What is Connection Pooling?
Reusing a small set of open database connections across many requests instead of dialing fresh each time. Pools cap concurrency, cut handshake latency, and keep serverless bursts from overwhelming Postgres.
Related terms
PgBouncer & Supavisor
Lightweight proxies that multiplex thousands of app connections onto a handful of real Postgres sessions. Supavisor is Supabase’s managed pooler; PgBouncer is the self-hosted original both patterns descend from.
Managed Database
Storage provisioned inside the builder (BYOB DB, Supabase) without manual setup: credentials land in the project environment and schemas stay inspectable from the workspace.
D1 vs Postgres Choice
Choosing edge SQLite (D1) for globally distributed reads and zero-ops scale versus Postgres for rich types, extensions, and heavy relational workloads. BYOB generates D1-first apps and reaches for Supabase Postgres when measurements demand it.
B-Tree Index
The default balanced-tree structure making equality and range lookups fast without scanning every row. Add one where queries filter, join, or sort — then confirm with EXPLAIN before assuming victory.
Composite Index
One index spanning several columns for queries that always filter them together, ordered most-selective first. A three-column composite beats three single-column indexes on the same query shape.
Partial Index
An index covering only rows matching a predicate, such as live subscriptions where status is active. Smaller, faster, and cheaper to maintain than indexing rows queries never touch.