pgpm Extensions

How extensions and modules work in pgpm — adding dependencies, installing packages, and understanding the .control file.

When to Apply

Use this skill when:

• Adding a PostgreSQL extension (uuid-ossp, pgcrypto, plpgsql, etc.) to a module
• Installing a pgpm-published module (@pgpm/faker, @pgpm/base32, etc.)
• Editing a .control file's requires list
• Running pgpm extension or pgpm install
• Debugging missing extension errors during deploy

Critical Rule

NEVER run CREATE EXTENSION directly in SQL migration files. pgpm is deterministic — it reads the .control file and handles extension creation automatically during pgpm deploy. Writing CREATE EXTENSION in a deploy script will cause errors or duplicate operations.

Two Kinds of Extensions