June 5, 2026
Postgres: database or drama queen?
pg_durable: Microsoft open sources in-database durable execution
Microsoft wants your database doing the busywork, but commenters are split hard
TLDR: Microsoft open-sourced a tool that lets a Postgres database run long background jobs and recover after crashes, cutting out extra worker systems. Commenters were fascinated but divided, with some cheering the all-in-one simplicity and others asking why on earth workflow logic should live inside a database at all.
Microsoft just tossed a spicy new idea into the open-source arena: let PostgreSQL, a popular database, do more than store data — let it also run long, crash-proof background tasks. The pitch is simple: instead of juggling a mess of timers, worker apps, queue systems, and status spreadsheets-from-hell, teams can define the whole workflow inside the database and pick it back up after a crash. Sounds tidy, right? The comment section immediately turned that tidy dream into a full-on food fight.
The loudest reaction was basically: "Ah yes, everything is becoming a Postgres app now." One commenter jokingly declared that "2026 is the year of the Postgres queue!" as more and more tools pile work into the database. But even fans sounded cautious. One self-described former app engineer said they still want this kind of logic living in normal code, in Git, where it feels safer and more familiar. That vibe — cool idea, but do I really want my database becoming my workflow babysitter? — showed up again and again.
Then came the skeptics. Some flat-out asked why anyone would put control flow in a database when workflow tools like Airflow already exist. Others pushed on the comparison game: if this mostly works best when everything already lives in Postgres, is it really in the same league as bigger workflow platforms like Temporal? And of course, the replies instantly turned into a mini show-and-tell of rival projects, with people dropping DBOS, pgflow, and Absurd like they were contestants in a tech reality show. The result: curiosity, side-eye, and a lot of "this is neat, but are we doing too much in Postgres now?" energy.
Key Points
- •Microsoft has open sourced pg_durable, a PostgreSQL extension for durable execution of long-running SQL workflows.
- •pg_durable executes workflows as graphs of SQL steps with durable checkpointing so jobs can resume after crashes, restarts, or failed steps.
- •The article targets backend engineers, data engineers, DBAs, and SREs who want workflow logic, progress tracking, and retry state to live inside Postgres.
- •Example use cases include vector embedding pipelines, ingest pipelines, scheduled maintenance, fan-out aggregation, and external API workflows.
- •The article says pg_durable is not intended for single-statement SQL work, ultra-low-latency synchronous requests, environments without extensions or background workers, or workflows spanning many heterogeneous systems.