REINDEXDB(1)

💅 REINDEXDB(1) — the reindexdb glow-up page

okay so picture this: it's reindexdb, bestie, and it lives in the PostgreSQL 14.24 documentation. she's a whole utility and she's here to rebuild your indexes. let's get into it ✨

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🎀 NAME

reindexdb — reindex a PostgreSQL database. that's it, that's the vibe. 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS

reindexdb [connection-option...] [option...] [ -S | --schema schema ]...
          [ -t | --table table ]...  [ -i | --index index ]...  [dbname]

reindexdb [connection-option...] [option...] -a | --all

reindexdb [connection-option...] [option...] -s | --system  [dbname]

three whole lewks, pick your fave 🫶

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🦋 DESCRIPTION

reindexdb is a utility for rebuilding indexes in a PostgreSQL database. iconic behaviour, honestly.

and here's the tea: reindexdb is a wrapper around the SQL command REINDEX. there is no effective difference between reindexing databases via this utility and via other methods for accessing the server. like, none. same energy, different fit. periodt. 💖

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✨ OPTIONS ✨

reindexdb accepts the following command-line arguments:

• -a, --all — Reindex all databases. all of them. every last one 👑
• --concurrently — Use the CONCURRENTLY option. See REINDEX(7), where all the caveats of this option are explained in detail. > ngl bestie, go read those caveats, they're not decorative 😭
• [-d] dbname, [--dbname=]dbname — Specifies the name of the database to be reindexed, when -a/--all is not used. If this is not specified, the database name is read from the environment variable PGDATABASE. If that is not set, the user name specified for the connection is used. The dbname can be a connection string. If so, connection string parameters will override any conflicting command line options. sneaky but valid 💅
• -e, --echo — Echo the commands that reindexdb generates and sends to the server. she's showing her work ✨
• *-i *index, --index=index — Recreate index only. Multiple indexes can be recreated by writing multiple -i switches. stack 'em 🎀
• -j njobs, --jobs=njobs — Execute the reindex commands in parallel by running njobs commands simultaneously. This option may reduce the processing time but it also increases the load on the database server. reindexdb will open njobs connections to the database, so make sure your max_connections setting is high enough to accommodate all connections. Note that this option is **incompatible with the --index and --system options. > they do NOT sit together at lunch, okay? 🫶
• -q, --quiet — Do not display progress messages. silent mode, mysterious mode 😌
• -s, --system — Reindex database's system catalogs only. just the system ones 🧚
• *-S *schema, --schema=schema — Reindex schema only. Multiple schemas can be reindexed by writing multiple -S switches. again: stack 'em 💜
• *-t *table, --table=table — Reindex table only. Multiple tables can be reindexed by writing multiple -t switches. you know the drill by now 🌸
• *--tablespace=tablespace* — Specifies the tablespace where indexes are rebuilt. (This name is processed as a double-quoted identifier.) yes, the double-quoted identifier thing matters, don't @ me 🔥
• -v, --verbose — Print detailed information during processing. she's a talker and we love her 💖
• -V, --version — Print the reindexdb version and exit. bye bestie 👋
• -?, --help — Show help about reindexdb command line arguments, and exit. the built-in girl help 🌈

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🔌 connection-parameter era

reindexdb also accepts the following command-line arguments for connection parameters:

• *-h *host, --host=host — Specifies the host name of the machine on which the server is running. If the value begins with a slash, it is used as the directory for the Unix domain socket. slash = socket directory, noted 📌
• *-p *port, --port=port — Specifies the TCP port or local Unix domain socket file extension on which the server is listening for connections.
• *-U *username, --username=username — User name to connect as. who are you today 💅
• -w, --no-password — Never issue a password prompt. If the server requires password authentication and a password is not available by other means such as a .pgpass file, the connection attempt will fail. This option can be useful in batch jobs and scripts where no user is present to enter a password. > fr fr, she will not ask. she will just fail. know that going in 💀
• -W, --password — Force reindexdb to prompt for a password before connecting to a database. This option is never essential, since reindexdb will automatically prompt for a password if the server demands password authentication. However, reindexdb will waste a connection attempt finding out that the server wants a password. In some cases it is worth typing -W to avoid the extra connection attempt. lowkey a time-saver 🙈
• *--maintenance-db=dbname* — When the -a/--all is used, connect to this database to gather the list of databases to reindex. If not specified, the postgres database will be used, or if that does not exist, template1 will be used. This can be a connection string. If so, connection string parameters will override any conflicting command line options. Also, connection string parameters other than the database name itself will be re-used when connecting to other databases. she recycles, we stan ♻️

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🌿 ENVIRONMENT

• PGDATABASE
• PGHOST
• PGPORT
• PGUSER

those four = Default connection parameters 🫶

• PG_COLOR — Specifies whether to use color in diagnostic messages. Possible values are always, auto and never. (yes she serves looks and colour 🎨)

This utility, like most other PostgreSQL utilities, also uses the environment variables supported by libpq (see Section 34.15). iykyk 📚

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🩺 DIAGNOSTICS

In case of difficulty, see REINDEX(7) and psql(1) for discussions of potential problems and error messages. The database server must be running at the targeted host. Also, any default connection settings and environment variables used by the libpq front-end library will apply. > she can't fix a server that isn't up, bestie, that's not a her problem 😭

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📝 NOTES

reindexdb might need to connect several times to the PostgreSQL server, asking for a password each time. It is convenient to have a ~/.pgpass file in such cases. See Section 34.16 for more information. do yourself a favour and set that up, your future self will thank you 💖

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🍓 EXAMPLES

To reindex the database test:

$ reindexdb test

To reindex the table foo and the index bar in a database named abcd:

$ reindexdb --table=foo --index=bar abcd

ate. no crumbs. 🔥

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👑 SEE ALSO

REINDEX(7)

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! this lil slice of heaven is brought to you by PostgreSQL 14.24, dated 2026, and it's the REINDEXDB(1) manual page 💜 go forth and rebuild those indexes, you absolute main character 🦋✨🎀