Supabase Postgres Best Practices

---
name: supabase-postgres-best-practices
description: "Postgres best practices maintained by Supabase, for Postgres
  running anywhere. Load this skill BEFORE writing or changing anything that
  lives in a Postgres database: creating or altering tables and columns
  (including choosing column types), schema design, migrations and declarative
  schema files, RLS policies and the tests that verify them, indexes, triggers,
  database functions, queues and scheduled jobs (pg_cron, pgmq), vector/semantic
  search (pgvector), and restoring dumps (pg_restore) or importing data. Also
  load it when diagnosing slow queries, high CPU, timeouts, EXPLAIN plans,
  connection exhaustion, locking, bloat, or rows visible to the wrong user or
  tenant. This is not just a performance guide — schema, migration, security,
  and SQL authoring tasks need these rules too, even for a one-column change or
  a single query."
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: supabase
  version: 1.1.1
  organization: Supabase
  date: January 2026
  abstract: Comprehensive Postgres performance optimization guide for developers
    using Supabase and Postgres. Contains performance rules across 8 categories,
    prioritized by impact from critical (query performance, connection
    management) to incremental (advanced features). Each rule includes detailed
    explanations, incorrect vs. correct SQL examples, query plan analysis, and
    specific performance metrics to guide automated optimization and code
    generation.
---
# Supabase Postgres Best Practices

Comprehensive performance optimization guide for Postgres, maintained by Supabase. Contains rules across 8 categories, prioritized by impact to guide automated query optimization and schema design.

## When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:
- Writing SQL queries or designing schemas
- Implementing indexes or query optimization
- Reviewing database performance issues
- Configuring connection pooling or scaling
- Optimizing for Postgres-specific features
- Working with Row-Level Security (RLS)

## Rule Categories by Priority

| Priority | Category | Impact | Prefix |
|----------|----------|--------|--------|
| 1 | Query Performance | CRITICAL | `query-` |
| 2 | Connection Management | CRITICAL | `conn-` |
| 3 | Security & RLS | CRITICAL | `security-` |
| 4 | Schema Design | HIGH | `schema-` |
| 5 | Concurrency & Locking | MEDIUM-HIGH | `lock-` |
| 6 | Data Access Patterns | MEDIUM | `data-` |
| 7 | Monitoring & Diagnostics | LOW-MEDIUM | `monitor-` |
| 8 | Advanced Features | LOW | `advanced-` |

## How to Use

Read individual rule files for detailed explanations and SQL examples:

```
references/query-missing-indexes.md
references/query-partial-indexes.md
references/_sections.md
```

Each rule file contains:
- Brief explanation of why it matters
- Incorrect SQL example with explanation
- Correct SQL example with explanation
- Optional EXPLAIN output or metrics
- Additional context and references
- Supabase-specific notes (when applicable)

## References

- https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/
- https://supabase.com/docs
- https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Performance_Optimization
- https://supabase.com/docs/guides/database/overview
- https://supabase.com/docs/guides/auth/row-level-security