What’s new in Postgres 18
Postgres 18 ships with a careful blend of performance enhancements and developer-friendly features. The standout improvements include a significant boost to asynchronous query performance, the introduction of virtual (generated) columns that compute data on demand for queries, and stronger authentication options with OAuth 2. Together, these changes address modern application needs—from microservice architectures to real-time analytics—without forcing a complete rewrite of existing data models.
Threefold speed boost for asynchronous queries
Analysts and engineers will notice faster asynchronous query execution thanks to a reworked execution path, smarter I/O scheduling, and tighter coordination between workers and the planner. The engine can better overlap I/O, computation, and data transfer, reducing latency for read-heavy workloads and increasing throughput for high-concurrency environments. For teams running microservices or analytics workloads, this translates into more consistent response times and higher resource efficiency under load.
Where the gains come from
- Enhanced parallelism handling for I/O-bound queries
- Smarter task scheduling to minimize context switches
- Improved caching behavior for frequently accessed data
- Lower overhead for concurrent connections via leaner worker processes
DBAs should test workloads representative of production and adjust parameters related to parallelism, memory usage, and cache sizing to align with the new behavior. The result is often smoother performance under load and fewer stalls during peak traffic periods.
Virtual columns and query-time computation
Virtual (generated) columns are a long-awaited pattern for computing values on the fly as part of a row. In Postgres 18, these columns can be used directly in queries, optionally indexed, and combined with standard columns to simplify data models. This means derived metrics can be computed at read time without storing redundant data, keeping writes lean while enabling fast analytic reads.
Practical examples
Consider a users table with a virtual column that concatenates first_name and last_name, or a sales table with a virtual column that presents a formatted discounted_price. By indexing frequently filtered virtual columns, you can accelerate common queries without paying extra storage costs.
Access to old values during INSERT
Postgres 18 introduces capabilities for access to prior state in certain audit and versioning scenarios during inserts. This supports more robust auditing and compliant history tracking by enabling comparisons between new data and a stored baseline or earlier snapshots. As with any temporal feature, plan for slight extra CPU overhead on insert-heavy workloads and validate behavior against your retention policies.
OAuth 2 authentication integration
Security enhancements in Postgres 18 include built-in OAuth 2 authentication support. This enables seamless integration with identity providers, allowing applications to authenticate against the database without managing passwords directly. Typical setup involves configuring the server to accept OAuth 2 tokens, registering the client with an identity provider, and ensuring client libraries propagate the access token on connections.
Implications for developers and operators
For developers, Postgres 18 opens new patterns for clean data modeling with virtual columns and faster asynchronous queries that improve app responsiveness. Operators can push higher concurrency without sacrificing stability, provided they adjust tuning parameters and monitor resource usage. A successful upgrade plan should include a baseline performance assessment, compatibility checks for extensions, and a staged rollout to capture real-world behavior before full deployment.
Migration and observability tips
Before upgrading, review any extension dependencies and test critical workloads in staging. Use appropriate benchmarks to quantify gains in asynchronous workloads and verify that virtual columns behave as expected with existing indexes. Leverage new observability points to monitor query latency, cache effectiveness, and authentication flows under OAuth 2 to maintain visibility during the transition.
Bottom line
Postgres 18 brings meaningful performance improvements for asynchronous queries, introduces flexible virtual columns, and strengthens security with OAuth 2 authentication. Together, these features help developers build faster, more scalable applications while giving DBAs clearer knobs to tune and observe system behavior as workloads evolve.
