tessl/golang-github-com-jackc-pgx-v5

pgx is a pure Go driver and toolkit for PostgreSQL providing a native high-performance interface with PostgreSQL-specific features plus a database/sql compatibility adapter.

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pgx v5

Name: tessl/golang-github-com-jackc-pgx-v5
Author: tessl

pgx is a pure Go driver and toolkit for PostgreSQL. It provides both a native high-performance PostgreSQL interface and a database/sql-compatible adapter. The native interface exposes PostgreSQL-specific features such as LISTEN/NOTIFY, COPY protocol, pipeline mode, batch queries, large objects, and a comprehensive type system.

Package Information

Module: github.com/jackc/pgx/v5
Package Type: Go module (golang)
Language: Go
Installation: go get github.com/jackc/pgx/v5
Documentation: https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/jackc/pgx/v5

Core Imports

import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5"                    // main package
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgxpool"             // connection pool
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgconn"              // low-level connection
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgtype"              // type system
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/stdlib"              // database/sql adapter
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/tracelog"            // logging tracer
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/multitracer"         // combine tracers
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgproto3"            // wire protocol
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgtype/zeronull"     // zero-value ↔ NULL types
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgconn/ctxwatch"     // context watcher
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/log/testingadapter"  // test logger
import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgxtest"             // testing utilities

Quick Start

For Production Applications (Recommended)

Use pgxpool for concurrent applications:

import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgxpool"

pool, err := pgxpool.New(ctx, "postgres://user:pass@localhost/mydb")
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
defer pool.Close()

// Query
var name string
err = pool.QueryRow(ctx, "SELECT name FROM users WHERE id = $1", 42).Scan(&name)

// Execute
_, err = pool.Exec(ctx, "UPDATE users SET status = $1 WHERE id = $2", "active", 42)

See: Connection Pool

For Single-Connection Use

Use pgx.Conn for scripts, CLIs, or single-goroutine applications:

import "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5"

conn, err := pgx.Connect(ctx, "postgres://user:pass@localhost/mydb")
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
defer conn.Close(ctx)

// Query with row collection
rows, _ := conn.Query(ctx, "SELECT id, name FROM users WHERE active = $1", true)
type User struct {
    ID   int64  `db:"id"`
    Name string `db:"name"`
}
users, err := pgx.CollectRows(rows, pgx.RowToStructByName[User])

See: Direct Connection

With database/sql

Use the stdlib adapter for compatibility with database/sql:

import _ "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/stdlib"
import "database/sql"

db, err := sql.Open("pgx", "postgres://user:pass@localhost/mydb")
defer db.Close()

rows, err := db.Query("SELECT name FROM users WHERE id = $1", 42)

See: database/sql Adapter

Common Tasks Quick Reference

Task	Pool Method	Conn Method	See
Execute non-SELECT	`pool.Exec(ctx, sql, args...)`	`conn.Exec(ctx, sql, args...)`	Querying
Query multiple rows	`pool.Query(ctx, sql, args...)`	`conn.Query(ctx, sql, args...)`	Querying
Query single row	`pool.QueryRow(ctx, sql, args...)`	`conn.QueryRow(ctx, sql, args...)`	Querying
Start transaction	`pool.Begin(ctx)`	`conn.Begin(ctx)`	Transactions
Batch queries	`pool.SendBatch(ctx, batch)`	`conn.SendBatch(ctx, batch)`	Batch
Bulk insert	`pool.CopyFrom(ctx, ...)`	`conn.CopyFrom(ctx, ...)`	COPY

Architecture Decision: Pool vs Connection

Use pgxpool.Pool when:

Multiple goroutines need database access
Building web servers, APIs, or long-running services
Need automatic connection management and health checks

Use pgx.Conn when:

Single-threaded scripts or CLI tools
Want explicit control over connection lifecycle
Testing or development utilities

Use database/sql when:

Need compatibility with existing database/sql code
Using third-party libraries that expect database/sql
Portability across multiple database drivers is required

Feature Overview

Connection Management

Connection Pool (pgxpool) — Thread-safe pool for concurrent applications

func New(ctx context.Context, connString string) (*Pool, error)
func (p *Pool) Acquire(ctx context.Context) (*Conn, error)
func (p *Pool) Close()

Full Documentation

Direct Connection (pgx.Conn) — Single connection with full control

func Connect(ctx context.Context, connString string) (*Conn, error)
func ConnectConfig(ctx context.Context, connConfig *ConnConfig) (*Conn, error)
func (c *Conn) Close(ctx context.Context) error

Full Documentation

Data Access

Querying — Execute queries and scan results

func (c *Conn) Query(ctx context.Context, sql string, args ...any) (Rows, error)
func (c *Conn) QueryRow(ctx context.Context, sql string, args ...any) Row
func (c *Conn) Exec(ctx context.Context, sql string, arguments ...any) (pgconn.CommandTag, error)
func CollectRows[T any](rows Rows, fn RowToFunc[T]) ([]T, error)
func RowToStructByName[T any](row CollectableRow) (T, error)

Full Documentation

Transactions — Transaction management with isolation levels

func (c *Conn) Begin(ctx context.Context) (Tx, error)
func (c *Conn) BeginTx(ctx context.Context, txOptions TxOptions) (Tx, error)
func BeginFunc(ctx context.Context, db interface{ Begin(ctx context.Context) (Tx, error) }, fn func(Tx) error) error

Full Documentation

Batch Queries — Multiple queries in one round trip

func (c *Conn) SendBatch(ctx context.Context, b *Batch) BatchResults
func (b *Batch) Queue(query string, arguments ...any) *QueuedQuery

Full Documentation

COPY Protocol — Bulk loading with binary COPY

func (c *Conn) CopyFrom(ctx context.Context, tableName Identifier, columnNames []string, rowSrc CopyFromSource) (int64, error)
func CopyFromRows(rows [][]any) CopyFromSource
func CopyFromSlice(length int, next func(int) ([]any, error)) CopyFromSource

Full Documentation

Type System

PostgreSQL type encoding/decoding via pgtype package. Supports all standard types, arrays, composites, ranges, enums, and custom types.

Type System Overview

Common Types: Nullable Types — Bool, Int, Float, Text, Date, Timestamp, UUID
Collections: Arrays & Slices — Generic Array[T] and FlatArray[T]
Advanced: Ranges & Multiranges | JSON Types | Geometric Types | Custom Types

Integration & Advanced Features

database/sql Adapter — Use pgx with database/sql interface

func OpenDB(config pgx.ConnConfig, opts ...OptionOpenDB) *sql.DB
func OpenDBFromPool(pool *pgxpool.Pool, opts ...OptionOpenDB) *sql.DB

Full Documentation

Tracing & Logging — Instrument queries and connections

type QueryTracer interface {
    TraceQueryStart(ctx context.Context, conn *Conn, data TraceQueryStartData) context.Context
    TraceQueryEnd(ctx context.Context, conn *Conn, data TraceQueryEndData)
}

Full Documentation

Low-Level Connection (pgconn) — Direct wire protocol access for advanced use cases
Full Documentation | Pipeline Mode

Wire Protocol (pgproto3) — Message types for building proxies and tools
Full Documentation

Testing Utilities (pgxtest) — Test helpers and multi-mode testing
Full Documentation

Query Execution Modes

type QueryExecMode int32

const (
    QueryExecModeCacheStatement  QueryExecMode // default: auto-prepare, cache statements
    QueryExecModeCacheDescribe   QueryExecMode // cache descriptions only
    QueryExecModeDescribeExec    QueryExecMode // describe every time, two round trips
    QueryExecModeExec            QueryExecMode // extended protocol, text params, no cache
    QueryExecModeSimpleProtocol  QueryExecMode // simple protocol, client-side interpolation
)

Override default mode by passing as first argument:

rows, err := conn.Query(ctx, "SELECT ...", pgx.QueryExecModeSimpleProtocol, arg1, arg2)

Set default in ConnConfig.DefaultQueryExecMode.

Named Arguments

type NamedArgs map[string]any
type StrictNamedArgs map[string]any

Use @name placeholders instead of $1, $2:

conn.Query(ctx, "SELECT * FROM widgets WHERE foo = @foo AND bar = @bar",
    pgx.NamedArgs{"foo": 1, "bar": 2})

Common Errors

var ErrNoRows error          // no rows in result set (wraps sql.ErrNoRows)
var ErrTooManyRows error     // more rows than expected
var ErrTxClosed error        // transaction already closed
var ErrTxCommitRollback error // commit resulted in rollback

Check with errors.Is(err, pgx.ErrNoRows). Inspect PostgreSQL errors with errors.As(err, &pgconn.PgError{}).

Connection Strings

URL Format

postgres://user:password@host:port/database?param1=value1&param2=value2

Keyword/Value Format

host=localhost port=5432 user=myuser password=secret dbname=mydb sslmode=require

Common Parameters

pgx Parameters:

default_query_exec_mode: execution mode (default: cache_statement)
statement_cache_capacity: prepared statement cache size (default: 512)
description_cache_capacity: description cache size (default: 512)

pgxpool Parameters:

pool_max_conns: maximum connections (default: max(4, NumCPU))
pool_min_conns: minimum idle connections (default: 0)
pool_max_conn_lifetime: max connection age (default: 1h)
pool_max_conn_idle_time: max idle time (default: 30m)
pool_health_check_period: health check interval (default: 1m)

Environment Variables: Same as libpq — PGHOST, PGPORT, PGDATABASE, PGUSER, PGPASSWORD, PGSSLMODE, PGSSLCERT, PGSSLKEY, PGSSLROOTCERT, etc.

Format Codes

const (
    TextFormatCode   = 0
    BinaryFormatCode = 1
)

PostgreSQL supports text and binary formats. pgx automatically uses binary format where supported for better performance.

Documentation Index

Getting Started

Start Here: Quick Start (above)
Common Patterns — Frequently used code patterns

Core Features

Connection Pool (pgxpool) — Recommended for production
Direct Connection (pgx.Conn) — For scripts and single-threaded use
Querying — Execute queries and scan results
Transactions — Transaction management
Batch Queries — Multiple queries in one round trip
COPY Protocol — Bulk loading and large objects

Type System

Type System Overview — How pgx handles PostgreSQL types
Nullable Types — Basic types with NULL support
Arrays & Slices — Array type support
Ranges & Multiranges — Range types
JSON Types — JSON and JSONB
Geometric Types — Point, Box, Circle, Line, Path, Polygon
Custom Types — Enums, composites, domains
Advanced Codec — Codec implementation details

Integration

database/sql Adapter — Use with database/sql interface
Tracing & Logging — Instrumentation and logging
Testing Utilities — Testing helpers

Advanced

Low-Level Connection (pgconn) — Wire protocol access
Pipeline Mode — Advanced pipelining
Wire Protocol (pgproto3) — Protocol message types

Install with Tessl CLI

npx tessl i tessl/golang-github-com-jackc-pgx-v5

tessl/golang-github-com-jackc-pgx-v5

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pgx v5

Package Information

Core Imports

Quick Start

For Production Applications (Recommended)

For Single-Connection Use

With database/sql

Common Tasks Quick Reference

Architecture Decision: Pool vs Connection

Feature Overview

Connection Management

Data Access

Type System

Integration & Advanced Features

Query Execution Modes

Named Arguments

Common Errors

Connection Strings

URL Format

Keyword/Value Format

Common Parameters

Format Codes

Documentation Index

Getting Started

Core Features

Type System

Integration

Advanced

index.mddocs/