Compared with the classic phpPgAdmin

This application shares its name with the classic phpPgAdmin, the PHP administration tool for PostgreSQL first released in 2002. It is a separate application, written from scratch, and shares no code or configuration with it. This page compares the two so you can choose between them, and lists what to expect if you move from one to the other.

At a glance

	Classic phpPgAdmin	This phpPgAdmin
Latest release	7.13.0, November 2020	See Releases
PostgreSQL	7.4 to 13, provisional 14	13 and newer
PHP	7.1 and newer; 7.13.0 was announced as the last release for PHP 7.2	8.3 and newer
License	GPL 2.0 or later	MIT
Interface	Its own, with a frame-style object browser on the left	phpMyAdmin 5.2's layout, pmahomme theme and tabs
Pages	Rendered on the server; most work without JavaScript	A single-page application; JavaScript is required
Configuration	conf/config.inc.php	config/*.php and PGADMIN_* environment variables (Configuration)
Servers	Listed in conf/config.inc.php	Any host entered at sign-in, remembered as a saved server
Own storage	None; history is kept in the PHP session	SQLite file in storage/ for saved servers, settings, history and bookmarks
Translations	30+ languages	English and Arabic (Translations)
Extending it	Plugins (Report, GuiControl)	Modules

Both sign in with a PostgreSQL role and run every statement as that role, so PostgreSQL's privileges decide what you can do in either one.

PostgreSQL features

The classic phpPgAdmin's last release supports PostgreSQL up to 13, but most of its forms date from earlier versions. Objects added to PostgreSQL in the last decade are not in its interface; you reach them through its SQL page.

Feature	Classic	This one
Tables, columns, indexes, constraints, triggers, rules	Yes	Yes
Table info: inheritance, referencing foreign keys	Yes	Yes
Per-table autovacuum settings, CLUSTER on an index	Yes	Yes
Database-wide list of tables with their own autovacuum settings	Yes	Yes
Views	Yes	Yes
Materialized views	No	Yes
Declarative partitioning	No	Yes
Identity columns	No	Yes
Functions	Yes	Yes
Procedures	No	Yes
Aggregates	Create, drop	Create, edit, drop
Operators	Create, drop	Create, edit, drop
Operator classes and families, conversions	List	Create, DDL, drop
Sequences, domains, enum and composite types	Yes	Yes, with sequence Restart and Next value
Range types, collations	No	Yes
Full text search configurations and dictionaries	Yes	Yes, with parsers and templates
Extensions	No	Yes
Casts, languages	List	Create, edit, drop
Event triggers	No	Yes
Foreign data wrappers, servers, user mappings, foreign tables	No	Yes
Row-level security policies	No	Yes
Publications and subscriptions, replication slots, standbys	No	Yes
Roles, tablespaces	Yes	Yes
Changing your own password	Account page	Change password on the home page
Per-database settings (ALTER DATABASE … SET)	Variables page (read)	Parameters (read and edit)
Default privileges, column privileges, grant wizard	No	Yes
SQL preview before create and alter	No	Yes, on most forms

Tools

Tool	Classic	This one
SQL editor	Text area with a query history, Explain and Explain Analyze	Editor with autocomplete, formatting, bind parameters, history, bookmarks and macros; Explain and Explain analyze
Browsing data	Paged table with edit and delete links	Grid with sorting, filters and inline editing
Search	Find objects by name	Find objects by name, or text in every table of a database
Server activity	Processes with cancel and kill, and locks, refreshed every few seconds, per server and per database	Status: live charts, sessions with cancel and terminate, locks, prepared transactions; a database's Processes tab
Server logs	No	Yes
Configuration parameters	No	Variables
Export	pg_dump / pg_dumpall as SQL; table data as SQL, COPY, CSV, tab-separated, HTML or XML	pg_dump / pg_dumpall as SQL, custom or tar archives; table, view and query rows as SQL (INSERT or COPY), CSV, tab-separated, HTML or XML
Import	Table data from CSV, tab-separated or XML	SQL scripts, pg_restore archives run in the background; CSV, tab-separated, COPY binary and XML into a table
Maintenance	VACUUM, ANALYZE, REINDEX, CLUSTER	The same, run through the client programs
ER diagram	No	Designer
Schema comparison	No	Schema diff with a migration script
PL/pgSQL debugger	No	Yes
Saved reports	Report plugin	Bookmarks

When the classic phpPgAdmin fits better

• PostgreSQL older than 13. This application's SQL is written for 13 and newer; the classic one has query variants back to 7.4.
• PHP older than 8.3. The classic phpPgAdmin targets PHP 7.
• No JavaScript. The classic pages are plain HTML forms.
• A language other than English or Arabic.

The classic release predates PostgreSQL 15 and PHP 8.3, so try it with your own versions before relying on it.

Moving from the classic phpPgAdmin

• Install this application next to the classic one, not over it. Nothing in conf/config.inc.php is read; see Installation and Configuration.
• Servers are not configured in a file. Enter the host on the login page once and it becomes a saved server; config/db.php sets the default server.
• The classic extra_login_security setting is PGADMIN_EXTRA_LOGIN_SECURITY=1 (Configuration): it refuses postgres, pgsql, root, administrator and empty passwords.
• The classic owned_only setting is PGADMIN_OWNED_ONLY=1: a role that is not a superuser sees only the databases it owns. It only hides names; PostgreSQL's privileges still decide what a role can open.
• The classic show_system setting is the Show system objects preference under Settings » Navigation panel, per role.
• Server groups are not needed: every server signed in to is a saved server offered at sign-in.
• Only the pmahomme theme is offered; the classic app's themes do not carry over.
• The layout follows phpMyAdmin: server, database, schema and table each have a tab bar, and each page has its own address. Finding your way around describes it.
• Some forms are not complete yet. Known limitations lists what to do in the SQL editor instead.