pgx
A Go library for connecting to and querying PostgreSQL databases.
- Stars
- 14.4k
- Forks
- 1.2k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Go
- Last update
- 6 days ago
- Type
- Library
What it is
pgx is a pure Go driver and toolkit for PostgreSQL. It lets Go programs connect to a PostgreSQL database, run queries, and use PostgreSQL-specific features such as LISTEN/NOTIFY and COPY. It also includes an adapter for Go's standard database/sql interface, and lower-level packages for working with the PostgreSQL wire protocol and type mapping.
- Connect a Go web service to PostgreSQL using a DATABASE_URL environment variable
- Run queries and scan results into Go variables
- Bulk-load data using the COPY protocol
- Listen for database notifications with LISTEN/NOTIFY
- Pool connections for concurrent use with pgxpool
Great for
- Go developers building services that only use PostgreSQL
- Teams that need PostgreSQL-specific features like LISTEN/NOTIFY or COPY
- Projects that want a built-in connection pool (pgxpool)
- Developers building proxies, load balancers, or replication clients on the wire protocol
Not ideal for
- Projects that need to support multiple databases through database/sql, because pgx's native interface is PostgreSQL-only
- Non-Go projects, since this is a Go library
- Beginners with no Go experience, since the README assumes familiarity with Go and database APIs
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Go 1.25 or higher · PostgreSQL 14 or higher (for running the database)
Install the library
go get github.com/jackc/pgx/v5 - 2
Run it
- Install the module with go get github.com/jackc/pgx/v5.
- Set the DATABASE_URL environment variable to a PostgreSQL connection string.
- Copy the example program from the README, which calls pgx.Connect and runs a QueryRow.
- Run the program with go run and check the printed output.
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use pgxpool for concurrency-safe connection pooling in servers
- Use Batch queries and single-round trip query mode to reduce network round trips
- Use COPY for faster bulk data loads
- Hook up tracing or logging via the tracelog package and the listed adapters for zap, zerolog, slog, and others
- Use the PGX family libraries such as pglogrepl and tern for replication and migrations
Downloads
Strengths
- Exposes PostgreSQL-specific features such as LISTEN/NOTIFY and COPY
- Includes a database/sql compatibility adapter, so existing code can adopt it gradually
- Documented on pkg.go.dev with separate packages for the base driver, pool, and adapter
Trade-offs
- Its native interface is PostgreSQL-only, so it is not a drop-in choice for multi-database code
- Requires Go 1.25+ and PostgreSQL 14+ per the README's support policy
- Using the database/sql adapter gives up some of the faster native interface
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pgx (this) | 14.4k | Library | intermediate | 6 days ago | Go developers building services that only use PostgreSQL |
| gorm | 40k | Library | intermediate | 13 days ago | Go developers building web services or APIs that store data in a relational database |
| sqlc | 18.4k | Dev tool | intermediate | 4 days ago | Go developers who prefer writing plain SQL over using an ORM |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.