Postgres version support
Lakebase runs standard PostgreSQL and keeps it current for you. You select a major version when you create a project, and Lakebase automatically updates it to the latest minor release. This page describes the major Postgres versions that Lakebase supports, how Lakebase applies minor releases, and how to check the version your project runs.
This page describes Postgres version updates, the bug fixes and security patches that come from the PostgreSQL project. For the specific changes in a release, see the official PostgreSQL release notes. Lakebase announces when new versions become available, along with other platform changes, in the Lakebase release notes.
How PostgreSQL versions work
PostgreSQL uses a two-part version number, such as 17.6. The first number is the major version and the second number is the minor version. For more detail, see PostgreSQL versioning.
- Major versions introduce new features and behavior changes. PostgreSQL publishes a new major version about once a year. Each major version receives upstream support for five years, after which it reaches end-of-life and is no longer patched.
- Minor versions contain only bug fixes and security patches. They do not add features or change behavior. PostgreSQL publishes a minor release for every supported major version at least once every three months, and can publish an unscheduled release for a critical bug or security issue. A minor release is issued for all supported major versions at the same time.
Supported Postgres versions
Lakebase supports Postgres 16, Postgres 17, and Postgres 18. Postgres 17 is the default. To use a different major version, select it when you create a project. See Manage projects. Lakebase aligns end-of-life for each major version with the official PostgreSQL five-year support window.
Check your Postgres version
To see the exact version a project runs, connect to the database and run the following query:
SELECT version();
The first number is the major version. The second is the minor version, which Lakebase updates automatically. You can run this query from the Query from Lakebase SQL Editor or any Postgres client.
Your Postgres major version is also shown in the Project settings widget on your project dashboard. With the Databricks CLI, databricks postgres get-project projects/<project_id> returns the same value in the pg_version field.
How minor releases are applied
Lakebase runs the latest Postgres minor release for each supported major version and updates it for you. Minor updates are applied during your project's regular update cycle, or immediately when you restart the compute where Postgres runs. If a compute is idle and scaled to zero, it picks up the update the next time it starts. Lakebase prewarms the cache during the restart to protect performance. For details about update timing and how to set an update window, see Manage updates.
You cannot pin an earlier minor release or downgrade to a previous one. For example, when 17.11 is the latest minor release of Postgres 17, you cannot choose to run a compute on version 17.10. If a project misses one or more minor updates, Lakebase advances it directly to the latest available minor release for its major version rather than through each intermediate release.
Recent minor version rollouts
The following table shows when recent Postgres releases became available in Lakebase. Each version links to its PostgreSQL release notes, which list the bug fixes and CVE patches included in that minor release. Dates are approximate.
The First available in Lakebase date marks when a release first became available to run, not the point at which every compute is running it. Each compute picks it up on the next restart, as described above.
As of August 2026, Lakebase runs the latest community minor release for every supported major version: 18.6, 17.11, and 16.15. For the current version list, see Postgres compatibility.
Lakebase added Postgres 18 support in June 2026, starting with 18.4 from the 2026-05-14 release. Postgres 18 minor releases before 18.4 were not offered in Lakebase.
Manual actions after minor releases
As a managed service, Lakebase applies minor updates automatically and aims to keep them free of manual work. Occasionally, a fix such as a security patch requires a decision that depends on your application and cannot be fully automated. When this happens, which is infrequent, Lakebase notifies you so that you can take any necessary steps.
Major version upgrades
Lakebase does not upgrade a project to a new major Postgres version in place. To use a newer major version, create a new project with that version, then migrate your data to it using tools such as pg_dump and pg_restore. See Manage projects to create the project and Postgres pg_dump & pg_restore to move your data.