A database point where dirty data meets the disk cleanly.

A checkpoint flushes dirty buffers to disk

A checkpoint establishes a starting point for PostgreSQL crash recovery. It synchronizes the data-file changes required for that checkpoint and records the corresponding recovery information. WAL must reach durable storage before dependent data pages are written. This ordering allows committed work to survive without forcing every modified table page to disk at each commit, while recovery can replay later changes when necessary. ...

January 6, 2028 · 4 min · XB Field Notes