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    PolarDB:pgAudit (log auditing)

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    PolarDB:pgAudit (log auditing)

    Last Updated:Mar 28, 2026

    The pgAudit extension generates detailed audit logs for PolarDB for PostgreSQL (Compatible with Oracle). These logs are commonly required for government, finance, and ISO certifications. Use audit logs to meet compliance requirements, investigate database incidents, and track user behavior.

    View audit logs in SQL Explorer.

    Supported versions

    PolarDB for PostgreSQL (Compatible with Oracle) supports pgAudit on the following versions:

    • Oracle syntax compatible 2.0 (minor engine version 2.0.14.5.1.0 and later)

    • Oracle syntax compatible 1.0 (minor engine version 2.0.11.9.25.0 and later)

    To check your minor engine version, run SHOW polardb_version; or view it in the console. If your cluster does not meet the version requirement, upgrade the minor engine version.

    Prerequisites

    Before you begin, make sure that you have:

    • A privileged account (required to set pgAudit parameters)

    Install the extension

    CREATE EXTENSION pgaudit;

    Configure audit scope

    Use the pgaudit.log parameter to control which operation types are audited. Set it at the database level with ALTER DATABASE.

    Audit read operations

    ALTER DATABASE pgaudit_testdb SET pgaudit.log = 'READ';

    After this runs, SELECT statements in pgaudit_testdb are audited. Write operations such as INSERT and UPDATE are not audited.

    Audit read and write operations

    ALTER DATABASE pgaudit_testdb SET pgaudit.log = 'READ,WRITE';

    After this runs, SELECT, INSERT, and UPDATE statements in pgaudit_testdb are all audited.

    Disable auditing

    ALTER DATABASE pgaudit_testdb SET pgaudit.log = 'NONE';

    Audit operations on a specific object

    To audit only operations on specific tables rather than all database activity, assign an audit role and grant it access to the tables you want to track.

    1. Create an audit role and assign it to the database.

      CREATE USER audit_role;
ALTER DATABASE pgaudit_testdb SET pgaudit.role = 'audit_role';

    2. Create a table and grant the audit role access to it.

      CREATE TABLE test_audit (id INT);
GRANT ALL ON test_audit TO audit_role;

    After these steps, only operations on test_audit in pgaudit_testdb are audited.

    Uninstall the extension

    DROP EXTENSION pgaudit;

    What's next