cargo-pgx
cargo-pgx is a Cargo subcommand for managing pgx-based Postgres extensions.
You'll want to use cargo pgx during your extension development process. It automates the process of creating new Rust crate projects, auto-generating the SQL schema for your extension, installing your extension locally for testing with Postgres, and running your test suite against one or more versions of Postgres.
A video walkthrough of its abilities can be found here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/684087991
Installing
Installing via crates.io is really easy.
$ cargo install cargo-pgx
As new versions of pgx are released, you'll want to make sure you run this command again to update it.
Usage
$ cargo pgx --help
cargo-pgx 0.2.6
ZomboDB, LLC <zombodb@gmail.com>
Cargo subcommand for 'pgx' to make Postgres extension development easy
USAGE:
cargo pgx [OPTIONS] <SUBCOMMAND>
OPTIONS:
-h, --help Print help information
-v, --verbose Enable info logs, -vv for debug, -vvv for trace
-V, --version Print version information
SUBCOMMANDS:
connect Connect, via psql, to a Postgres instance
get Get a property from the extension control file
help Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
init Initize pgx development environment for the first time
install Install the extension from the current crate to the Postgres specified by
whatever `pg_config` is currently on your $PATH
new Create a new extension crate
package Create an installation package directory (in `./target/[debug|release]/extname-
pgXX/`)
run Compile/install extension to a pgx-managed Postgres instance and start psql
schema Generate extension schema files
start Start a pgx-managed Postgres instance
status Is a pgx-managed Postgres instance running?
stop Stop a pgx-managed Postgres instance
test Run the test suite for this crate
Environment Variables
PGX_HOME- If set, overridespgx's default directory of~/.pgx/PGX_BUILD_FLAGS- If set duringcargo pgx run/test/install, these additional flags are passed tocargo buildwhile building the extensionPGX_BUILD_VERBOSE- Set to true to enable verbose "build.rs" output -- useful for debugging build issuesHTTPS_PROXY- If set duringcargo pgx init, it will download the Postgres sources using these proxy settings. For more details refer to the env_proxy crate documentation.
First Time Initialization
$ cargo pgx init
Discovered Postgres v14.1, v13.5, v12.9, v11.14, v10.19
Downloading Postgres v10.19 from https://ftp.postgresql.org/pub/source/v10.19/postgresql-10.19.tar.bz2
Downloading Postgres v14.1 from https://ftp.postgresql.org/pub/source/v14.1/postgresql-14.1.tar.bz2
Downloading Postgres v12.9 from https://ftp.postgresql.org/pub/source/v12.9/postgresql-12.9.tar.bz2
Downloading Postgres v11.14 from https://ftp.postgresql.org/pub/source/v11.14/postgresql-11.14.tar.bz2
Downloading Postgres v13.5 from https://ftp.postgresql.org/pub/source/v13.5/postgresql-13.5.tar.bz2
Removing /home/yourself/.pgx/10.19
Removing /home/yourself/.pgx/14.1
Removing /home/yourself/.pgx/12.9
Untarring Postgres v10.19 to /home/yourself/.pgx/10.19
Untarring Postgres v14.1 to /home/yourself/.pgx/14.1
Untarring Postgres v12.9 to /home/yourself/.pgx/12.9
Removing /home/yourself/.pgx/11.14
Untarring Postgres v11.14 to /home/yourself/.pgx/11.14
Removing /home/yourself/.pgx/13.5
Untarring Postgres v13.5 to /home/yourself/.pgx/13.5
Configuring Postgres v10.19
Configuring Postgres v12.9
Configuring Postgres v14.1
Configuring Postgres v11.14
Configuring Postgres v13.5
Compiling Postgres v10.19
Compiling Postgres v14.1
Compiling Postgres v12.9
Compiling Postgres v11.14
Compiling Postgres v13.5
Installing Postgres v10.19 to /home/yourself/.pgx/10.19/pgx-install
Installing Postgres v11.14 to /home/yourself/.pgx/11.14/pgx-install
Installing Postgres v12.9 to /home/yourself/.pgx/12.9/pgx-install
Installing Postgres v13.5 to /home/yourself/.pgx/13.5/pgx-install
Installing Postgres v14.1 to /home/yourself/.pgx/14.1/pgx-install
Validating /home/yourself/.pgx/10.19/pgx-install/bin/pg_config
Validating /home/yourself/.pgx/11.14/pgx-install/bin/pg_config
Validating /home/yourself/.pgx/12.9/pgx-install/bin/pg_config
Validating /home/yourself/.pgx/13.5/pgx-install/bin/pg_config
Validating /home/yourself/.pgx/14.1/pgx-install/bin/pg_config
cargo pgx init is required to be run once to properly configure the pgx development environment.
As shown by the screenshot above, it downloads the latest versions of Postgres v10, v11, v12, v13, configures them, compiles them, and installs them to ~/.pgx/. Other pgx commands such as run and test will fully manage and otherwise use these Postgres installations for you.
pgx is designed to support multiple Postgres versions in such a way that during development, you'll know if you're trying to use a Postgres API that isn't common across all versions. It's also designed to make testing your extension against these versions easy. This is why it requires you to have all fully compiled and installed versions of Postgres during development.
If you want to use your operating system's package manager to install Postgres, cargo pgx init has optional arguments that allow you to specify where they're installed (see below).
What you're telling cargo pgx init is the full path to pg_config for each version.
For any version you specify, cargo pgx init will forego downloading/compiling/installing it. pgx will then use that locally-installed version just as it uses any version it downloads/compiles/installs itself.
However, if the "path to pg_config" is the literal string download, then pgx will download and compile that version of Postgres for you.
When the various --pgXX options are specified, these are the only versions of Postgres that pgx will manage for you.
You'll also want to make sure you have the "postgresql-server-dev" package installed for each version you want to manage yourself.
Once complete, cargo pgx init also creates a configuration file (~/.pgx/config.toml) that describes where to find each version's pg_config tool.
If a new minor Postgres version is released in the future you can simply run cargo pgx init [args] again, and your local version will be updated, preserving all existing databases and configuration.
$ cargo pgx init --help
cargo-pgx-init 0.2.6
ZomboDB, LLC <zombodb@gmail.com>
initialize pgx development environment for the first time
USAGE:
cargo pgx init [OPTIONS]
OPTIONS:
-h, --help Print help information
--pg10 <PG10> [env: PG10_PG_CONFIG=]
--pg11 <PG11> If installed locally, the path to PG11's `pgconfig` tool, or `downLoad` to
have pgx download/compile/install it [env: PG11_PG_CONFIG=]
--pg12 <PG12> If installed locally, the path to PG12's `pgconfig` tool, or `downLoad` to
have pgx download/compile/install it [env: PG12_PG_CONFIG=]
--pg13 <PG13> If installed locally, the path to PG13's `pgconfig` tool, or `downLoad` to
have pgx download/compile/install it [env: PG13_PG_CONFIG=]
--pg14 <PG14> If installed locally, the path to PG14's `pgconfig` tool, or `downLoad` to
have pgx download/compile/install it [env: PG14_PG_CONFIG=]
-v, --verbose Enable info logs, -vv for debug, -vvv for trace
-V, --version Print version information
Creating a new Extension
$ cargo pgx new example
$ ls example/
Cargo.toml example.control sql src
cargo pgx new <extname> is an easy way to get started creating a new extension. It's similar to cargo new <name>, but does the additional things necessary to support building a Rust Postgres extension.
If you'd like to create a "background worker" instead, specify the --bgworker argument.
cargo pgx new does not initialize the directory as a git repo, but it does create a .gitignore file in case you decide to do so.
$ cargo pgx new --help
cargo-pgx-new 0.2.6
ZomboDB, LLC <zombodb@gmail.com>
Create a new extension crate
USAGE:
cargo pgx new [OPTIONS] <NAME>
ARGS:
<NAME> The name of the extension
OPTIONS:
-b, --bgworker Create a background worker template
-h, --help Print help information
-v, --verbose Enable info logs, -vv for debug, -vvv for trace
-V, --version Print version information
Managing Your Postgres Installations
$ cargo pgx status all
Postgres v10 is stopped
Postgres v11 is stopped
Postgres v12 is stopped
Postgres v13 is stopped
Postgres v14 is stopped
$ cargo pgx start all
Starting Postgres v10 on port 28810
Starting Postgres v11 on port 28811
Starting Postgres v12 on port 28812
Starting Postgres v13 on port 28813
Starting Postgres v14 on port 28814
$ cargo pgx status all
Postgres v10 is running
Postgres v11 is running
Postgres v12 is running
Postgres v13 is running
Postgres v14 is running
$ cargo pgx stop all
Stopping Postgres v10
Stopping Postgres v11
Stopping Postgres v12
Stopping Postgres v13
Stopping Postgres v14
cargo pgx has three commands for managing each Postgres installation: start, stop, and status. Additionally, cargo pgx run (see below) will automatically start its target Postgres instance if not already running.
When starting a Postgres instance, pgx starts it on port 28800 + PG_MAJOR_VERSION, so Postgres 10 runs on 28810, 11 on 28811, etc. Additionally, the first time any of these are started, it'll automaticaly initialize a PGDATA directory in ~/.pgx/data-[10 | 11 | 12]. Doing so allows pgx to manage either Postgres versions it installed or ones already on your computer, and to make sure that in the latter case, pgx managed versions don't interfere with what might already be running.
pgx doesn't tear down these instances. While they're stored in a hidden directory in your home directory, pgx considers these important and permanent database installations.
Once started, you can connect to them using psql (if you have it on your $PATH) like so: psql -p 28812. However, you probably just want the cargo pgx run command.
Compiling and Running Your Extension
$ cargo pgx run pg13
building extension with features ``
"cargo" "build"
Compiling pgx-utils v0.2.6 (/home/yourself/git/zombodb/pgx/pgx-utils)
Compiling pgx-pg-sys v0.2.6 (/home/yourself/git/zombodb/pgx/pgx-pg-sys)
Compiling pgx-macros v0.2.6 (/home/yourself/git/zombodb/pgx/pgx-macros)
Compiling strings v0.1.0 (/home/yourself/git/zombodb/pgx/pgx-examples/strings)
Finished dev [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 1m 32s
installing extension
Copying control file to `/home/yourself/.pgx/13.5/pgx-install/share/postgresql/extension/strings.control`
Copying shared library to `/home/yourself/.pgx/13.5/pgx-install/lib/postgresql/strings.so`
Discovering SQL entities
Discovered 6 SQL entities: 0 schemas (0 unique), 6 functions, 0 types, 0 enums, 0 sqls, 0 ords, 0 hashes
running SQL generator
"/home/yourself/git/zombodb/pgx/pgx-examples/strings/target/debug/sql-generator" "--sql" "/home/yourself/.pgx/13.5/pgx-install/share/postgresql/extension/strings--0.1.0.sql"
Copying extension schema file to `/home/yourself/.pgx/13.5/pgx-install/share/postgresql/extension/strings--0.1.0.sql`
Finished installing strings
Starting Postgres v13 on port 28813
Creating database strings
psql (13.5)
Type "help" for help.
strings=# DROP EXTENSION strings;
ERROR: extension "strings" does not exist
strings=# CREATE EXTENSION strings;
CREATE EXTENSION
strings=# \df strings.*
List of functions
Schema | Name | Result data type | Argument data types | Type
---------+---------------+------------------+------------------------------------------+------
strings | append | text | input text, extra text | func
strings | return_static | text | | func
strings | split | text[] | input text, pattern text | func
strings | split_set | SETOF text | input text, pattern text | func
strings | substring | text | input text, start integer, "end" integer | func
strings | to_lowercase | text | input text | func
(6 rows)
strings=# select strings.to_lowercase('PGX');
to_lowercase
--------------
pgx
(1 row)
cargo pgx run <pg10 | pg11 | pg12 | pg13> is the primary interface into compiling and interactively testing/using your extension during development.
The very first time you execute cargo pgx run pgXX, it needs to compile not only your extension, but pgx itself, along with all its dependencies. Depending on your computer, this could take a bit of time (pgx is nearly 200k lines of Rust when counting the generated bindings for Postgres). Afterwards, however (as seen in the above screenshot), it's fairly fast.
cargo pgx run compiles your extension, installs it to the specified Postgres installation as described by its pg_config tool, starts that Postgres instance using the same process as cargo pgx start pgXX, and drops you into a psql shell connected to a database, by default, named after your extension. From there, it's up to you to create your extension and use it.
This is also the stage where pgx automatically generates the SQL schema for your extension via the sql-generator binary.
When you exit psql, the Postgres instance continues to run in the background.
For Postgres installations which are already on your computer, cargo pgx run will need write permissions to the directories described by pg_config --pkglibdir and pg_config --sharedir. It's up to you to decide how to make that happen. While a single Postgres installation can be started multiple times on different ports and different data directories, it does not support multiple "extension library directories".
$ cargo pgx run --help
cargo-pgx-run 0.2.6
ZomboDB, LLC <zombodb@gmail.com>
Compile/install extension to a pgx-managed Postgres instance and start psql
USAGE:
cargo pgx run [OPTIONS] [ARGS]
ARGS:
<PG_VERSION> Do you want to run against Postgres `pg10`, `pg11`, `pg12`, `pg13`, `pg14`?
[env: PG_VERSION=]
<DBNAME> The database to connect to (and create if the first time). Defaults to a
database with the same name as the current extension name
OPTIONS:
--all-features Activate all available features
--features <FEATURES> Space-separated list of features to activate
-h, --help Print help information
-n, --no-schema Don't regenerate the schema
--no-default-features Do not activate the `default` feature
-r, --release Compile for release mode (default is debug) [env: PROFILE=]
-v, --verbose Enable info logs, -vv for debug, -vvv for trace
-V, --version Print version information
Connect to a Database
$ cargo pgx connect
Re-using existing database strings
psql (13.5)
Type "help" for help.
strings=# select strings.to_lowercase('PGX');
to_lowercase
--------------
pgx
(1 row)
strings=#
If you'd simply like to connect to a managed version of Postgres without re-compiling and installing
your extension, use cargo pgx connect <pg10 | pg11 | pg12 | pg13>.
This command will use the default database named for your extension, or you can specify another database name as the final argument.
If the specified database doesn't exist, cargo pgx connect will create it. Similarly, if
the specified version of Postgres isn't running, it'll be automatically started.
$ cargo pgx connect --help
cargo-pgx-connect 0.2.6
ZomboDB, LLC <zombodb@gmail.com>
Connect, via psql, to a Postgres instance
USAGE:
cargo pgx connect [OPTIONS] [ARGS]
ARGS:
<PG_VERSION> Do you want to run against Postgres `pg10`, `pg11`, `pg12`, `pg13`, `pg14`?
[env: PG_VERSION=]
<DBNAME> The database to connect to (and create if the first time). Defaults to a
database with the same name as the current extension name [env: DBNAME=]
OPTIONS:
-h, --help Print help information
-v, --verbose Enable info logs, -vv for debug, -vvv for trace
-V, --version Print version information
Installing Your Extension Locally
$ cargo pgx installbuilding extension with features ``
"cargo" "build"
Finished dev [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.06s
installing extension
Copying control file to `/usr/share/postgresql/13/extension/strings.control`
Copying shared library to `/usr/lib/postgresql/13/lib/strings.so`
Discovering SQL entities
Discovered 6 SQL entities: 0 schemas (0 unique), 6 functions, 0 types, 0 enums, 0 sqls, 0 ords, 0 hashes
running SQL generator
"/home/yourself/git/zombodb/pgx/pgx-examples/strings/target/debug/sql-generator" "--sql" "/usr/share/postgresql/13/extension/strings--0.1.0.sql"
Copying extension schema file to `/usr/share/postgresql/13/extension/strings--0.1.0.sql`
Finished installing strings
If for some reason cargo pgx run <PG_VERSION> isn't your style, you can use cargo pgx install to install your extension
to the Postgres installation described by the pg_config tool currently on your $PATH.
You'll need write permissions to the directories described by pg_config --pkglibdir and pg_config --sharedir.
By default, cargo pgx install builds your extension in debug mode. Specifying --release changes that.
$ cargo pgx install --help
cargo-pgx-install 0.2.6
ZomboDB, LLC <zombodb@gmail.com>
Install the extension from the current crate to the Postgres specified by whatever `pg_config` is
currently on your $PATH
USAGE:
cargo pgx install [OPTIONS]
OPTIONS:
--all-features Activate all available features
-c, --pg-config <PG_CONFIG> The `pg_config` path (default is first in $PATH)
--features <FEATURES> Space-separated list of features to activate
-h, --help Print help information
--no-default-features Do not activate the `default` feature
--no-schema Don't regenerate the schema
-r, --release Compile for release mode (default is debug) [env: PROFILE=]
-v, --verbose Enable info logs, -vv for debug, -vvv for trace
-V, --version Print version information
Testing Your Extension
$ cargo pgx test
"cargo" "test" "--features" " pg_test"
Finished test [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.07s
Running unittests (target/debug/deps/spi-6bcc12df19bb6b9f)
running 2 tests
building extension with features ` pg_test`
"cargo" "build" "--features" " pg_test"
Finished dev [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.06s
installing extension
Copying control file to `/home/ana/.pgx/13.5/pgx-install/share/postgresql/extension/spi.control`
Copying shared library to `/home/ana/.pgx/13.5/pgx-install/lib/postgresql/spi.so`
Discovering SQL entities
Discovered 11 SQL entities: 1 schemas (1 unique), 8 functions, 0 types, 0 enums, 2 sqls, 0 ords, 0 hashes
running SQL generator
"/home/ana/git/zombodb/pgx/pgx-examples/spi/target/debug/sql-generator" "--sql" "/home/ana/.pgx/13.5/pgx-install/share/postgresql/extension/spi--0.0.0.sql"
Copying extension schema file to `/home/ana/.pgx/13.5/pgx-install/share/postgresql/extension/spi--0.0.0.sql`
Finished installing spi
test tests::pg_test_spi_query_by_id_via_spi ... ok
test tests::pg_test_spi_query_by_id_direct ... ok
test result: ok. 2 passed; 0 failed; 0 ignored; 0 measured; 0 filtered out; finished in 1.40s
Stopping Postgres
Running unittests (target/debug/deps/sql_generator-f6f1bc1775229242)
running 0 tests
test result: ok. 0 passed; 0 failed; 0 ignored; 0 measured; 0 filtered out; finished in 0.00s
Doc-tests spi
running 0 tests
test result: ok. 0 passed; 0 failed; 0 ignored; 0 measured; 0 filtered out; finished in 0.00s
cargo pgx test [pg10 | pg11 | pg12 | pg13] runs your #[test] and #[pg_test] annotated functions using cargo's test system.
During the testing process, pgx starts a tempory instance of Postgres with its PGDATA directory in ./target/pgx-test-data-PGVER/. This Postgres instance is stopped as soon as the test framework has finished.
The output is standard "cargo test" output along with some Postgres log output. In the case of test failures, the failure report will include any Postgres log messages generated by that particular test.
Rust #[test] functions behave normally, while #[pg_test] functions are run inside the Postgres instance and have full access to all of Postgres internals. All tests are run in parallel, regardless of their type.
Additionally, a #[pg_test] function runs in a transaction that is aborted when the test is finished. As such, any changes it might
make to the database are not preserved.
$ cargo pgx test --help
cargo-pgx-test 0.2.6
ZomboDB, LLC <zombodb@gmail.com>
Run the test suite for this crate
USAGE:
cargo pgx test [OPTIONS] [ARGS]
ARGS:
<PG_VERSION> Do you want to run against Postgres `pg10`, `pg11`, `pg12`, `pg13`, `pg14`,
or `all`? [env: PG_VERSION=]
<TESTNAME> If specified, only run tests containing this string in their names
OPTIONS:
--all-features Activate all available features
--features <FEATURES> Space-separated list of features to activate
-h, --help Print help information
-n, --no-schema Don't regenerate the schema
--no-default-features Do not activate the `default` feature
-r, --release compile for release mode (default is debug) [env: PROFILE=]
-v, --verbose Enable info logs, -vv for debug, -vvv for trace
-V, --version Print version information
--workspace Test all packages in the workspace
Building an Installation Package
$ cargo pgx package
building extension with features ``
"cargo" "build" "--release"
Finished release [optimized] target(s) in 0.07s
installing extension
Discovering SQL entities
Discovered 8 SQL entities: 0 schemas (0 unique), 6 functions, 0 types, 0 enums, 2 sqls, 0 ords, 0 hashes
running SQL generator
"/home/yourself/git/zombodb/pgx/pgx-examples/spi/target/release/sql-generator" "--sql" "/home/yourself/git/zombodb/pgx/pgx-examples/spi/target/release/spi-pg13/usr/share/postgresql/13/extension/spi--0.0.0.sql"
Copying extension schema file to `target/release/spi-pg13/usr/share/postgresql/13/extension/spi--0.0.0.sql`
Finished installing spi
cargo pgx package [--debug] builds your extension, in --release mode, to a directory structure in
./target/[debug | release]/extension_name-PGVER using the Postgres installation path information from the pg_config
tool on your $PATH.
The intent is that you'd then change into that directory and build a tarball or a .deb or .rpm package.
The directory structure cargo pgx package creates starts at the root of the filesystem, as a package-manager installed
version of Postgres is likely to split pg_config --pkglibdir and pg_config --sharedir into different base paths.
(In the example screenshot above, cargo pgx package was used to build a directory structure using my manually installed
version of Postgres 12.)
This command could be useful from Dockerfiles, for example, to automate building installation packages for various Linux distobutions or MacOS Postgres installations.
$ cargo pgx package --help
cargo-pgx-package 0.2.6
ZomboDB, LLC <zombodb@gmail.com>
Create an installation package directory (in `./target/[debug|release]/extname-pgXX/`)
USAGE:
cargo pgx package [OPTIONS]
OPTIONS:
--all-features Activate all available features
-c, --pg-config <PG_CONFIG> The `pg_config` path (default is first in $PATH)
-d, --debug Compile for debug mode (default is release) [env: PROFILE=]
--features <FEATURES> Space-separated list of features to activate
-h, --help Print help information
--no-default-features Do not activate the `default` feature
-v, --verbose Enable info logs, -vv for debug, -vvv for trace
-V, --version Print version information
Inspect you Extension Schema
If you just want to look at the full extension schema that pgx will generate, use
cargo pgx schema /dir/to/write/it/.
$ cargo pgx schema --help
cargo-pgx-schema 0.2.6
ZomboDB, LLC <zombodb@gmail.com>
Generate extension schema files
The SQL generation process requires configuring a few settings in the crate. Normally `cargo pgx
schema --force-default` can set these automatically.
USAGE:
cargo pgx schema [OPTIONS] [PG_VERSION]
ARGS:
<PG_VERSION>
Do you want to run against Postgres `pg10`, `pg11`, `pg12`, `pg13`, `pg14`?
OPTIONS:
--all-features
Activate all available features
-c, --pg-config <PG_CONFIG>
The `pg_config` path (default is first in $PATH)
-d, --dot <DOT>
A path to output a produced GraphViz DOT file
-f, --force-default
Force the generation of default required files
--features <FEATURES>
Space-separated list of features to activate
-h, --help
Print help information
-m, --manual
Skip checking for required files
--no-default-features
Do not activate the `default` feature
-o, --out <OUT>
A path to output a produced SQL file (default is `sql/$EXTNAME-$VERSION.sql`)
-r, --release
Compile for release mode (default is debug)
[env: PROFILE=]
-s, --skip-build
Skip building the `sql-generator`, use an existing build
-v, --verbose
Enable info logs, -vv for debug, -vvv for trace
-V, --version
Print version information
Manual SQL Generation
This section is for users with custom
.cargo/configsettings or advanced requirements.If you are not using
cargo pgx initto generate your extension, or you're upgrading your extension frompgx0.1.21 or earlier, you can usually havecargo-pgxprovision it's base requirements withcargo pgx schema --force-default.
SQL generation requires some linker flags, as well as a binary.
The flags are typically set by a linker script:
#! /usr/bin/env bash
# Auto-generated by pgx. You may edit this, or delete it to have a new one created.
if ; then
UNAME=
if ; then
TEMP=
else
TEMP=
fi
else
fi
Which would be configured in .cargo/config for supported targets:
[]
= "./.cargo/linker-script.sh"
Then, a src/bin/sql-generator.rs binary would exist with the following:
pg_binary_magic!;
If cargo pgx schema does not detect these, it will create them automatically with defaults.
To skip writing defaults, use -m, to overwrite exiting files with these defaults, use -f.
Finally, lib.crate-type should be set in Cargo.toml:
[]
= ["cdylib", "rlib"]
cargo pgx schema --force-default does not update your Cargo.toml, this must be manually set.