🔗 Production query plans without production data

This article examines how PostgreSQL 18 introduces enhancements for managing optimizer statistics without the need for production data. The features pg_restore_relation_stats and pg_restore_attribute_stats enable users to inject statistics directly into the catalog tables, facilitating the creation of test environments that mimic production systems in terms of query planning and execution.

By using these functions, developers can export statistics from a production database and reproduce them in development or testing contexts, improving the accuracy of performance assessments. This capability addresses the challenges posed by differing row configurations in production and CI environments, allowing for reliable query plan validations and potential optimizations based on real-world data distributions.