Author: Nazneen Jafri

This is Part 1 of a two-part series covering the key features in PostgreSQL 18. In this post, we focus on performance enhancements: skip scan optimization for multicolumn indexes, enhanced EXPLAIN output, automatic removal of unnecessary self-joins, and several vacuum and autovacuum improvements that help keep your database running efficiently.

In Part 1 of this series, we explored the performance enhancements in PostgreSQL 18, including skip scan optimization, enhanced EXPLAIN output, automatic self-join removal, and vacuum/autovacuum improvements. In this second part, we focus on security, monitoring, developer productivity, and logical replication enhancements that improve operational efficiency and the overall developer experience.