What's new in EXPLAIN

Nik and Michael discuss the various changes to EXPLAIN that arrived in Postgres 18.

Here are some links to things they mentioned:

• EXPLAIN (official docs) https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-explain.html
• Using EXPLAIN (official docs) https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/using-explain.html
• EXPLAIN glossary (pgMustard site) https://www.pgmustard.com/docs/explain
• Postgres 18 release notes https://www.postgresql.org/docs/release/18.0/
• Enable BUFFERS with EXPLAIN ANALYZE by default (commit) https://git.postgresql.org/gitweb/?p=postgresql.git;a=commit;h=c2a4078eb
• Our (first) BUFFERS by default episode https://postgres.fm/episodes/buffers-by-default
• Show index search count in EXPLAIN ANALYZE (commit) https://git.postgresql.org/gitweb/?p=postgresql.git;a=commitdiff;h=0fbceae841cb5a31b13d3f284ac8fdd19822eceb
• Our episode on Skip scan with Peter Geoghegan https://postgres.fm/episodes/skip-scan
• What do the new Index Searches lines in EXPLAIN mean? https://www.pgmustard.com/blog/what-do-index-searches-in-explain-mean
• pg_stat_plans presentation by Lukas Fittl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26coQV3f-wk
• Improve EXPLAIN's display of window functions (commit) https://git.postgresql.org/gitweb/?p=postgresql.git;a=commit;h=8b1b34254
• Show Parallel Bitmap Heap Scan worker stats in EXPLAIN ANALYZE (commit) https://git.postgresql.org/gitweb/?p=postgresql.git;a=commit;h=5a1e6df3b
• Add information about WAL buffers being full (commit) https://git.postgresql.org/gitweb/?p=postgresql.git;a=commit;h=320545bfc

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What did you like or not like? What should we discuss next time? Let us know via a YouTube comment, on social media, or by commenting on our Google doc!

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Postgres FM is produced by:

• Michael Christofides, founder of pgMustard
• Nikolay Samokhvalov, founder of Postgres.ai

With credit to:

• Jessie Draws for the elephant artwork