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
Review a Postgres query for high-impact improvements
Start a fresh conversation. Replace the highlighted placeholders.
Use the supabase-postgres-best-practices skill to review this Postgres query and suggest one or two high-impact improvements. Explain why each change matters and show corrected SQL. Query: [paste the SQL query here]. Optional query plan: [paste EXPLAIN output here, or state that none is available].
Required inputs
A Postgres SQL query in place of [paste the SQL query here]
Optional EXPLAIN output in place of [paste EXPLAIN output here, or state that none is available]
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SKILL.md
name: supabase-postgres-best-practicesdescription: "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: MITmetadata: 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: