Asynchronous IO in Postgres 18: TL;DR

Postgres 18 rolls out a killer feature set—think UUIDv7, an “Over explain” module, and composite index skip scans—but the real headliner is its long-awaited asynchronous IO support. After breaking down the differences between synchronous and asynchronous calls and revisiting how Postgres 17 handled IO, the show digs into the nitty-gritty of Postgres 18’s async challenge: introducing two new io_method modes (worker and io_uring) alongside the classic synchronous fallback.

Beyond just unveiling these modes, the talk teases what’s next—backend writers finally getting async love, beefing up the worker approach, and adding direct IO support—so you’ll be ready for even more speed boosts down the road.

Watch on YouTube