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)
Quick Decision Tree
Problem?
├─ Slow query → query-missing-indexes, query-composite-indexes, monitor-explain-analyze
├─ Connection errors / timeouts → conn-pooling, conn-limits, conn-idle-timeout
├─ Deadlocks / long transactions → lock-short-transactions, lock-deadlock-prevention
├─ Bulk load slow → data-batch-inserts, data-upsert
├─ Table bloat / VACUUM issues → monitor-vacuum-analyze
├─ JSONB queries slow → advanced-jsonb-indexing
├─ FTS / search quality → advanced-full-text-search (pair with /postgres-semantic-search for BM25 + vector)
└─ Security / multi-tenant → security-* rules, RLSRelated Skills
/postgres-semantic-search— Vector search (pgvector), hybrid BM25 + semantic, ParadeDB/nextjs-chatbot— Chatbot orchestration, session DB, feedback, HITL/ai-sdk-6— AI SDK v6 patterns for backend integration
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/schema-partial-indexes.md
references/_sections.mdEach 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)