Documentation Grafana Cloud Monitor applications Database Observability Reference PostgreSQL configuration

PostgreSQL configuration impact

This reference explains how each PostgreSQL configuration command affects the dashboards and panels in Database Observability. Use this information to understand why each permission, extension, and setting is needed and what breaks if a configuration is missing.

Summary

The following table summarizes the impact of each configuration on Database Observability:

Enable the pg_stat_statements extension

Command:

SQL Copy

CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pg_stat_statements;

Purpose:

The pg_stat_statements extension is where PostgreSQL stores internal telemetry about query execution. This extension tracks execution statistics of all SQL statements executed by the database.

Dashboard impact:

This extension is required for the entire Database Observability app to work. It powers:

• The entire Overview Page, including RED metrics (Rate, Errors, Duration) about queries
• Query text display
• Query metrics such as rows count, blocks read, and blocks hit
• The majority of the Query Details page

If missing:

The Database Observability app is non-functional. No query data is collected or displayed.

Configure the pg_stat_statements.track setting

Commands:

SQL Copy

-- Track all SQL statements (recommended)
ALTER SYSTEM SET pg_stat_statements.track = 'all';

-- Or track only top-level statements
ALTER SYSTEM SET pg_stat_statements.track = 'top';

Purpose:

This setting controls which SQL queries are tracked in pg_stat_statements:

• all: Track all SQL statements, including those inside functions and procedures
• top: Track only top-level statements (queries issued directly by clients)
• none: Disable tracking entirely

Dashboard impact:

• With all: All SQL statements appear in the Overview and Query Details pages
• With top: Most statements appear, but some nested statements inside functions are excluded

If set to none:

The pg_stat_statements view is empty and the Overview page shows no data.

Grant the pg_monitor role

Command:

SQL Copy

GRANT pg_monitor TO "db-o11y";

Purpose:

The pg_monitor role is a built-in PostgreSQL role that allows the monitoring user to read statistics and call stats-related functions. Refer to the PostgreSQL documentation on default roles for more details.

Dashboard impact:

This grant affects the entire Database Observability app. Without it, the monitoring user may be unable to read:

• pg_stat_statements views
• pg_stat_activity views
• Other statistics required for monitoring

If missing:

The whole app is impacted. Dashboards may show no data or partial data depending on which statistics are inaccessible.

Grant the pg_read_all_stats role

Command:

SQL Copy

GRANT pg_read_all_stats TO "db-o11y";

Purpose:

The pg_read_all_stats role allows the monitoring user to read all statistics views and use various statistics-related functions. This role is included in pg_monitor, but granting it explicitly ensures the monitoring user has the necessary permissions.

Dashboard impact:

Similar to pg_monitor, this grant ensures the monitoring user can read all required statistics.

If missing:

Partial or no data appears in dashboards.

Disable tracking for the monitoring user

Command:

SQL Copy

ALTER ROLE "db-o11y" SET pg_stat_statements.track = 'none';

Purpose:

This setting ensures the monitoring user (db-o11y) doesn’t generate statistics about its own queries. Without this setting, the queries that Alloy runs to gather data from pg_stat_statements and other tables appear in the UI.

Dashboard impact:

With this setting enabled:

• Alloy monitoring queries don’t appear in the Overview page
• Queries from Alloy don’t have dedicated Query Details pages
• All panels in the Overview show only application queries

If missing:

• Alloy monitoring queries appear in the Overview page alongside application queries
• This creates noise in dashboards and increases telemetry volume by approximately 5-10% (varies based on workload)

About pg_stat_activity

Related configuration:

pg_stat_activity doesn’t require separate configuration. It’s automatically enabled when PostgreSQL is running and works alongside pg_stat_statements.

Dashboard impact:

Data from pg_stat_activity powers the sample collection feature, which provides:

• Samples tab in the Query Details page
• Wait Events tab in the Query Details page

If issues arise:

Verify that the monitoring user has the pg_monitor or pg_read_all_stats role, which grants access to pg_stat_activity.

Related documentation

• Set up PostgreSQL: Complete setup instructions for PostgreSQL monitoring
• Troubleshoot PostgreSQL: Validate PostgreSQL configuration