52.11. `pg_class`
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## 52.11. `pg_class`

The catalog `pg_class` describes tables and other objects that have columns or are otherwise similar to a table. This includes indexes (but see also `pg_index`), sequences (but see also `pg_sequence`), views, materialized views, composite types, and TOAST tables; see `relkind`. Below, when we mean all of these kinds of objects we speak of “relations”. Not all of `pg_class`'s columns are meaningful for all relation kinds.

Table 52.11. `pg_class` Columns

Column Type Description
`oid` `oid` Row identifier
`relname` `name` Name of the table, index, view, etc.
`relnamespace` `oid` (references `pg_namespace`.`oid`) The OID of the namespace that contains this relation
`reltype` `oid` (references `pg_type`.`oid`) The OID of the data type that corresponds to this table's row type, if any; zero for indexes, sequences, and toast tables, which have no `pg_type` entry
`reloftype` `oid` (references `pg_type`.`oid`) For typed tables, the OID of the underlying composite type; zero for all other relations
`relowner` `oid` (references `pg_authid`.`oid`) Owner of the relation
`relam` `oid` (references `pg_am`.`oid`) If this is a table or an index, the access method used (heap, B-tree, hash, etc.); otherwise zero (zero occurs for sequences, as well as relations without storage, such as views)
`relfilenode` `oid` Name of the on-disk file of this relation; zero means this is a “mapped” relation whose disk file name is determined by low-level state
`reltablespace` `oid` (references `pg_tablespace`.`oid`) The tablespace in which this relation is stored. If zero, the database's default tablespace is implied. (Not meaningful if the relation has no on-disk file.)
`relpages` `int4` Size of the on-disk representation of this table in pages (of size `BLCKSZ`). This is only an estimate used by the planner. It is updated by `VACUUM`, `ANALYZE`, and a few DDL commands such as `CREATE INDEX`.
`reltuples` `float4` Number of live rows in the table. This is only an estimate used by the planner. It is updated by `VACUUM`, `ANALYZE`, and a few DDL commands such as `CREATE INDEX`. If the table has never yet been vacuumed or analyzed, `reltuples` contains `-1` indicating that the row count is unknown.
`relallvisible` `int4` Number of pages that are marked all-visible in the table's visibility map. This is only an estimate used by the planner. It is updated by `VACUUM`, `ANALYZE`, and a few DDL commands such as `CREATE INDEX`.
`reltoastrelid` `oid` (references `pg_class`.`oid`) OID of the TOAST table associated with this table, zero if none. The TOAST table stores large attributes “out of line” in a secondary table.
`relhasindex` `bool` True if this is a table and it has (or recently had) any indexes
`relisshared` `bool` True if this table is shared across all databases in the cluster. Only certain system catalogs (such as `pg_database`) are shared.
`relpersistence` `char` `p` = permanent table, `u` = unlogged table, `t` = temporary table
`relkind` `char` `r` = ordinary table, `i` = index, `S` = sequence, `t` = TOAST table, `v` = view, `m` = materialized view, `c` = composite type, `f` = foreign table, `p` = partitioned table, `I` = partitioned index
`relnatts` `int2` Number of user columns in the relation (system columns not counted). There must be this many corresponding entries in `pg_attribute`. See also `pg_attribute`.`attnum`.
`relchecks` `int2` Number of `CHECK` constraints on the table; see `pg_constraint` catalog
`relhasrules` `bool` True if table has (or once had) rules; see `pg_rewrite` catalog
`relhastriggers` `bool` True if table has (or once had) triggers; see `pg_trigger` catalog
`relhassubclass` `bool` True if table or index has (or once had) any inheritance children
`relrowsecurity` `bool` True if table has row-level security enabled; see `pg_policy` catalog
`relforcerowsecurity` `bool` True if row-level security (when enabled) will also apply to table owner; see `pg_policy` catalog
`relispopulated` `bool` True if relation is populated (this is true for all relations other than some materialized views)
`relreplident` `char` Columns used to form “replica identity” for rows: `d` = default (primary key, if any), `n` = nothing, `f` = all columns, `i` = index with `indisreplident` set (same as nothing if the index used has been dropped)
`relispartition` `bool` True if table or index is a partition
`relrewrite` `oid` (references `pg_class`.`oid`) For new relations being written during a DDL operation that requires a table rewrite, this contains the OID of the original relation; otherwise zero. That state is only visible internally; this field should never contain anything other than zero for a user-visible relation.
`relfrozenxid` `xid` All transaction IDs before this one have been replaced with a permanent (“frozen”) transaction ID in this table. This is used to track whether the table needs to be vacuumed in order to prevent transaction ID wraparound or to allow `pg_xact` to be shrunk. Zero (`InvalidTransactionId`) if the relation is not a table.
`relminmxid` `xid` All multixact IDs before this one have been replaced by a transaction ID in this table. This is used to track whether the table needs to be vacuumed in order to prevent multixact ID wraparound or to allow `pg_multixact` to be shrunk. Zero (`InvalidMultiXactId`) if the relation is not a table.
`relacl` `aclitem[]` Access privileges; see Section 5.7 for details
`reloptions` `text[]` Access-method-specific options, as “keyword=value” strings
`relpartbound` `pg_node_tree` If table is a partition (see `relispartition`), internal representation of the partition bound

Several of the Boolean flags in `pg_class` are maintained lazily: they are guaranteed to be true if that's the correct state, but may not be reset to false immediately when the condition is no longer true. For example, `relhasindex` is set by `CREATE INDEX`, but it is never cleared by `DROP INDEX`. Instead, `VACUUM` clears `relhasindex` if it finds the table has no indexes. This arrangement avoids race conditions and improves concurrency.

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