Create

Create and enable extensions in databases

After installing extension packages, you need to execute CREATE EXTENSION in the database to use extension features.

View Available Extensions

After installing extension packages, you can view available extensions:

-- View all available extensions
SELECT * FROM pg_available_extensions;

-- View specific extension
SELECT * FROM pg_available_extensions WHERE name = 'vector';

-- View enabled extensions
SELECT * FROM pg_extension;

Create Extensions

Use CREATE EXTENSION to enable extensions in the database:

-- Create extension
CREATE EXTENSION vector;

-- Create extension in specific schema
CREATE EXTENSION postgis SCHEMA public;

-- Automatically install dependent extensions
CREATE EXTENSION postgis_topology CASCADE;

-- Create if not exists
CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS vector;

Note: CREATE EXTENSION uses the extension name (e.g., vector), not the package alias (pgvector).

Create During Cluster Initialization

Declare extensions in pg_databases, and they will be automatically created during cluster initialization:

pg-meta:
  vars:
    pg_cluster: pg-meta
    pg_databases:
      - name: meta
        extensions:
          - { name: vector }                         # Use default schema
          - { name: postgis, schema: public }        # Specify schema
          - { name: pg_stat_statements, schema: monitor }

Pigsty will automatically execute CREATE EXTENSION after database creation.

Extensions Requiring Preload

Some extensions must be added to shared_preload_libraries and restarted before creation:

pg-meta:
  vars:
    pg_cluster: pg-meta
    pg_libs: 'timescaledb, pg_stat_statements, auto_explain'
    pg_databases:
      - name: meta
        extensions:
          - { name: timescaledb }  # Requires preload

If you try to create without preloading, you will receive an error message.

Common extensions requiring preload: timescaledb, citus, pg_cron, pg_net, pgaudit, etc. See Configure Extensions.

Extension Dependencies

Some extensions depend on other extensions and need to be created in order:

-- postgis_topology depends on postgis
CREATE EXTENSION postgis;
CREATE EXTENSION postgis_topology;

-- Or use CASCADE to automatically install dependencies
CREATE EXTENSION postgis_topology CASCADE;

Extensions Not Requiring Creation

A few extensions don’t provide SQL interfaces and don’t need CREATE EXTENSION:

ExtensionDescription
wal2jsonLogical decoding plugin, used directly in replication slots
decoderbufsLogical decoding plugin
decoder_rawLogical decoding plugin

These extensions can be used immediately after installation, for example:

-- Create logical replication slot using wal2json
SELECT * FROM pg_create_logical_replication_slot('test_slot', 'wal2json');

View Extension Information

-- View extension details
\dx+ vector

-- View objects contained in extension
SELECT * FROM pg_extension_config_dump('vector');

-- View extension version
SELECT extversion FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'vector';

Last modified 2026-01-06: batch update (cc9e058)