search_path

search_path is the PostgreSQL setting that defines the schema search order for names that are not schema-qualified.

Note

Fact — official short description: “Sets the schema search order for names that are not schema-qualified.”

Identity

Type , Valuestring: Upstream pg_settings type
Context , Valueuser: Settable by an ordinary user
Unit , Value—: Raw unit
Range , Value—: Raw limits in the last observed version
Enum values , Value—: — for non-enum types
Category , ValueClient Connection Defaults / Statement Behavior: Upstream classification
Latest boot value , Value"$user", public: “$user”, public

Lifecycle

Fact	Value
First observed	PG9.0 (research boundary)
Present in	PG9.0–19 Beta 3
Removed in	No
Introduction commit	Not asserted: predates the PG9.0 research boundary
Commit date	—
Discussion	—

Default history

Measured PG9.0–19 Beta 3 boot defaults
Versions	Raw `boot_val`	Unit	Human value
PG9.0–9.4	`"$user",public`	—	“$user”,public
PG9.5–19 Beta 3	`"$user", public`	—	“$user”, public

How it works

search_path sets the schema search order for names that are not schema-qualified. It controls both lookup and the target schema for unqualified CREATE; pg_catalog and the temporary schema have special implicit search rules.

search_path is a USER-context setting. An authorized role can change it for a session, while ALTER ROLE or ALTER DATABASE can establish a default for future sessions.

Because session state can survive in pooled connections, role defaults, SET privilege, RESET behavior, and application checkout hooks are part of the control’s effective boundary.

Tuning advice

Tip

Advice. These are workload-specific starting points and must be validated with measurements.

Workload	Guidance
OLTP	Treat search_path as a correctness or security control, not a throughput knob. Grant SET authority narrowly and establish it from trusted role or application policy.
OLAP	Use a dedicated analytical role if search_path must differ, and verify that exports, triggers, policies, and name resolution still preserve data correctness.
Small nodes	Keep search_path at its safe default unless a documented repair or compatibility workflow requires otherwise; record and automatically restore temporary changes.

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	—	—

Caution

Advice — pending human review. Fact from the current Pigsty template projection: OLTP: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 unmodified; OLAP: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 unmodified; CRIT: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 unmodified; TINY: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 unmodified. No Pigsty-specific rationale is inferred from an absent override.

Common pitfalls

Changing search_path in one session and assuming role defaults, database defaults, or other pooled sessions changed with it.
Granting broad SET rights to a control that can change correctness, policy enforcement, or name resolution.
Failing to reset a security-sensitive session value before a pooled connection is reused by another request.
Placing a schema writable by an untrusted role before trusted schemas and enabling object-shadowing attacks.

row_security · session_replication_role · event_triggers · restrict_nonsystem_relation_kind · createrole_self_grant