PostgreSQL (go.d.plugin postgres)

PostgreSQL

Plugin: go.d.plugin Module: postgres

Overview

This collector monitors the activity and performance of Postgres servers, collects replication statistics, metrics for each database, table and index, and more.

It establishes a connection to the Postgres instance via a TCP or UNIX socket. To collect metrics for database tables and indexes, it establishes an additional connection for each discovered database.

This collector is supported on all platforms.

This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.

Default Behavior

Auto-Detection

By default, it detects instances running on localhost by trying to connect as root and netdata using known PostgreSQL TCP and UNIX sockets:

• 127.0.0.1:5432
• /var/run/postgresql/

Limits

Table and index metrics are not collected for databases with more than 50 tables or 250 indexes. These limits can be changed in the configuration file.

Performance Impact

The default configuration for this integration is not expected to impose a significant performance impact on the system.

Setup

You can configure the postgres collector in two ways:

Important

UI configuration requires paid Netdata Cloud plan.

Prerequisites

Create netdata user

Create a user with granted pg_monitor or pg_read_all_stat built-in role.

To create the netdata user with these permissions, execute the following in the psql session, as a user with CREATEROLE privileges:

CREATE USER netdata;
GRANT pg_monitor TO netdata;

After creating the new user, restart the Netdata Agent with sudo systemctl restart netdata, or the appropriate method for your system.

Configuration

Options

The following options can be defined globally: update_every, autodetection_retry.

via UI

Configure the postgres collector from the Netdata web interface:

1. Go to Nodes.
2. Select the node where you want the postgres data-collection job to run and click the :gear: (Configure this node). That node will run the data collection.
3. The Collectors → Jobs view opens by default.
4. In the Search box, type postgres (or scroll the list) to locate the postgres collector.
5. Click the + next to the postgres collector to add a new job.
6. Fill in the job fields, then click Test to verify the configuration and Submit to save.
   • Test runs the job with the provided settings and shows whether data can be collected.
   • If it fails, an error message appears with details (for example, connection refused, timeout, or command execution errors), so you can adjust and retest.

via File

The configuration file name for this integration is go.d/postgres.conf.

The file format is YAML. Generally, the structure is:

update_every: 1
autodetection_retry: 0
jobs:
  - name: some_name1
  - name: some_name2

You can edit the configuration file using the edit-config script from the Netdata config directory.

cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config go.d/postgres.conf

Examples

TCP socket

An example configuration.

jobs:
  - name: local
    dsn: 'postgresql://netdata@127.0.0.1:5432/postgres'

Unix socket

An example configuration.

jobs:
  - name: local
    dsn: 'host=/var/run/postgresql dbname=postgres user=netdata'

Unix socket (custom port)

Connect to PostgreSQL using a Unix socket with a non-default port (5433).

jobs:
  - name: local
    dsn: 'host=/var/run/postgresql port=5433 dbname=postgres user=netdata'

Azure Database for PostgreSQL with service principal

Use Microsoft Entra service principal authentication.

jobs:
  - name: azure_postgres_sp
    dsn: 'postgresql://netdata@myserver.postgres.database.azure.com:5432/postgres?sslmode=require'
    cloud_auth:
      provider: azure_ad
      azure_ad:
        mode: service_principal
        mode_service_principal:
          tenant_id: "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"
          client_id: "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111"
          client_secret: "super-secret-value"

Azure Database for PostgreSQL with managed identity

Use managed identity authentication (system-assigned by default).

jobs:
  - name: azure_postgres_mi
    dsn: 'postgresql://netdata@myserver.postgres.database.azure.com:5432/postgres?sslmode=require'
    cloud_auth:
      provider: azure_ad
      azure_ad:
        mode: managed_identity

Multi-instance

Note

When you define multiple jobs, their names must be unique.

Local and remote instances.

jobs:
  - name: local
    dsn: 'postgresql://netdata@127.0.0.1:5432/postgres'

  - name: remote
    dsn: 'postgresql://netdata@203.0.113.0:5432/postgres'

Live Data

This collector exposes real-time functions for interactive troubleshooting in the Live tab.

Top Queries

Retrieves aggregated SQL query performance metrics from PostgreSQL using either pg_stat_monitor (preferred) or pg_stat_statements.

The collector automatically detects which extension is available:

• pg_stat_monitor (Percona): Enhanced statistics with additional columns like application name, client IP, CPU time, error info, and query classification
• pg_stat_statements (standard): Core execution statistics available in all PostgreSQL installations

Statistics include execution counts, timing metrics, I/O operations, and resource consumption. Columns are dynamically detected based on your PostgreSQL version and available extension.

Use cases:

• Identify slow queries consuming the most total execution time
• Find queries with high shared block reads for I/O optimization
• Analyze temp block usage to detect queries needing memory tuning
• With pg_stat_monitor: Track queries by application, identify error patterns

Query text is truncated at 4096 characters for display purposes.

Prerequisites

Enable pg_stat_statements or pg_stat_monitor

Either pg_stat_statements (standard) or pg_stat_monitor (Percona) must be installed. The collector auto-detects which is available, preferring pg_stat_monitor when both are present.

Option 1: pg_stat_statements (standard PostgreSQL)

1. Add to postgresql.conf:

   shared_preload_libraries = 'pg_stat_statements'
   

2. Restart PostgreSQL, then create the extension:

   CREATE EXTENSION pg_stat_statements;
   

Option 2: pg_stat_monitor (Percona - recommended)

Provides additional columns: application name, client IP, CPU time, error tracking, and query classification.

1. Install pg_stat_monitor (available in Percona distribution or as separate package)

2. Add to postgresql.conf:

   shared_preload_libraries = 'pg_stat_monitor'
   

3. Restart PostgreSQL, then create the extension:

   CREATE EXTENSION pg_stat_monitor;
   

Info

• Both extensions require a server restart to load the shared library
• Statistics can be reset with SELECT pg_stat_statements_reset() or SELECT pg_stat_monitor_reset()
• Enable track_io_timing for block read/write timing metrics

Parameters

Returns

Aggregated query statistics from pg_stat_statements or pg_stat_monitor. Each row represents a unique query pattern with cumulative metrics across all executions.

Running Queries

Retrieves currently executing queries from PostgreSQL pg_stat_activity system view.

This function queries pg_stat_activity which shows real-time information about each server process including the SQL query being executed, wait events, and session state. Unlike Top Queries which shows aggregated historical statistics, Running Queries shows live snapshots of active queries.

Use cases:

• Identify long-running queries that may be blocking other operations
• Debug stuck transactions or hanging connections
• Monitor active workload during performance issues
• Investigate wait events and lock contention in real-time

Query text is truncated at 4096 characters for display purposes.

Prerequisites

Database user permissions

The monitoring user needs pg_monitor role to view all sessions:

GRANT pg_monitor TO netdata;

Without this role, the user can only see their own sessions.

Parameters

Returns

Live query data from pg_stat_activity. Each row represents a currently active backend process.

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

Important: Debug mode is not supported for data collection jobs created via the UI using the Dyncfg feature.

To troubleshoot issues with the postgres collector, run the go.d.plugin with the debug option enabled. The output should give you clues as to why the collector isn’t working.

• Navigate to the plugins.d directory, usually at /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/. If that’s not the case on your system, open netdata.conf and look for the plugins setting under [directories].

  cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/
  

• Switch to the netdata user.

  sudo -u netdata -s
  

• Run the go.d.plugin to debug the collector:

  ./go.d.plugin -d -m postgres
  

  To debug a specific job:

  ./go.d.plugin -d -m postgres -j jobName
  

Getting Logs

If you’re encountering problems with the postgres collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:

• Run the command specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
• Examine the output for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues. These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.

System with systemd

Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:

journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep postgres

System without systemd

Locate the collector log file, typically at /var/log/netdata/collector.log, and use grep to filter for collector’s name:

grep postgres /var/log/netdata/collector.log

Note: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the latest entries for troubleshooting current issues.

Docker Container

If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named “netdata” (replace if different), use this command:

docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep postgres