. For small tables, that is fine. For large tables, it is slow and wastes CPU and I/O.

PostgreSQL tracks sequential scans in the pg_stat_all_tables view. You can query this view to find tables that are being scanned too often without an index. Once you find those tables, you can add the right indexes and speed up your queries.

Monitor PostgreSQL HOT Updates and Fillfactor

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How to Monitor PostgreSQL HOT Updates and Fillfactor

When PostgreSQL updates a row, it normally writes a new row version and creates a new index entry pointing to it. This is safe, but it adds overhead — especially on tables with many indexes.

HOT updates (Heap Only Tuple) are a smarter path. When a HOT update happens, PostgreSQL writes the new row version on the same data page and links it to the old version, without touching any indexes. This is faster and reduces index bloat. But HOT updates are only possible when there is free space on the same page as the old row.

Mastering PostgreSQL Locks: Troubleshooting & Insights

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Mastering PostgreSQL Locks: Troubleshooting and Performance Insights

In a busy PostgreSQL database, multiple transactions might try to access the same resources simultaneously. Locks are PostgreSQL's way of handling concurrency, ensuring data consistency and preventing conflicts. This article dives into PostgreSQL lock monitoring, explaining the provided scripts, troubleshooting techniques, and how to optimize performance when lock contention occurs.

Sample Code from Command Line

 1SELECT
 2 t.schemaname,
 3 t.relname,
 4 -- l.database, -- id number is less useful, take schemaname from join instead
 5 l.locktype,
 6 page,
 7 virtualtransaction,
 8 pid,
 9 mode,
10 granted
11FROM
12 pg_locks l,
13 --pg_stat_user_tables t
14 pg_stat_all_tables t
15WHERE
16 l.relation = t.relid
17ORDER BY
18 relation ASC;
19
20SELECT
21 relation::regclass AS relation_regclass,
22 *
23FROM
24 pg_locks
25WHERE
26 NOT granted;

Notes List PostgreSQL Locks. Tested on PostgreSQL 8.4, 9.x, 10.x, 11.x, 12.x, 13.0