Psql Cheat Sheet

Psql Cheat Sheet

Basic Navigation Commands

List all databases

\l

Connect to another database

\c dbname

Show current connection

\conninfo

Listing Objects Quickly

List all schemas

\dn

List all tables in current database

\dt

List tables across all schemas

\dt *.*

List all functions

\df

List all views

\dv

List everything (tables, views, sequences)

\d

Inspecting Tables & Structures

Describe a table

\d table_name

Describe a table with storage info

\d+ table_name

List indexes of a table

\di table_name

Show sequences

\ds

Size & Storage Tricks

Size of a single database

SELECT
        pg_size_pretty(pg_database_size('mydb'));

Size of all databases

SELECT
        datname,
        pg_size_pretty(pg_database_size(datname))
FROM
        pg_database;

Table size

SELECT
        pg_size_pretty(pg_total_relation_size('table_name'));

User & Permission Tools

List all users and roles

\du

Show grants for a role

\dg+ username;

Useful psql Quality-of-Life Options

Show SQL timing

\timing

Turn expanded display on/off (better formatting)

\x

Enable/disable auto-commit

\set AUTOCOMMIT on
\set AUTOCOMMIT off

View all psql settings

\set

Command History & Editing

Show command history

\history

Repeat last query

\g

Save query output to file

\o output.txt
SELECT * FROM test;
\o

Final Thoughts

psql is much more powerful than most people realize. With a few meta-commands, you can navigate databases, inspect structures, and analyze size or performance with almost no SQL at all. This cheatsheet is designed to be a compact, daily-use reference that keeps your workflow fast and efficient.