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JSONB Columns

6 min read Quiz at the end

JSONB stores JSON as binary for fast querying. Use -> to access a key as JSON and ->> as text. The @> containment operator checks if a JSONB column includes a given value. Add a GIN index for fast JSONB queries.

Working with JSONB

CREATE TABLE products (
  id    SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  meta  JSONB
);

INSERT INTO products (meta)
VALUES ('{"color":"red","size":42}');

-- Query JSONB
SELECT meta->>'color' FROM products;
SELECT * FROM products WHERE meta @> '{"color":"red"}';

-- Index JSONB
CREATE INDEX idx_meta ON products USING GIN(meta);

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Topic Quiz · 5 questions

Test your understanding before moving on

1. What operator queries JSONB containment?

💡 @> checks if a JSONB value contains another: WHERE meta @> '{"color":"red"}'.

2. What does ->> return?

💡 ->> returns a JSON field value as text (vs -> which returns JSONB).

3. Which index type works best with JSONB?

💡 GIN (Generalized Inverted Index) is ideal for JSONB columns.

4. What does jsonb_pretty() do?

💡 jsonb_pretty() returns a JSON value formatted with indentation for readability.

5. Which is better for querying: JSON or JSONB?

💡 JSONB is stored in binary format supporting indexing — much faster to query.

Quick Access

JSONB Columns

Working with JSONB

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