Services or capabilities described in Amazon Web Services documentation might vary by Region. To see the differences applicable to the China Regions, see Getting Started with Amazon Web Services in China (PDF).

Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL

Amazon RDS supports DB instances running several versions of PostgreSQL. For a list of available versions, see Available PostgreSQL database versions.

You can create DB instances and DB snapshots, point-in-time restores and backups. DB instances running PostgreSQL support Multi-AZ deployments, read replicas, Provisioned IOPS, and can be created inside a virtual private cloud (VPC). You can also use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to connect to a DB instance running PostgreSQL.

Before creating a DB instance, make sure to complete the steps in Setting up for Amazon RDS.

You can use any standard SQL client application to run commands for the instance from your client computer. Such applications include pgAdmin, a popular Open Source administration and development tool for PostgreSQL, or psql, a command line utility that is part of a PostgreSQL installation. To deliver a managed service experience, Amazon RDS doesn't provide host access to DB instances. Also, it restricts access to certain system procedures and tables that require advanced privileges. Amazon RDS supports access to databases on a DB instance using any standard SQL client application. Amazon RDS doesn't allow direct host access to a DB instance by using Telnet or Secure Shell (SSH).

Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL is compliant with many industry standards. For example, you can use Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL databases to build HIPAA-compliant applications and to store healthcare-related information. This includes storage for protected health information (PHI) under a completed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with Amazon. Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL also meets Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) security requirements. Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL has received a FedRAMP Joint Authorization Board (JAB) Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) at the FedRAMP HIGH Baseline within the Amazon GovCloud (US) Regions. For more information on supported compliance standards, see Amazon cloud compliance.

To import PostgreSQL data into a DB instance, follow the information in the Importing data into PostgreSQL on Amazon RDS section.

Common management tasks for Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL

The following are the common management tasks you perform with an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance, with links to relevant documentation for each task.

Following is a list of other sections in this guide that can help you understand and use important features of RDS for PostgreSQL:

Working with the database preview environment

The PostgreSQL community continuously releases new PostgreSQL version and extensions, including beta versions. This gives PostgreSQL users the opportunity to try out a new PostgreSQL version early. To learn more about the PostgreSQL community beta release process, see Beta Information in the PostgreSQL documentation. Similarly, Amazon RDS makes certain PostgreSQL beta versions available as Preview releases. This allows you to create DB instances using the Preview version and test out its features in the Database Preview Environment.

RDS for PostgreSQL DB instances in the Database Preview Environment are functionally similar to other RDS for PostgreSQL instances. However, you can't use a Preview version for production.

Keep in mind the following important limitations:

The following options are supported by the Preview.

Features not supported in the preview environment

The following features aren't available in the preview environment:

PostgreSQL version 15 in the database preview environment

PostgreSQL version 15 is now available in the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment. PostgreSQL version 15 contains several improvements that are described in the following PostgreSQL documentation:

For information on the Database Preview Environment, see Working with the database preview environment. To access the Preview Environment from the console, select https://console.amazonaws.cn/rds-preview/.

Available PostgreSQL database versions

Amazon RDS supports DB instances running several editions of PostgreSQL. You can specify any currently available PostgreSQL version when creating a new DB instance. You can specify the major version (such as PostgreSQL 14), and any available minor version for the specified major version. If no version is specified, Amazon RDS defaults to an available version, typically the most recent version. If a major version is specified but a minor version is not, Amazon RDS defaults to a recent release of the major version you have specified.

To see a list of available versions, as well as defaults for newly created DB instances, use the describe-db-engine-versions Amazon CLI command. For example, to display the default PostgreSQL engine version, use the following command:

aws rds describe-db-engine-versions --default-only --engine postgres

For details about the PostgreSQL versions that are supported on Amazon RDS, see the Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL Release Notes.

Deprecation of PostgreSQL version 10

On April 17, 2023, Amazon RDS plans to deprecate PostgreSQL 10 using the following schedule. We recommend that you take action and upgrade your PostgreSQL databases running on major version 10 to a later version, such as PostgreSQL version 14. To upgrade your RDS for PostgreSQL major version 10 DB instance from a PostgreSQL version older than 10.19, we recommend that you first upgrade to version 10.19 and then upgrade to version 14. For more information, see Upgrading the PostgreSQL DB engine for Amazon RDS.

For more information about RDS for PostgreSQL version 10 deprecation, see [Announcement]: RDS for PostgreSQL 10 deprecation in Amazon re:Post.

Deprecation of PostgreSQL version 9.6

On March 31, 2022, Amazon RDS plans to deprecate PostgreSQL 9.6 using the following schedule. This extends the previously announced date of January 18, 2022 to April 26, 2022. You should upgrade all your PostgreSQL 9.6 DB instances to PostgreSQL 12 or higher as soon as possible. We recommend that you first upgrade to minor version 9.6.20 or higher and then upgrade directly to PostgreSQL 12 rather than upgrading to an intermediate major version. For more information, see Upgrading the PostgreSQL DB engine for Amazon RDS.

Deprecated versions for Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL

RDS for PostgreSQL 9.5 is deprecated as of March, 2021. For more information about RDS for PostgreSQL 9.5 deprecation, see Upgrading from Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL version 9.5.

To learn more about deprecation policy for RDS for PostgreSQL, see Amazon RDS FAQs. For more information about PostgreSQL versions, see Versioning Policy in the PostgreSQL documentation.

Supported PostgreSQL extension versions

RDS for PostgreSQL supports many PostgreSQL extensions. The PostgreSQL community sometimes refers to these as modules. Extensions expand on the functionality provided by the PostgreSQL engine. You can find a list of extensions supported by Amazon RDS in the default DB parameter group for that PostgreSQL version. You can also see the current extensions list using psql by showing the rds.extensions parameter as in the following example.

SHOW rds.extensions; 

As of RDS for PostgreSQL 13, certain extensions can be installed by database users other than the rds_superuser. These are known as trusted extensions. To learn more, see PostgreSQL trusted extensions.

Certain versions of RDS for PostgreSQL support the rds.allowed_extensions parameter. This parameter lets an rds_superuser limit the extensions that can be installed in the RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance. For more information, see Restricting installation of PostgreSQL extensions.

For lists of PostgreSQL extensions and versions that are supported by each available RDS for PostgreSQL version, see PostgreSQL extensions supported on Amazon RDS in Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL Release Notes.

Restricting installation of PostgreSQL extensions

You can restrict which extensions can be installed on a PostgreSQL DB instance. To do so, set the rds.allowed_extensions parameter to a string of comma-separated extension names. Only these extensions can then be installed in the PostgreSQL DB instance.

The default string for the rds.allowed_extensions parameter is '*', which means that any extension available for the engine version can be installed. Changing the rds.allowed_extensions parameter does not require a database restart because it's a dynamic parameter.

The PostgreSQL DB instance engine must be one of the following versions for you to use the rds.allowed_extensions parameter:

To see which extension installations are allowed, use the following psql command.

postgres=> SHOW rds.allowed_extensions;
 rds.allowed_extensions
------------------------
 *

If an extension was installed prior to it being left out of the list in the rds.allowed_extensions parameter, the extension can still be used normally, and commands such as ALTER EXTENSION and DROP EXTENSION will continue to work. However, after an extension is restricted, CREATE EXTENSION commands for the restricted extension will fail.

Installation of extension dependencies with CREATE EXTENSION CASCADE are also restricted. The extension and its dependencies must be specified in rds.allowed_extensions. If an extension dependency installation fails, the entire CREATE EXTENSION CASCADE statement will fail.

If an extension is not included with the rds.allowed_extensions parameter, you will see an error such as the following if you try to install it.

ERROR: permission denied to create extension "extension-name" 
HINT: This extension is not specified in "rds.allowed_extensions". 

PostgreSQL trusted extensions

To install most PostgreSQL extensions requires rds_superuser privileges. PostgreSQL 13 introduced trusted extensions, which reduce the need to grant rds_superuser privileges to regular users. With this feature, users can install many extensions if they have the CREATE privilege on the current database instead of requiring the rds_superuser role. For more information, see the SQL CREATE EXTENSION command in the PostgreSQL documentation.

The following lists the extensions that can be installed by a user who has the CREATE privilege on the current database and do not require the rds_superuser role:

For lists of PostgreSQL extensions and versions that are supported by each available RDS for PostgreSQL version, see PostgreSQL extensions supported on Amazon RDS in Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL Release Notes.