Why does it suggest avoiding VARCHAR(n)?

PostgreSQL handles the TEXT type efficiently without performance penalties, and the skill recommends using TEXT with CHECK constraints if length limits are strictly necessary.

What primary key type does this skill recommend?

It prefers BIGINT GENERATED ALWAYS AS IDENTITY for standard tables and UUID for distributed systems where global uniqueness is required.

Does it support JSONB and vector types?

Yes, it includes best practices for GIN indexing on JSONB columns and support for pgvector types for similarity searches.

How does this skill handle PostgreSQL performance?

It provides specific patterns for hot/cold column separation, fillfactor adjustments, and automated partitioning strategies for large datasets.

PostgreSQL Table Design

Name: PostgreSQL Table Design
Author: HermeticOrmus

byHermeticOrmus

0•

Database Management

Architects optimized PostgreSQL schemas using industry-standard best practices for data integrity and high-performance indexing.

This skill provides specialized guidance for designing PostgreSQL databases, covering everything from 3NF normalization and indexing strategies to advanced features like Row-Level Security (RLS) and partitioning. It helps developers avoid common 'gotchas'—such as unindexed foreign keys or silent coercions—while ensuring the use of modern data types like BIGINT identity columns instead of legacy SERIAL types. Whether you are building time-series tables, JSONB-heavy document stores, or standard relational models, this skill ensures your database architecture is scalable, maintainable, and performant.

Key Features

01Implementation patterns for Row-Level Security (RLS) and complex CHECK constraints.

020 GitHub stars

03Expert data type selection including TIMESTAMPTZ, NUMERIC, and modern identity columns.

04Performance-oriented design for update-heavy and insert-heavy workloads.

05Declarative partitioning patterns for large-scale data management.

06Optimized indexing strategies for B-tree, GIN, GiST, and BRIN index types.

Use Cases

01Refactoring legacy schemas to modern PostgreSQL standards for better performance and type safety.

02Designing a multi-tenant SaaS database with strict data isolation using Row-Level Security.

03Optimizing a time-series logging system using partitioning and BRIN indexing.

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add hermeticormus/hermetic-line postgresql

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill