# Postgres Operator (with Spilo)

Postgres operator creates and manages PostgreSQL clusters running in Kubernetes

Repository: https://github.com/zalando/postgres-operator
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/postgres-operator-with-spilo
Homepage: https://postgres-operator.readthedocs.io/
Language: Go
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: kubernetes, postgresql, operator, golang, postgres, cluster, managed-services, data-infrastructure, postgres-operator, database-as-a-service
Last push: 2026-08-20T17:28:42+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 94/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 86, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3400, "days_push": 13, "days_rel": 13, "gap_med": 57, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5225, forks 1067 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:13.252826+00:00)

## What it is
A Kubernetes operator (with the Spilo Docker image) that creates and manages highly-available PostgreSQL clusters on Kubernetes, powered by Patroni. Clusters are declaratively configured via Postgres CRD manifests, enabling infrastructure-as-code workflows and CI/CD integration.

## Use cases
- run highly available PostgreSQL clusters on Kubernetes
- manage Postgres clusters declaratively with CRD manifests
- automate rolling updates and minor version upgrades of Postgres
- restore or clone Postgres clusters from S3, GCS, or Azure backups
- set up point-in-time recovery with WAL-G or pg_basebackup
- run a managed Postgres service in-house without manual DBA operations
- deploy standby Postgres clusters from WAL archives
- manage database users and credentials from Kubernetes

## When to choose
- you run PostgreSQL on Kubernetes and want automated failover, replication, and self-healing via Patroni
- you want GitOps/CI/CD-driven database provisioning through manifests instead of manual kubectl operations
- you need built-in backups, PITR, cloning, and volume resizing on cloud storage like EBS, S3, GCS, or Azure
- you want a battle-tested, production-proven operator with a UI and OpenShift compatibility

## When to avoid
- you run Postgres on VMs or bare metal rather than Kubernetes
- you need a fully managed database service and prefer cloud offerings like RDS or Cloud SQL
- your team cannot operate Kubernetes CRDs and operators or lacks Kubernetes expertise
- you need a database other than PostgreSQL

## Facets
- artifact type: infra-config
- maturity: stable
- function: database, deployment, container-orchestration, backup, configuration-management
- domain: databases, cloud-computing, self-hosted
- platform: go, cloud, self-hosted
- tags: postgres-operator, postgresql, patroni, spilo, high-availability, database-as-a-service, kubernetes-operator, crd, infrastructure-as-code, zalando, devops, containers, kubernetes, docker

## Member repositories
- zalando/postgres-operator (main) score 94
- zalando/spilo (infra) score 66

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:13.252826+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:59:41.346092+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/zalando/postgres-operator (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:13.252826+00:00, sha acd2d6d777f4)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.