Supabase Postgres Best Practices

When to Apply These Practices

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)

Query Performance

Critical Impact

Slow queries, missing indexes, inefficient query plans. The most common source of Postgres performance issues.

Connection Management

Critical Impact

Connection pooling, limits, and serverless strategies. Critical for applications with high concurrency or serverless deployments.

Use Connection Pooling for All Applications

Handle 10-100x more concurrent users

Set Appropriate Connection Limits

Prevent database crashes and memory exhaustion

Configure Idle Connection Timeouts

Reclaim 30-50% of connection slots

Use Prepared Statements Correctly with Pooling

Avoid prepared statement conflicts

Security & RLS

Critical Impact

Row-Level Security policies, privilege management, and authentication patterns.

Enable Row Level Security for Multi-Tenant Data

Database-enforced tenant isolation

Optimize RLS Policies for Performance

5-10x faster RLS queries

Apply Principle of Least Privilege

Reduced attack surface, better audit trail

Schema Design

High Impact

Table design, index strategies, partitioning, and data type selection. Foundation for long-term performance.

Choose Appropriate Data Types

50% storage reduction, faster comparisons

Index Foreign Key Columns

10-100x faster JOINs and CASCADE operations

Use Lowercase Identifiers for Compatibility

Avoid case-sensitivity bugs with tools and ORMs

Partition Large Tables for Better Performance

5-20x faster queries and maintenance

Select Optimal Primary Key Strategy

Better index locality, reduced fragmentation

Concurrency & Locking

Medium-High Impact

Transaction management, isolation levels, deadlock prevention, and lock contention patterns.

Use Advisory Locks for Application-Level Locking

Efficient coordination without row-level lock overhead

Prevent Deadlocks with Consistent Lock Ordering

Eliminate deadlock errors, improve reliability

Keep Transactions Short to Reduce Lock Contention

3-5x throughput improvement, fewer deadlocks

Use SKIP LOCKED for Non-Blocking Queue Processing

10x throughput for worker queues

Data Access Patterns

Medium Impact

N+1 query elimination, batch operations, cursor-based pagination, and efficient data fetching.

Batch INSERT Statements for Bulk Data

10-50x faster bulk inserts

Eliminate N+1 Queries with Batch Loading

10-100x fewer database round trips

Use Cursor-Based Pagination Instead of OFFSET

Consistent O(1) performance regardless of page depth

Use UPSERT for Insert-or-Update Operations

Atomic operation, eliminates race conditions

Monitoring & Diagnostics

Low-Medium Impact

Using pg_stat_statements, EXPLAIN ANALYZE, metrics collection, and performance diagnostics.

Use EXPLAIN ANALYZE to Diagnose Slow Queries

Identify exact bottlenecks in query execution

Enable pg_stat_statements for Query Analysis

Identify top resource-consuming queries

Maintain Table Statistics with VACUUM and ANALYZE

2-10x better query plans with accurate statistics

Advanced Features

Low Impact

Full-text search, JSONB optimization, PostGIS, extensions, and advanced Postgres features.

Use tsvector for Full-Text Search

100x faster than LIKE, with ranking support

Index JSONB Columns for Efficient Querying

10-100x faster JSONB queries

When to Apply These Practices

Query Performance

Add Indexes on WHERE and JOIN Columns

Create Composite Indexes for Multi-Column Queries

Use Covering Indexes to Avoid Table Lookups

Choose the Right Index Type for Your Data

Use Partial Indexes for Filtered Queries

Connection Management

Use Connection Pooling for All Applications

Set Appropriate Connection Limits

Configure Idle Connection Timeouts

Use Prepared Statements Correctly with Pooling

Security & RLS

Enable Row Level Security for Multi-Tenant Data

Optimize RLS Policies for Performance

Apply Principle of Least Privilege

Schema Design

Choose Appropriate Data Types

Index Foreign Key Columns

Use Lowercase Identifiers for Compatibility

Partition Large Tables for Better Performance

Select Optimal Primary Key Strategy

Concurrency & Locking

Use Advisory Locks for Application-Level Locking

Prevent Deadlocks with Consistent Lock Ordering

Keep Transactions Short to Reduce Lock Contention

Use SKIP LOCKED for Non-Blocking Queue Processing

Data Access Patterns

Batch INSERT Statements for Bulk Data

Eliminate N+1 Queries with Batch Loading

Use Cursor-Based Pagination Instead of OFFSET

Use UPSERT for Insert-or-Update Operations

Monitoring & Diagnostics

Use EXPLAIN ANALYZE to Diagnose Slow Queries

Enable pg_stat_statements for Query Analysis

Maintain Table Statistics with VACUUM and ANALYZE

Advanced Features

Use tsvector for Full-Text Search

Index JSONB Columns for Efficient Querying

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