pgxman is npm for Postgres extensions. pgxman simplifies the discovery and use of extensions so modern hackers can easily enhance the capabilities of their applications.

Instead of managing extension versions, build & run dependencies, operating system, platform architecture, pgxman automatically detects and streamlines extension operations (xOps) based on the local development environment.

With pgxman, we've streamlined the installation process to one simple step: run pgxman install [extension name].

pgxman integrates with the system package manager, ensuring the correct versions are installed without extra packages from any shared dependencies between extensions. pgxman’s automated build system creates APT packages for each Postgres version, platform, and OS supported by the extension. Extensions are built from a buildkit formula, written in YAML, and are contributed through GitHub.

Try pgxman help, man pgxman, or read our documentation.

Run:

# with homebrew
brew install pgxman/tap/pgxman
# without homebrew
curl -sfL https://install.pgx.sh | sh -

For more options, see our installation documentation.

Find extensions with pgxman search:

pgxman search fdw

To install an extension, say pgvector, run:

pgxman install pgvector

pgxman will automatically detect your local install of Postgres (or, on MacOS, will use a container).

You can specify multiple extensions, specific extension versions, and a PG version:

pgxman install --pg 15 pgvector=0.5.1 pg_ivm=1.7.0

You can also utilize a pack file to install multiple extensions at once:

pgxman pack install # installs from pgxman.yaml from current directory
pgxman pack install -f /path/to/pgxman.yaml

Once installed, restart Postgres, then use CREATE EXTENSION.

Please refer to our docs for how to build an extension for pgxman.

pgxman's build system works with your system package manager. The buildkit specifies how to build each extension and builds it for each package manager. When a buildkit is added or updated, a build is conducted and the packages are stored in pgxman's repositories.

When installing an extension, pgxman's package repository is used to install the packages into your system. This way, pgxman is able to handle dependency management, installation, and uninstallation through your system's package manager.

pgxman itself is either installed as an apt package or via homebrew.

For more details, see how it works in the documentation.

The pgxman client is licensed under the FSL, which, in short, means pgxman is open for all internal, non-competing usage. To learn more about the FSL, please see fsl.software. As stated:

You can do anything with FSL software except undermine its producer. You can read it, learn from it, run it internally, modify it, and propose improvements back to the producer. After two years it becomes Open Source software under Apache 2.0 or MIT.

We consider any Postgres service provider using pgxman as part of their service to be a Competing Usage. However, we encourage widespread adoption of pgxman and welcome any service provider to contact us at pgxman [at] hydra [dot] so to obtain a license for usage as part of your service. Our main concern is assuring the pgxman service can scale to the needs of your service.