PostgreSQL 19, expected later this month or in early October, will introduce standardised SQL syntax for querying property graphs, marking a significant step in the open-source database's ongoing expansion of graph capabilities. Unlike earlier approaches, which relied on Object Relational Mapping layered on top of the database, the new feature bakes graph query syntax directly into PostgreSQL, potentially reducing the need for organisations to run a separate graph database alongside their relational one for certain workloads.

The addition implements SQL/PGQ, part of the SQL 2023 standard, and according to Alastair Turner, a PostgreSQL evangelist at Percona, it emerged from unusually broad collaboration among major contributors to the database, including engineers influenced by OpenCypher and PostgreSQL committers who also sit on SQL standards bodies. Turner said the implementation performs well for some queries but still lacks one or two additional syntax features, and future releases will need improved indexing to boost performance before it can fully rival dedicated graph databases for demanding workloads.