Checking for Existence of Index in Postgresql

Checking for existence of index in PostgreSQL

You can get the list of indexes, their table and column using this query:

select
    t.relname as table_name,
    i.relname as index_name,
    a.attname as column_name
from
    pg_class t,
    pg_class i,
    pg_index ix,
    pg_attribute a
where
    t.oid = ix.indrelid
    and i.oid = ix.indexrelid
    and a.attrelid = t.oid
    and a.attnum = ANY(ix.indkey)
    and t.relkind = 'r'
   -- and t.relname like 'mytable'
order by
    t.relname,
    i.relname;

From there, you can check existence by index name or involved column(s) and decide to create/skip the index.

How to list indexes created for table in postgres

The view pg_indexes provides access to useful information about each index in the database, eg.

select *
from pg_indexes
where tablename not like 'pg%';

List columns with indexes in PostgreSQL

Create some test data...

create table test (a int, b int, c int, constraint pk_test primary key(a, b));
create table test2 (a int, b int, c int, constraint uk_test2 unique (b, c));
create table test3 (a int, b int, c int, constraint uk_test3b unique (b), constraint uk_test3c unique (c),constraint uk_test3ab unique (a, b));

List indexes and columns indexed:

select
    t.relname as table_name,
    i.relname as index_name,
    a.attname as column_name
from
    pg_class t,
    pg_class i,
    pg_index ix,
    pg_attribute a
where
    t.oid = ix.indrelid
    and i.oid = ix.indexrelid
    and a.attrelid = t.oid
    and a.attnum = ANY(ix.indkey)
    and t.relkind = 'r'
    and t.relname like 'test%'
order by
    t.relname,
    i.relname;

 table_name | index_name | column_name
------------+------------+-------------
 test       | pk_test    | a
 test       | pk_test    | b
 test2      | uk_test2   | b
 test2      | uk_test2   | c
 test3      | uk_test3ab | a
 test3      | uk_test3ab | b
 test3      | uk_test3b  | b
 test3      | uk_test3c  | c

Roll up the column names:

select
    t.relname as table_name,
    i.relname as index_name,
    array_to_string(array_agg(a.attname), ', ') as column_names
from
    pg_class t,
    pg_class i,
    pg_index ix,
    pg_attribute a
where
    t.oid = ix.indrelid
    and i.oid = ix.indexrelid
    and a.attrelid = t.oid
    and a.attnum = ANY(ix.indkey)
    and t.relkind = 'r'
    and t.relname like 'test%'
group by
    t.relname,
    i.relname
order by
    t.relname,
    i.relname;

 table_name | index_name | column_names
------------+------------+--------------
 test       | pk_test    | a, b
 test2      | uk_test2   | b, c
 test3      | uk_test3ab | a, b
 test3      | uk_test3b  | b
 test3      | uk_test3c  | c

How do you check if a certain index exists in a table?

You can do it using a straight forward select like this:

SELECT * 
FROM sys.indexes 
WHERE name='YourIndexName' AND object_id = OBJECT_ID('Schema.YourTableName')

how to to first check whether the table exist or not before creating it in postgresql?

PostgreSQL uses the following syntax:

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS mytable (
    -- Column definitions...
)

Fastest check if row exists in PostgreSQL

Use the EXISTS key word for TRUE / FALSE return:

select exists(select 1 from contact where id=12)

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