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pgschema supports ignoring specific database objects using a .pgschemaignore file, enabling gradual onboarding and selective schema management.

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Overview

The .pgschemaignore file allows you to exclude database objects from pgschema operations. This is particularly useful when:
  1. Gradual Migration - Incrementally adopt pgschema without managing all existing objects
  2. Temporary Objects - Exclude temp tables, debug views, and development-only objects
  3. Legacy Objects - Ignore deprecated objects while maintaining new schema management
  4. Environment-Specific Objects - Skip objects that exist only in certain environments
  5. Role-Specific Privileges - Ignore grants to roles that don’t exist in the plan database

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File Format

The .pgschemaignore file is automatically loaded when present in the current directory:
Create a .pgschemaignore file in your project directory using TOML format: 
[tables]
patterns = ["temp_*", "test_*", "!test_core_*"]

[views]
patterns = ["debug_*", "*_view_tmp", "analytics_*"]

[functions]
patterns = ["fn_test_*", "fn_debug_*"]

[procedures]
patterns = ["sp_temp_*", "sp_legacy_*"]

[types]
patterns = ["type_test_*"]

[sequences]
patterns = ["seq_temp_*", "seq_debug_*"]

[privileges]
patterns = ["deploy_bot", "admin_*"]

[default_privileges]
patterns = ["deploy_bot"]

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Pattern Syntax

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Wildcard Patterns

Use * to match any sequence of characters: 
[tables]
patterns = [
  "temp_*",        # Matches: temp_backup, temp_cache, temp_session
  "*_backup",      # Matches: users_backup, orders_backup
  "test_*_data"    # Matches: test_user_data, test_order_data
]

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Exact Patterns

Specify exact object names without wildcards: 
[tables]
patterns = ["legacy_table", "deprecated_users", "old_audit"]

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Negation Patterns

Use ! prefix to exclude objects from broader patterns: 
[tables]
patterns = [
  "test_*",           # Ignore all test_ tables
  "!test_core_*"      # But keep test_core_ tables
]
This will ignore test_data, test_results but keep test_core_config, test_core_settings.

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Privileges

The [privileges] and [default_privileges] sections filter GRANT statements by grantee role name. This is useful when running pgschema plan with roles that don’t exist in the plan database, or managing migrations across environments with different role configurations. 
[privileges]
patterns = [
  "deploy_bot",    # Ignore all grants to deploy_bot
  "admin_*",       # Ignore grants to any admin_* role
  "!admin_super"   # But keep grants to admin_super
]

[default_privileges]
patterns = ["deploy_bot"]  # Ignore ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES for deploy_bot
The [privileges] section filters explicit grants (GRANT ... TO role), including column-level privileges. The [default_privileges] section filters ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES statements.

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Triggers on Ignored Tables

Triggers can be defined on ignored tables. The table structure is not managed, but the trigger itself is. 
# .pgschemaignore
[tables]
patterns = ["external_*"]

-- schema.sql
CREATE TRIGGER on_data_change
  AFTER INSERT ON external_users
  FOR EACH ROW
  EXECUTE FUNCTION sync_data();
The trigger will be managed while external_users table structure remains unmanaged.