PostgreSQL-Diagnostic-Queries

psql queries to quickly Identify & resolve database performance problems

Image

As a seasoned data store engineer, I often find myself in situations where a production application is down due to some sort of performance issue and I am being asked “What’s wrong with the database?”. In almost all these situations, the database (along with the DBA) is automatically considered guilty until proven innocent. As a DBA, I need the tools and knowledge to help quickly determine the actual problem, if there is one, because maybe there’s nothing wrong with the database or the database server. My favorite approach to start with data driven performance analysis using  PostgreSQL systems catalog

In below post, I am sharing bunch of PostgreSQL system catalog queries that can be used to troubleshoot database engine performance

Postgres system catalogs are a place where database management system stores schema metadata, such as information about tables and columns, and internal bookkeeping information. PostgreSQL’s system catalogs are regular tables.

Instance level queries

POSTGRESQL SYSTEM CONFIGURATION

1. Get Postgres version
SHOW server_version;

-- Get release history of 'supported' versions
| Version | First Release      | Final Release     |
| ------- | ------------------ | ----------------- |
| 18      | September 25, 2025 | November 14, 2030 |
| 17      | September 26, 2024 | November 8, 2029  |
| 16      | September 14, 2023 | November 9, 2028  |
| 15      | October 13, 2022   | November 11, 2027 |
| 14      | September 30, 2021 | November 12, 2026 |
| 13      | September 24, 2020 | November 13, 2025 |
2. Get product version, server IP and port number
-- Get server version (standard major.minor.patch format) 
SELECT Version()          AS "Postgres Version", 
	    Inet_server_addr() AS "Server IP", 
       setting            AS "Port Number"
FROM   pg_settings 
WHERE  name = 'port'; 
3. Get selected server properties
-- Get server up-time 
SELECT Inet_server_addr() 
       AS 
       Server_IP --server IP address, 
       Inet_server_port() AS Server_Port --server port, 
       Current_database() AS Current_Database --Current database, 
       current_user AS Current_User --Current user, 
       Pg_backend_pid() AS ProcessID --Current user pid, 
       Pg_postmaster_start_time() AS Server_Start_Time --start time, 
       current_timestamp :: TIMESTAMP - Pg_postmaster_start_time() :: TIMESTAMP AS Running_Since; 
4. Get selected postgres configuration parameter values
-- Option 1: PG_SETTINGS
-- This gives you a lot of useful info about postgres instance
SELECT name, unit, setting FROM pg_settings WHERE name ='port'                  
UNION ALL
SELECT name, unit, setting FROM pg_settings WHERE name ='shared_buffers'        -- shared_buffers determines how much memory is dedicated for caching data
UNION ALL
SELECT name, unit, setting FROM pg_settings WHERE name ='work_mem'              -- work memory required for each incoming connection
UNION ALL
SELECT name, unit, setting FROM pg_settings WHERE name ='maintenance_work_mem'  -- work memory of maintenace type queries "VACUUM, CREATE INDEX etc."
UNION ALL
SELECT name, unit, setting FROM pg_settings WHERE name ='wal_buffers'           -- Sets the number of disk-page buffers in shared memory for WAL
UNION ALL           
SELECT name, unit, setting FROM pg_settings WHERE name ='effective_cache_size'  -- used by postgres query planner
UNION ALL
SELECT name, unit, setting FROM pg_settings WHERE name ='TimeZone'              -- server time zone;

-- Option 2: SHOW ALL
-- The SHOW ALL command displays all current configuration setting of in three columns
SHOW all;

-- Option 3: PG_FILE_SETTINGS
-- To read what is stored in the postgresql.conf file itself, use the view pg_file_settings.
SELECT * FROM pg_settings;

5. Get Operating System (OS) details
-- Get OS Version
SELECT version();

| OS     | Wiki References                                       |
| ------ | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| RedHat | wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux	         |
| Windows| wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Microsoft_Windows_versions |
| Mac OS | wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS				                 |
| Ubuntu | wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_version_history		     |
6. Get location of data file and log file (WAL) directory (this is where postgres stores the database files)
-- Get location of data and WAL files
SELECT NAME,
       setting
FROM   pg_settings
WHERE  NAME IN ( 'data_directory', 'log_directory' ); 
--OR 
SHOW data_directory;
SHOW log_directory;
7. Get data and log (WAL) size for all databases
-- Get cumulative size of all data files
SELECT Pg_size_pretty(Sum(Pg_database_size(datname))) AS total_database_size
FROM   pg_database;

-- Get cumulative size of all Write-Ahead Log (WAL) files
SELECT Pg_size_pretty(Sum(size)) AS total_WAL_size
FROM   Pg_ls_waldir(); 
8. List all databases along with their creation date
-- Get list of all databases with creation date
SELECT datname AS database_name, 
       (Pg_stat_file('base/' 
              ||oid 
              ||'/PG_VERSION')).modification as create_timestamp 
FROM   pg_database 
WHERE  datistemplate = false;
9. List all databases along with their size
-- Get list databases and size
SELECT 
    pg_database.datname AS database_name,
    pg_size_pretty(pg_database_size(pg_database.datname)) AS size
FROM 
    pg_database;
10. Get an overview of current server activity
-- Get current server activity
SELECT
    pid
    , datname
    , usename
    , application_name
    , client_addr
    , to_char(backend_start, 'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS TZ') AS backend_start
    , state
    , wait_event_type || ': ' || wait_event AS wait_event
    , pg_blocking_pids(pid) AS blocking_pids
    , query
    , to_char(state_change, 'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS TZ') AS state_change
    , to_char(query_start, 'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS TZ') AS query_start
    , backend_type
FROM
    pg_stat_activity
ORDER BY pid;

CONNECTION DETAILS


11. Get connections configuration
-- Get maximum amount of connections is configured in the configuration file with max_connections.  Default is 100
show max_connections;

-- To calculate the connections that are really available, one has also to check the reserved connections for superusers configured in superuser_reserved_connections. Default is 3
show superuser_reserved_connections;

-- With PostgreSQL 16 arrived a new parameter to reserve connections to certain roles, reserved_connections. Default is 0
show reserved_connections;
12. Get total usable connections
-- Get total usable connections
SELECT sum(   CASE name
                  WHEN 'max_connections' THEN
                      setting::int
                  ELSE
                      setting::int * (-1)
              END
          ) AS available_connections
FROM pg_settings
WHERE name IN ( 'max_connections', 'superuser_reserved_connections', 'reserved_connections' );
13. Get active Vs. inactive connections
-- Get active Vs. inactive connections
SELECT state, 
       Count(pid) 
FROM   pg_stat_activity 
GROUP  BY state, 
          datname 
HAVING datname = '<your_database_name>' 
ORDER  BY Count(pid) DESC; 

-- One row per server process, showing database OID, database name, process ID, user OID, user name, current query, query's waiting status, time at which the current query began execution
-- Time at which the process was started, and client's address and port number. The columns that report data on the current query are available unless the parameter stats_command_string has been turned off.
-- Furthermore, these columns are only visible if the user examining the view is a superuser or the same as the user owning the process being reported on

Database specific queries

**** Switch to a user database that you are interested in *****

14. Get database size (pretty size)
-- Get current db size
SELECT Current_database(), 
       Pg_size_pretty(Pg_database_size(Current_database())); 
15. Get top 20 objects in database by size
-- Get top 20 objects by size
SELECT nspname                                        AS schemaname, 
       cl.relname                                     AS objectname, 
       CASE relkind 
         WHEN 'r' THEN 'table' 
         WHEN 'i' THEN 'index' 
         WHEN 'S' THEN 'sequence' 
         WHEN 'v' THEN 'view' 
         WHEN 'm' THEN 'materialized view' 
         ELSE 'other' 
       end                                            AS type, 
       s.n_live_tup                                   AS total_rows, 
       Pg_size_pretty(Pg_total_relation_size(cl.oid)) AS size 
FROM   pg_class cl 
       LEFT JOIN pg_namespace n 
              ON ( n.oid = cl.relnamespace ) 
       LEFT JOIN pg_stat_user_tables s 
              ON ( s.relid = cl.oid ) 
WHERE  nspname NOT IN ( 'pg_catalog', 'information_schema' ) 
       AND cl.relkind <> 'i' 
       AND nspname !~ '^pg_toast' 
ORDER  BY Pg_total_relation_size(cl.oid) DESC 
LIMIT  20; 
16. Get size of all tables
-- Get all tables by size
SELECT *, 
       Pg_size_pretty(total_bytes) AS total, 
       Pg_size_pretty(index_bytes) AS INDEX, 
       Pg_size_pretty(toast_bytes) AS toast, 
       Pg_size_pretty(table_bytes) AS TABLE 
FROM   (SELECT *, 
               total_bytes - index_bytes - COALESCE(toast_bytes, 0) AS 
               table_bytes 
        FROM   (SELECT c.oid, 
                       nspname                               AS table_schema, 
                       relname                               AS TABLE_NAME, 
                       c.reltuples                           AS row_estimate, 
                       Pg_total_relation_size(c.oid)         AS total_bytes, 
                       Pg_indexes_size(c.oid)                AS index_bytes, 
                       Pg_total_relation_size(reltoastrelid) AS toast_bytes 
                FROM   pg_class c 
                       LEFT JOIN pg_namespace n 
                              ON n.oid = c.relnamespace 
                WHERE  relkind = 'r') a) a; 
17. Get table metadata
-- Get table metadata
SELECT relname, 
       relpages, 
       reltuples, 
       relallvisible, 
       relkind, 
       relnatts, 
       relhassubclass, 
       reloptions, 
       Pg_table_size(oid) 
FROM   pg_class 
WHERE  relname = '<table_name_here>'; 
18. Get table structure (i.e. describe table)
-- Get table description
SELECT column_name, 
       data_type, 
       character_maximum_length 
FROM   information_schema.columns 
WHERE  table_name = '<table_name_here>'; 
						  
-- Does the table have anything unusual about it?
-- a. contains large objects
-- b. has a large proportion of NULLs in several columns
-- c. receives a large number of UPDATEs or DELETEs regularly
-- d. is growing rapidly
-- e. has many indexes on it
-- f. uses triggers that may be executing database functions, or is calling functions directly

LOCKING

19. Get Lock connection count
-- Get lock connection count
SELECT Count(DISTINCT pid) AS count 
FROM   pg_locks 
WHERE  NOT granted; 
20. Get Lock relation count
-- Get lock relation count
SELECT   relation::regclass  AS relname , 
         count(DISTINCT pid) AS count 
FROM     pg_locks 
WHERE    NOT granted 
GROUP BY 1;
21. Get locks_statement_duration
-- Get locks_statement_duration
SELECT a.query                                     AS blocking_statement, 
       Extract('epoch' FROM Now() - a.query_start) AS blocking_duration 
FROM   pg_locks bl 
       JOIN pg_stat_activity a 
         ON a.pid = bl.pid 
WHERE  NOT bl.granted; 

INDEXING

22. Get missing indexes
-- Get missing index stats
SELECT 
	relname AS TableName
	,seq_scan-idx_scan AS TotalSeqScan
	,CASE WHEN seq_scan-idx_scan > 0 
		THEN 'Missing Index Found' 
		ELSE 'Missing Index Not Found' 
	END AS MissingIndex
	,pg_size_pretty(pg_relation_size(relname::regclass)) AS TableSize
	,idx_scan AS TotalIndexScan
FROM pg_stat_all_tables
WHERE schemaname='public'
	AND pg_relation_size(relname::regclass)>100000 
		ORDER BY 2 DESC;
23. Get Unused Indexes
-- Get unused index stats
SELECT indexrelid::regclass AS INDEX , 
       relid::regclass      AS TABLE , 
       'DROP INDEX ' 
              || indexrelid::regclass 
              || ';' AS drop_statement 
FROM   pg_stat_user_indexes 
JOIN   pg_index 
using  (indexrelid) 
WHERE  idx_scan = 0 
AND    indisunique IS false;
24. Get index usage stats
-- Get index usage stats
SELECT t.tablename                                                         AS 
       "relation", 
       indexname, 
       c.reltuples                                                         AS 
       num_rows, 
       Pg_size_pretty(Pg_relation_size(Quote_ident(t.tablename) :: text))  AS 
       table_size, 
       Pg_size_pretty(Pg_relation_size(Quote_ident(indexrelname) :: text)) AS 
       index_size, 
       idx_scan                                                            AS 
       number_of_scans, 
       idx_tup_read                                                        AS 
       tuples_read, 
       idx_tup_fetch                                                       AS 
       tuples_fetched 
FROM   pg_tables t 
       left outer join pg_class c 
                    ON t.tablename = c.relname 
       left outer join (SELECT c.relname   AS ctablename, 
                               ipg.relname AS indexname, 
                               x.indnatts  AS number_of_columns, 
                               idx_scan, 
                               idx_tup_read, 
                               idx_tup_fetch, 
                               indexrelname, 
                               indisunique 
                        FROM   pg_index x 
                               join pg_class c 
                                 ON c.oid = x.indrelid 
                               join pg_class ipg 
                                 ON ipg.oid = x.indexrelid 
                               join pg_stat_all_indexes psai 
                                 ON x.indexrelid = psai.indexrelid) AS foo 
                    ON t.tablename = foo.ctablename 
WHERE  t.schemaname = 'public' 
ORDER  BY 1, 2;

QUERY PERFORMANCE

25. Get top 10 costly queries
-- Get top 10 costly queries
SELECT   r.rolname, 
         Round((100 * total_time / Sum(total_time::numeric) OVER ())::numeric, 2) AS percentage_cpu ,
         Round(total_time::numeric, 2)                                            AS total_time, 
         calls, 
         Round(mean_time::numeric, 2) AS mean, 
         Substring(query, 1, 800)     AS short_query 
FROM     pg_stat_statements 
JOIN     pg_roles r 
ON       r.oid = userid 
ORDER BY total_time DESC limit 10;

CACHING

26. Get TOP cached tables & indexes
-- Get cache hit ratio for tables
SELECT relname AS "relation", 
       heap_blks_read AS heap_read, 
       heap_blks_hit AS heap_hit, 
       COALESCE((( heap_blks_hit * 100 ) / NULLIF(( heap_blks_hit + heap_blks_read ), 0)),0) AS ratio 
FROM   pg_statio_user_tables
	ORDER BY ratio DESC;

-- Get cache hit ratio for indexes
SELECT relname AS "relation",
	idx_blks_read AS index_read, 
    idx_blks_hit AS index_hit,
    COALESCE((( idx_blks_hit * 100 ) / NULLIF(( idx_blks_hit + idx_blks_read ), 0)),0) AS ratio
FROM pg_statio_user_indexes
	ORDER BY ratio DESC;

AUTOVACUUM & Data bloat

27. Last Autovaccum, live & dead tuples
-- Get autovaccum stats
SELECT relname AS "relation", 
       Extract (epoch FROM CURRENT_TIMESTAMP - last_autovacuum) AS since_last_av, 
       autovacuum_count AS av_count, 
       n_tup_ins, 
       n_tup_upd, 
       n_tup_del, 
       n_live_tup, 
       n_dead_tup 
FROM   pg_stat_all_tables 
WHERE  schemaname = 'public' 
ORDER  BY relname; 

PARTITIONING

28. List all table partitions (as parent/child relationship)
-- Get table partitioning info
SELECT nmsp_parent.nspname AS parent_schema, 
       parent.relname      AS parent, 
       child.relname       AS child, 
       CASE child.relkind 
         WHEN 'r' THEN 'table' 
         WHEN 'i' THEN 'index' 
         WHEN 'S' THEN 'sequence' 
         WHEN 'v' THEN 'view' 
         WHEN 'm' THEN 'materialized view' 
         ELSE 'other' 
       END                 AS type, 
       s.n_live_tup        AS total_rows 
FROM   pg_inherits 
       JOIN pg_class parent 
         ON pg_inherits.inhparent = parent.oid 
       JOIN pg_class child 
         ON pg_inherits.inhrelid = child.oid 
       JOIN pg_namespace nmsp_parent 
         ON nmsp_parent.oid = parent.relnamespace 
       JOIN pg_namespace nmsp_child 
         ON nmsp_child.oid = child.relnamespace 
       JOIN pg_stat_user_tables s 
         ON s.relid = child.oid 
WHERE  child.relkind = 'r' 
ORDER  BY parent, 
          child; 
29. List ranges for all partitions (and sub-partitions) for a given table
-- Get ranges for all partitions (and sub-partitions)
SELECT pt.relname AS partition_name,
       Pg_get_expr(pt.relpartbound, pt.oid, TRUE) AS partition_expression
FROM   pg_class base_tb
       join pg_inherits i
         ON i.inhparent = base_tb.oid
       join pg_class pt
         ON pt.oid = i.inhrelid
WHERE  base_tb.oid = 'public.table_name ' :: regclass; 
30. Postgres 12 – pg_partition_tree()

Alternatively, can use new PG12 function pg_partition_tree() to display information about partitions. 

-- Get pg_partition_tree()
SELECT relid, 
       parentrelid, 
       isleaf, 
       level 
FROM   Pg_partition_tree('<parent_table_name>'); 

SECURITY Roles and Privileges

31. Checking if user is connected is a “superuser”
SELECT usesuper 
FROM   pg_user 
WHERE  usename = CURRENT_USER; 
32. List all users (along with assigned roles) in current database
-- Get all users/roles in current database
SELECT usename AS role_name, 
       CASE 
         WHEN usesuper 
              AND usecreatedb THEN Cast('superuser, create database' AS 
                                   pg_catalog.TEXT) 
         WHEN usesuper THEN Cast('superuser' AS pg_catalog.TEXT) 
         WHEN usecreatedb THEN Cast('create database' AS pg_catalog.TEXT) 
         ELSE Cast('' AS pg_catalog.TEXT) 
       END     role_attributes 
FROM   pg_catalog.pg_user 
ORDER  BY role_name DESC; 

EXTENSIONS

33. List available extensions
-- Get all available extensions
-- pg_available_extensions is a system catalogue view listing all available extensions.
SELECT *
FROM   pg_available_extensions 
34. List installed extensions
-- Get all installed extensions
SELECT pge.extname    AS extension_name,
       pge.extversion AS extension_version,
       pge.extowner   AS extension_owner,
       pgu.usename    AS owner_name,
       pgu.usesuper   AS is_super_user
FROM   pg_extension pge
       JOIN pg_user pgu
         ON pge.extowner = pgu.usesysid 
35. List preloaded PostgreSQL libraries
-- Get preloaded PostgreSQL libraries
SELECT unnest(string_to_array(setting, ',')) AS shared_preload_libraries
FROM pg_settings
WHERE name = 'shared_preload_libraries'
ORDER BY 1;



Like what I write? Join my mailing list, and I’ll let you know whenever I write another post. No spam, I promise! 👨‍💻

Unknown's avatar

Author: Varun Dhawan

I’m Varun. I used to be a Software Engineer building data applications for large corporations like McKinsey and Target. Now, I’m a Product Manager at Microsoft, making Azure PostgreSQL the go-to platform for running mission-critical workloads (and no, I’m not obsessing over every little detail… I swear). When I’m not working, you can find me blogging at data-nerd.blog, where I help fellow data enthusiasts master PostgreSQL, sharpen their coding skills, and navigate their careers with confidence. And if there’s one thing you absolutely need to know about me, it’s that…I'm apparently a great cook—just don’t ask why I’m the only one who eats my food.

3 thoughts on “PostgreSQL-Diagnostic-Queries”

Leave a comment