- Centralizing credential management
- Enabling scalable, role-based access control
- Strengthening security posture with standards-based authentication
Postgres 18 also includes additional security enhancements. This version deprecates MD5 and enables SCRAM authentication in new locations, including connections to other databases via foreign data wrappers, strengthening protection across distributed environments.
Advancing SQL standards: More flexibility for modern applications
Postgres 18 introduces new enhancements for NOT NULL constraints, foreign keys, and virtual generated columns, improving data integrity and giving developers more options when building applications that need to run across multiple database platforms. These updates make it easier to use Postgres as the foundation for standards-based applications—an important advantage for teams that want portability and long-term maintainability.
Optimizer improvements: Smarter query planning with less developer tuning
For many years, the Postgres query optimizer saw only modest changes, but recent releases have reversed that trend. In Postgres 18, developers will see:
