About PgBouncer
PgBouncer is a small connection pooler for PostgreSQL. It sits between your application and the database to manage many client connections.
What it does
Each PostgreSQL connection uses server resources, so many direct connections can slow a busy database. PgBouncer keeps a smaller pool of real server connections and shares them among clients. It offers settings for idle timeouts, wait limits per user and database, and tracking of session settings.
Key features
- Pools many client connections over fewer server connections
- Idle connection timeout setting
- Query wait timeouts set per user and database
- Tracks search_path and read-only settings by default
- Authentication with SCRAM users
Who it's for
Backend teams and database administrators who run busy applications on PostgreSQL and want to keep connection counts under control.
Pricing and good to know
PgBouncer is open source and free to download. It is distributed as source archives, and its changelog lists the security fixes in each release. Keep it on a current version, since several recent releases fixed security issues.
Highlights
- Pools many client connections over fewer server connections
- Idle connection timeout setting
- Query wait timeouts set per user and database
- Tracks search_path and read-only settings by default
- Authentication with SCRAM users
