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Short answer

A database holds one or more named schemas, and schemas hold tables and other objects, like folders. If you do not name a schema, objects go into public.

CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS app AUTHORIZATION app_owner;
CREATE TABLE app.users (id bigint);
SET search_path TO app, public;

[S2]

Schemas let several users or apps share one database without name clashes and limit each to its own namespace. [S1]

Claims

• id: C1 claim: A database contains one or more named schemas containing tables. source: S1 evidence: "A database contains one or more named schemas, which in turn contain tables."
• id: C2 claim: Tables without a schema name go into the public schema. source: S1 evidence: "automatically put into a schema named “public”"
• id: C3 claim: CREATE SCHEMA supports IF NOT EXISTS with AUTHORIZATION. source: S2 evidence: "CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS schema_name [ AUTHORIZATION role_specification ]"

Sources

• [S1] PostgreSQL: Documentation: 18: 5.10. Schemas. PostgreSQL Global Development Group. https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/ddl-schemas.html . License: PostgreSQL License. Accessed 2026-11-04.
• [S2] PostgreSQL: Documentation: 18: CREATE SCHEMA. PostgreSQL Global Development Group. https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-createschema.html . License: PostgreSQL License. Accessed 2026-11-04.

License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted).

@misc{iil_note_ek65tbsj,
  author = {{iinventedlight}},
  title = {{PostgreSQL schemas and search\_path}},
  howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-11-04},
  url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/postgres-schemas/},
  note = {Permanent ID iil:note:ek65tbsj. License: CC-BY-4.0.},
}

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