# enable_eager_aggregate

> enable_eager_aggregate — Enables eager aggregation. Observed in PG19 Beta 3; its last measured boot default is on in PG19 Beta 3, with user context. This is a beta-snapshot fact and can change before PostgreSQL 19 GA.
---

> [!NOTE]
> **Fact — official short description:** “Enables eager aggregation.”

## Identity {#identity}

| Field | Value | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Type | `bool` | Upstream pg_settings type |
| Context | `user` | Settable by an ordinary user |
| Unit | — | Raw unit |
| Range | — | Raw limits in the last observed version |
| Enum values | — | — for non-enum types |
| Category | Query Tuning / Planner Method Configuration | Upstream classification |
| Latest boot value | `on` | on |
{.fields meta="-"}

## Lifecycle {#lifecycle}

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| First observed | PG19 Beta 3 |
| Present in | PG19 Beta 3 |
| Removed in | No |
| Introduction commit | [`8e11859102f9`](https://git.postgresql.org/gitweb/?p=postgresql.git;a=commit;h=8e11859102f947e6145acdd809e5cdcdfbe90fa5) — Implement Eager Aggregation |
| Commit date | 2025-10-08 |
| Discussion | [thread 1](https://postgr.es/m/CAMbWs48jzLrPt1J_00ZcPZXWUQKawQOFE8ROc-ADiYqsqrpBNw@mail.gmail.com) |

## Default history {#default-history}

| Versions | Raw `boot_val` | Unit | Human value |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PG19 Beta 3 | `on` | — | on |
{.full-width caption="Measured PG9.0–19 Beta 3 boot defaults"}

## How it works {#mechanism}

PostgreSQL describes enable_eager_aggregate as follows: “Enables eager aggregation.” It can be changed per session, which makes plan or behavior comparisons possible without changing every workload. The atlas measures it in PG19 Beta 3; boot_val is the compiled or initialized baseline, not proof of a running cluster's effective setting.

Eager aggregation partially pushes aggregation below a join so fewer rows may cross the join, then finalizes the result after all relations are joined. It is considered only when estimated average group size reaches min_eager_agg_group_size; estimates, grouping semantics, memory, and alternative join paths still determine whether the planner selects it.

Read it together with min_eager_agg_group_size, enable_hashagg, enable_partitionwise_aggregate, work_mem. Check SHOW and pg_settings on the target server, verify the source and pending_restart fields, and compare workload, logs, and resource metrics before and after any change.

## Tuning advice {#tuning-advice}

> [!TIP]
> **Advice.** These are workload-specific starting points and must be validated with measurements.

| Workload | Guidance |
| --- | --- |
| OLTP | Use a session-level experiment with EXPLAIN (ANALYZE, BUFFERS) and a representative parameter distribution. Keep the default unless eager aggregation consistently reduces rows and latency without plan instability. |
| OLAP | Test joins with meaningful pre-aggregation opportunities, stale and fresh statistics, and spill pressure. Compare total CPU, peak memory, intermediate rows, and parallel plans, not just one query's elapsed time. |
| Small nodes | Leave planner switches and thresholds at their defaults until a repeatable regression is isolated. Fix cardinality statistics first; forcing a path globally can trade one improvement for many regressions. |
{.full-width}

## Pigsty {#pigsty}

Values use the fixed 8-vCPU, 32-GiB, 100-GiB SSD fixture and render the current Pigsty templates for PG19 Beta 3; this does not assert current Pigsty support for that historical or beta release.

| Template | Effective value | Versus upstream boot | Source expression |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OLTP | Unmodified | — | — |
| OLAP | Unmodified | — | — |
| CRIT | Unmodified | — | — |
| TINY | Unmodified | — | — |
{.full-width}

> [!CAUTION]
> **Advice — pending human review.** Fact from the current Pigsty template projection: OLTP: PG19 Beta 3 unmodified; OLAP: PG19 Beta 3 unmodified; CRIT: PG19 Beta 3 unmodified; TINY: PG19 Beta 3 unmodified. No Pigsty-specific rationale is inferred from an absent override.

## Common pitfalls {#common-pitfalls}

- Treating the measured boot_val for enable_eager_aggregate as proof of the effective value on an initialized or managed cluster.
- Applying a change as though it were immediate while pg_settings reports user context.
- Changing this setting in isolation without checking the linked limits, observability, and rollback path.
- Depending on beta behavior in production without retesting the PostgreSQL 19 final release.

## Related parameters {#related-parameters}

[`min_eager_agg_group_size`](/parameters/min-eager-agg-group-size/) · [`enable_hashagg`](/parameters/enable-hashagg/) · [`enable_partitionwise_aggregate`](/parameters/enable-partitionwise-aggregate/) · [`work_mem`](/parameters/work-mem/) · [`hash_mem_multiplier`](/parameters/hash-mem-multiplier/)

## References {#references}

- [PostgreSQL 19 Beta 3 — enable_eager_aggregate](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/19/runtime-config-query.html#GUC-ENABLE-EAGER-AGGREGATE)
- [PostgreSQL 19 release notes](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/19/release-19.html)
- [Machine-readable GUC export](/data/guc.jsonl)