IntelliJ PL/pgSQL Debugger

Debug PostgreSQL PL/pgSQL procedures, functions, and triggers from IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate and DataGrip.

Compatible with IntelliJ Platform build 262 (2026.2).

Features

• Debug queries from the editor by selecting a function call
• Debug routines and triggers from database explorer
• Full variable inspection with the enhanced debugger

Visit the plugin page at JetBrains.
Report a bug or a problem => Create an issue

Getting started

Install the debugger on the server

You can use the plugin with the standard pldbgapi extension, but you will not be able to inspect every variable type. To get the full experience, you can use an enhanced version with the plugin.

You can compile the extension from the source code or use one of the Docker images available.

The images are based on the official PostgreSQL images and include the debugger extension. See the available tags on Docker Hub for supported PostgreSQL versions and architectures. To build your own image, you can use the Dockerfile provided.

docker run -p 5515:5432 --name PG15-debug -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres -d galien0xffffff/postgres-debugger:15

Or install the debugger binaries on your machine.

Server configuration

The PostgreSQL server must preload the debugger library, and each database to debug must have the pldbgapi extension installed.

1. Add $libdir/plugin_debugger to shared_preload_libraries in postgresql.conf. Preserve any libraries already configured:

   shared_preload_libraries = '$libdir/plugin_debugger'

   Restart PostgreSQL after changing this setting.

2. Install the extension in the public schema of every database you want to debug:

   CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pldbgapi WITH SCHEMA public;

3. Verify both settings:

   SHOW shared_preload_libraries;
   SELECT extname, extnamespace::regnamespace
   FROM pg_extension
   WHERE extname = 'pldbgapi';

Debug a routine from the editor

Just write a statement using the function you want to debug

--This is a statement in a console or in a file
SELECT function_name(args);

(click on the debug icon on the top left of the editor)

Debug a routine from the database explorer

(Right-click on the routine you want to debug and select "Debug Routine")

Variable inspection

In the variables tab you can inspect:

• Primitive types
• Arrays
• JSON

With the docker image you can also inspect:

• Composite types
• Record types

Inline values

Arguments and variables are displayed in the code editor

Debug process

The debug session is displayed as a background process. You can stop it by clicking on the stop icon.

When you stop the debug session, the process is killed on the server side.

If you debug a routine from the code editor, the process is automatically killed when you close the editor.

If you debug a routine from the database explorer, the process remains active until you stop manually.

Limitation of the standard pldbgapi

The standard pldbgapi does not return composite variables, but you can place them in arrays to inspect them.

Installation

Debugger binaries

You must first install the debugger extension and activate the shared library on the server.

export TAG=16 # Choose the PostgreSQL major version matching your server
export PG_LIB=postgresql-server-dev-${TAG}
export PG_BRANCH=REL_${TAG}_STABLE
export PLUGIN_BRANCH=print-vars

# Install dependencies
apt --yes update && apt --yes upgrade && apt --yes install git build-essential libreadline-dev zlib1g-dev bison libkrb5-dev flex $PG_LIB
cd /usr/src/
# Install postgres source
git clone -b $PG_BRANCH --single-branch https://github.com/postgres/postgres.git
# Setup postgres
cd postgres && ./configure
# Install debugger extension
cd /usr/src/postgres/contrib
git clone -b $PLUGIN_BRANCH --single-branch https://github.com/ng-galien/pldebugger.git
cd pldebugger
# Compile with the same options as postgres
make clean && make USE_PGXS=1 && make USE_PGXS=1 install

关注 these instructions for pgAdmin for a standard installation.

IntelliJ IDEs

• Using IDE built-in plugin system:

  设置/Preferences > Plugins > 市场 > 搜索 for "PostgreSQL Debugger" > Install Plugin

• Manually:

  Download the latest release and install it manually using 设置/Preferences > Plugins > ⚙️ > Install plugin from disk...

Development

The build requires JDK 21. Use the Gradle wrapper included in the repository:

./gradlew check testDataGrip262 buildPlugin verifyPlugin \
  -PlocalIdePath="/path/to/DataGrip-2026.2.1" \
  -PdataGrip262Path="/path/to/DataGrip-2026.2.1"

The PSI and DatabaseTools regression tests run against the latest supported DataGrip patch release (2026.2.1). Pass the installed IDE path to both the test task and Plugin Verifier:

./gradlew testDataGrip \
  -PdataGrip262Path="/path/to/DataGrip-2026.2.1"
./gradlew verifyPlugin \
  -PdataGrip262Path="/path/to/DataGrip-2026.2.1"

CI downloads these exact releases from JetBrains and validates their checksums. Explicit paths also avoid a temporary DB/DG product-code mismatch in the JetBrains release resolver. Without localIdePath, the main compilation target is the unified IntelliJ Platform 2026.2 distribution. The packaged plugin is created under build/distributions.

The current release line targets IntelliJ Platform builds 262 through 262.*. A push to the 262 branch runs the build, tests on DataGrip 2026.2, and Plugin Verifier against that release before creating a draft GitHub release. Publishing that draft triggers signing and publication to JetBrains 市场.

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Plugin based on the IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template.