VERSION

Return a human-readable string describing the engine version.

Syntax

VERSION()

Description

## Overview Returns a human-readable string describing the running engine version. Use this function in diagnostics, support bundles, and compatibility probes. ## Session context - The value is fixed for the lifetime of the process and does not change mid-session. - Takes no arguments. - Never returns NULL. ## Behavior - Always returns a non-NULL string. - Deterministic for the duration of the process. - Side effect free. ## Compatibility - PG-compat alias for the standard engine version string.

Examples

-- Read the engine version
SELECT VERSION();

-- Include version in a diagnostics query
SELECT VERSION() AS engine_version,
       CURRENT_DATABASE() AS db,
       CURRENT_USER() AS user_name;

-- Log version alongside server start time for troubleshooting
SELECT VERSION() AS v, PG_POSTMASTER_START_TIME() AS started;

-- Persist the observed engine version on a snapshot row
INSERT INTO ops.audit.env_snapshots (taken_at, engine) VALUES (CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, VERSION());

Pitfalls

• The version string is human-readable, not a structured semver value. Do not parse it with brittle regex; use feature detection queries (information_schema) when you need behavior-gated logic.
• Two engine builds on the same semver line may still differ in behavior due to runtime flags. Supplement VERSION() with specific capability checks in support diagnostics.
• VERSION() is process-scoped; upgrading the engine restarts the process and changes the return value from that point onward.
• The returned value may include build metadata and is not guaranteed to be stable across patch releases. Avoid pinning tests to an exact string.

See Also

• pg_postmaster_start_time
• pg_backend_pid
• current_database