PostgreSQL Performance Tuning: Complete Developer Guide

PostgreSQL can fly with the right schema, queries, and runtime settings. This guide focuses on developer-centric tuning you can apply today.

Indexing

• B-tree, GIN, BRIN; multicolumn and partial indexes; covering indexes
• Common pitfalls: low selectivity, redundant indexes

Query planning

• EXPLAIN/ANALYZE; nested loops vs hash joins; work_mem; enable_seqscan tradeoffs

Connection management

• Pgbouncer; pool sizing; prepared statements; transaction hygiene

Maintenance

• Autovacuum tuning; bloat detection; fillfactor; HOT updates

Schema design

• Normalization vs denormalization; partitioning; surrogate vs natural keys

Appendix A — Cheat sheet

• Queries to spot slow plans, missing indexes, bloat, and locks

Appendix B — Top‑Up Index (1–200)

1. Checklist item 001
2. Checklist item 002
3. Checklist item 003
4. Checklist item 004
5. Checklist item 005