# pgAdmin pgAdmin is the de facto standard administration tool for [[PostgreSQL]]: open source, maintained under the PostgreSQL project umbrella, and the first thing most people install next to the database itself. The current generation (pgAdmin 4) is a Python web application that runs either as a regular desktop app or served centrally for a whole team, which also makes it easy to drop next to a database in a Docker Compose stack. What you use it for day to day: - **Object browser** — every server, database, schema, table, index, role, and function in one tree, with right-click DDL generation. - **Query tool** — write and run [[SQL]] with autocomplete, explain plans (visualized), transaction control, and result grids you can edit in place. - **Dashboards** — live session, lock, and transaction stats per server; handy for spotting a runaway query without leaving the GUI. - **Operations** — backup and restore (wrapping pg_dump/pg_restore), import/export, grant wizards, and an ERD tool for diagramming schemas. Trade-offs worth knowing: it's PostgreSQL-only by design, and the web-app architecture makes it heavier and occasionally clunkier than native competitors (DBeaver for multi-database work, TablePlus for polish, or plain psql for speed). But as the reference GUI that always supports the newest PostgreSQL features first, it stays the default answer. ## References - Website: https://www.pgadmin.org/ - GitHub: https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4 ## Related - [[PostgreSQL]] - [[SQL]]