Microsoft Open-Sources PostgreSQL Extension for In-Database Durable Execution

Recently open-sourced by Microsoft, pg_durable is a PostgreSQL extension that enables durable workflows to run natively inside the database, eliminating the need for external orchestration systems.

According to Microsoft, pg_durable lets developers avoid stitching together cron jobs, background workers, message queues, and external orchestrators to implement long-running, fault-tolerant SQL functions. Instead, workflows are expressed directly in SQL, with the extension handling execution concerns such as retries, fan-out, and recovery.

With pg_durable, workflows are defined directly in SQL, with retry state, progress tracking, and checkpointing managed entirely within PostgreSQL rather than in external applications. A significant advantage of this, according to Microsoft, is that “some app-tier workers, queue consumers, or scheduler glue can disappear entirely”.

A pg_durable function is a graph of SQL steps that PostgreSQL executes and checkpoints as it goes. If the…