# 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 {#identity}

| Field | Value | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Type | `string` | 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 | Client Connection Defaults / Statement Behavior | Upstream classification |
| Latest boot value | `"$user", public` | "$user", public |
{.fields meta="-"}

## Lifecycle {#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 {#default-history}

| Versions | Raw `boot_val` | Unit | Human value |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PG9.0–9.4 | `"$user",public` | — | "$user",public |
| PG9.5–19 Beta 3 | `"$user", public` | — | "$user", public |
{.full-width caption="Measured PG9.0–19 Beta 3 boot defaults"}

## How it works {#mechanism}

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 {#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. |
{.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: 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 {#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.

## Related parameters {#related-parameters}

[`row_security`](/parameters/row-security/) · [`session_replication_role`](/parameters/session-replication-role/) · [`event_triggers`](/parameters/event-triggers/) · [`restrict_nonsystem_relation_kind`](/parameters/restrict-nonsystem-relation-kind/) · [`createrole_self_grant`](/parameters/createrole-self-grant/)

## References {#references}

- [PostgreSQL 19 Beta 3 — search_path](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/19/runtime-config-client.html#GUC-SEARCH-PATH)
- [PostgreSQL 19 release notes](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/19/release-19.html)
- [Machine-readable GUC export](/data/guc.jsonl)