PostgreSQL

aid: postgres
name: PostgreSQL
description: >-
  PostgreSQL is a powerful, open-source object-relational database system with
  over 35 years of active development that has earned a strong reputation for
  reliability, feature robustness, and performance. It supports advanced SQL
  features, JSON, full-text search, custom data types, extensions, and
  transactional DDL. PostgreSQL does not expose a native HTTP REST API;
  client applications connect via the libpq C client library, JDBC, ODBC,
  or one of dozens of language-specific drivers using the PostgreSQL wire
  protocol (default port 5432).
type: Index
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
- Database
- Relational Database
- SQL
- Open Source
- PostgreSQL
- Object-Relational
- Data Storage
url: >-
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/postgres/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2026-05-11'
modified: '2026-05-11'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: postgres:wire-protocol
  name: PostgreSQL Wire Protocol
  description: >-
    The PostgreSQL frontend/backend protocol is the low-level message-based
    protocol used by all client drivers (libpq, JDBC, ODBC, psycopg, pgx,
    node-postgres, etc.) to communicate with the PostgreSQL server over
    TCP/IP or Unix sockets. Authentication supports password, SCRAM-SHA-256,
    MD5, GSSAPI, SSPI, certificate, LDAP, and other pluggable methods.
  humanURL: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/protocol.html
  baseURL: postgresql://hostname:5432
  tags:
  - Database
  - Wire Protocol
  - SQL
  - Connection Protocol
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/protocol.html
  - type: Specification
    url: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/protocol-message-formats.html
  - url: graphql/postgres-graphql.md
    type: GraphQL
- aid: postgres:libpq
  name: libpq C Client Library
  description: >-
    libpq is the official C application programmer's interface to PostgreSQL
    and the underlying library used by most other PostgreSQL client
    interfaces. It provides connection management, query execution, prepared
    statements, COPY support, asynchronous operations, and SSL/TLS.
  humanURL: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq.html
  baseURL: postgresql://hostname:5432
  tags:
  - Database
  - C Library
  - Client Library
  - libpq
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq.html
- aid: postgres:jdbc
  name: PostgreSQL JDBC Driver
  description: >-
    The official Type 4 JDBC driver for PostgreSQL enables Java applications
    to connect to PostgreSQL using the standard JDBC API. It supports
    connection pooling, prepared statements, batched updates, LOBs, COPY,
    and SSL connections.
  humanURL: https://jdbc.postgresql.org/documentation/
  baseURL: jdbc:postgresql://hostname:5432/database
  tags:
  - Database
  - JDBC
  - Java
  - Driver
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://jdbc.postgresql.org/documentation/
  - type: GitHub
    url: https://github.com/pgjdbc/pgjdbc
- aid: postgres:odbc
  name: PostgreSQL ODBC Driver (psqlODBC)
  description: >-
    The official ODBC driver for PostgreSQL providing Open Database
    Connectivity for Windows, Linux, and macOS applications including
    Microsoft Office, Tableau, Power BI, and other BI/ETL tools that
    consume ODBC data sources.
  humanURL: https://odbc.postgresql.org/
  baseURL: Driver={PostgreSQL};Server=hostname;Port=5432;Database=mydb
  tags:
  - Database
  - ODBC
  - Driver
  - BI Integration
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://odbc.postgresql.org/docs/
  - type: GitHub
    url: https://github.com/postgresql-interfaces/psqlodbc

common:
- type: Website
  url: https://www.postgresql.org
- type: Documentation
  url: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/
- type: Download
  url: https://www.postgresql.org/download/
- type: Source Code
  url: https://git.postgresql.org/gitweb/?p=postgresql.git
- type: GitHub Mirror
  url: https://github.com/postgres/postgres
- type: Mailing Lists
  url: https://www.postgresql.org/list/
- type: Community
  url: https://www.postgresql.org/community/
- type: License
  url: https://www.postgresql.org/about/licence/
features:
- name: ACID Transactions
  description: >-
    Full ACID-compliant transactions with multiple isolation levels including
    serializable snapshot isolation (SSI) for true serializable execution.
- name: Advanced SQL
  description: >-
    Comprehensive SQL standard support including window functions, common
    table expressions (CTEs), recursive queries, lateral joins, and more.
- name: JSON and JSONB
  description: >-
    First-class JSON and binary JSONB column types with rich operators,
    indexing (GIN), and path expressions for document-style workloads.
- name: Extensions
  description: >-
    Pluggable extension system enabling PostGIS (geospatial), pgvector
    (vector embeddings), TimescaleDB, pg_stat_statements, and hundreds more.
- name: Replication and HA
  description: >-
    Streaming replication, logical replication, hot standbys, and
    synchronous replication for high availability and read scaling.
- name: Full-Text Search
  description: >-
    Built-in full-text search with tsvector/tsquery, ranking, multiple
    languages, and integration with GIN/GiST indexes.
solutions:
- name: OLTP Application Database
  description: >-
    Primary transactional database for web applications, SaaS products,
    and enterprise systems requiring strong consistency and reliability.
- name: Geospatial Data Platform
  description: >-
    Industry-standard geospatial database via the PostGIS extension for
    mapping, GIS, location services, and spatial analytics.
- name: Vector Database for AI
  description: >-
    Store and query embedding vectors using pgvector for retrieval-augmented
    generation (RAG), semantic search, and recommendation systems.
useCases:
- name: SaaS Application Backend
  description: >-
    Multi-tenant relational backend for SaaS apps using row-level security,
    schemas, and JSONB for flexible per-tenant data.
- name: Analytics and Reporting
  description: >-
    Operational analytics workloads using window functions, CTEs, and
    columnar extensions like Citus or Hydra.
- name: Geospatial Applications
  description: >-
    Mapping, routing, and location-aware applications using PostGIS for
    spatial queries, geometries, and tiled map data.
integrations:
- name: PostGIS
  description: Geospatial extension adding geometry, geography, and raster types
- name: pgvector
  description: Vector similarity search extension for AI/ML embeddings
- name: TimescaleDB
  description: Time-series database extension built on PostgreSQL
- name: PostgREST
  description: Auto-generated REST API gateway exposing PostgreSQL tables as endpoints
- name: pgAdmin
  description: Open-source administration and development platform for PostgreSQL
- name: Hasura
  description: GraphQL API engine that auto-generates a GraphQL layer over PostgreSQL
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com