REINDEXDB(1)

🌸 NAME 🌸

okay bestie, meet reindexdb(1) — she's the utility for rebuilding indexes in a PostgreSQL database, and her whole job is reindexing a PostgreSQL database. no cap, she's slay. 💖

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

okay so the shapes she comes in are literally these:

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]

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

reindexdb is a utility for rebuilding indexes in a PostgreSQL database. literally her whole thing. 🫶

She's 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. so like, no secret bonus behavior, bestie. 💅

💅 OPTIONS 💅

reindexdb accepts the following command-line arguments:

• -a, --all — Reindex all databases. every single one, periodt. 👑
• --concurrently — Use the CONCURRENTLY option. See REINDEX(7), where all the caveats of this option are explained in detail. read the caveats, bestie, fr fr. 💀
• [-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. iykyk. 🎀
• -e, --echo — Echo the commands that reindexdb generates and sends to the server. so you can see the receipts. 🧾
• -i index, --index=index — Recreate index only. Multiple indexes can be recreated by writing multiple -i switches. one -i per index, bestie. 💖
• -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. careful, babe. 🚨

• -q, --quiet — Do not display progress messages. shhh. 🤫
• -s, --system — Reindex database's system catalogs only. just the system catalogs, not everything. 🛠️
• -S schema, --schema=schema — Reindex schema only. Multiple schemas can be reindexed by writing multiple -S switches. stack those -S switches. 🌈
• -t table, --table=table — Reindex table only. Multiple tables can be reindexed by writing multiple -t switches. same energy: one switch per table. 🍓
• --tablespace=tablespace — Specifies the tablespace where indexes are rebuilt. (This name is processed as a double-quoted identifier.) noted, bestie: double-quoted identifier. 💅
• -v, --verbose — Print detailed information during processing. give me all the details. 🔍
• -V, --version — Print the reindexdb version and exit. bye. 👋
• -?, --help — Show help about reindexdb command line arguments, and exit. help me help you. 🫶

🔌 connection parameters, bestie 🔌

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-coded. 🧚
• -p port, --port=port — Specifies the TCP port or local Unix domain socket file extension on which the server is listening for connections. port check, slay. 💜
• -U username, --username=username — User name to connect as. who dis? it's username. 👑
• -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. so like, no humans, no prompt, no vibes. 😭
• -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 useful. 💅

• --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. main character maintenance db, honestly. 🌟

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

• PGDATABASE, PGHOST, PGPORT, PGUSER — Default connection parameters. all four, bestie. 💖
• PG_COLOR — Specifies whether to use color in diagnostic messages. Possible values are always, auto and never. color check, periodt. 🎨

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

🔥 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. if it's acting up, start there, bestie. 💀

🎀 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. save yourself the repeated password moment, bestie. 🙈

🍓 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

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

REINDEX(7) — that's the one, bestie. go read it. 📖

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💖 signed, sealed, and slayed: PostgreSQL 16.15, 2026, and REINDEXDB(1) — mwah! 💋✨