DocumentationPostgreSQL devel (2025-08-22 11:45:46 - git commit e411a8d25a4)
Supported Versions: Current (17) / 16 / 15 / 14 / 13
Development Versions: 18 / devel
Unsupported versions: 12 / 11 / 10 / 9.6 / 9.5 / 9.4
This documentation is for an unsupported version of PostgreSQL.
You may want to view the same page for the current version, or one of the other supported versions listed above instead.

47.6. Logical Decoding Output Plugins #

PostgreSQL provides two logical decoding output plugins, pgoutput and test_decoding. You can also develop custom output plugins (see Section 47.7 for details).

47.6.1. pgoutput — Standard Logical Decoding Output Plugin #

pgoutput is the standard logical decoding output plugin provided by PostgreSQL. It's used for the built-in logical replication.

47.6.1.1. Options #

proto_version (integer) #

Specifies the protocol version. Currently versions 1, 2, 3, and 4 are supported. A valid version is required.

Version 2 is supported on server version 14 and above, and is required when streaming is set to on to stream large in-progress transactions.

Version 3 is supported on server version 15 and above, and is required when two_phase is enabled to stream two-phase commits.

Version 4 is supported on server version 16 and above, and is required when streaming is set to parallel to stream large in-progress transactions to be applied in parallel.

publication_names (string) #

A comma-separated list of publication names to subscribe to. The individual publication names are treated as standard objects names and can be quoted the same as needed. At least one publication name is required.

binary (boolean) #

Enables binary transfer mode. Binary mode is faster than the text mode but slightly less robust. The default is off.

messages (boolean) #

Enables sending the messages that are written by pg_logical_emit_message. The default is off.

streaming (enum) #

Enables streaming of in-progress transactions. Valid values are off (the default), on and parallel.

When set to off, pgoutput fully decodes a transaction before sending it as a whole. This mode works with any protocol version.

When set to on, pgoutput streams large in-progress transactions. This requires protocol version 2 or higher.

When set to parallel, pgoutput streams large in-progress transactions and also sends extra information in some messages to support parallel processing. This requires protocol version 4 or higher.

two_phase (boolean) #

Enables sending two-phase transactions. Minimum protocol version 3 is required to turn it on. The default is off.

origin (enum) #

Specifies whether to send changes by their origin. Possible values are none to only send the changes that have no origin associated, or any to send the changes regardless of their origin. This can be used to avoid loops (infinite replication of the same data) among replication nodes. The default is any.

47.6.1.2. Notes #

pgoutput produces binary output, so functions expecting textual data ( pg_logical_slot_peek_changes and pg_logical_slot_get_changes) cannot be used with it. Use pg_logical_slot_peek_binary_changes or pg_logical_slot_get_binary_changes instead.