pg_help

A PostgreSQL function that ports the spirit of SQL Server's sp_help stored procedure to Postgres. Returns a single result set describing a table's columns, constraints, and indexes.

Why?

In SQL Server, sp_help 'mytable' is the quickest way to get a summary of a table's structure. Postgres has \d tablename in psql, but that's a client command — you can't call it from a GUI, a notebook, an application, or anywhere else that just speaks SQL. pg_help fills that gap by returning the same kind of information as a regular result set.

Installation

Run the function definition against your database:

psql -d mydb -f pg_help.sql

Usage

Pass the fully-qualified table name (schema.table) as a string:

select * from pg_help('public.users');

Output

Four varchar(500) columns (col1, col2, col3, col4) containing section headers and rows, in this order:

• Table — the table name
• Columns — column name, data type, nullability
• Constraints — primary keys, foreign keys, checks, uniques
• Indexes — index name, columns, optional WHERE clause

Requirements

PostgreSQL 9.x or later. Uses standard catalogs (pg_constraint, pg_index, pg_class, information_schema.columns) so no extensions are needed.

Notes

• The table name must be fully qualified (e.g. public.users, not just users).
• Output columns are fixed-width varchar(500), mimicking the sp_help result-grid style.
• For interactive use in psql, \d+ tablename is usually a better choice. pg_help is most useful when you need the metadata as a queryable result set.