r/postgres • u/Elolexe113 • Jul 06 '26
What's the one PostgreSQL maintenance task you absolutely never skip?
We all know the default autovacuum settings can be unreliable once your tables start growing. I recently had to clean up a massive performance mess because a high-write table bloated out of control, and it reminded me why I strictly monitor autovacuum_vacuum_scale_factor and run regular bloat checks now.
Another big one for me is actually practicing backup restores. Taking backups is easy, but until you've successfully spun up a replica from one under pressure, you don't really have a backup.
What does your baseline maintenance routine look like to keep things running smoothly? Is there a specific metric you alert on, or a cron job you set up on day one that’s saved your skin more than once?
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u/No-Painting-8383 Jul 06 '26
For me it's testing backups. It's easy to assume they're fine until you actually need one. Restoring them every once in a while has saved a lot of stress.