Developers

This chapter provides comprehensive guidance for developers who want to contribute to pgagroal, understand its architecture, or extend its functionality.

Documentation Guide

pgagroal documentation is organized to serve different audiences and use cases. Use this guide to quickly find the information you need.

Note: This manual contains the core documentation chapters. Additional standalone documentation files are located in the doc/ directory, project root, and contrib/ directory of the source repository. File paths shown below are relative to the project root directory.

Quick Reference

Navigation Note: Each entry has two links separated by |:

• First link (Chapter): Use when reading the PDF manual (jumps to page)
• Second link (File): Use when browsing individual markdown files
• File links will not work in PDF format

What you want to do	Where to look
Get started quickly	Getting started | 03-gettingstarted.md
Install pgagroal	Installation | 02-installation.md
Configure pgagroal	Configuration | 04-configuration.md
Set up development environment	Building pgagroal | 74-building.md
Understand the architecture	Architecture | 72-architecture.md
Write tests	Test Suite | 78-test.md
Use Git workflow	Git guide | 71-git.md
Build RPM packages	RPM | 73-rpm.md
Analyze code coverage	Code Coverage | 75-codecoverage.md
Work with core APIs	Core API | 77-core_api.md
Understand event loop	Event Loop | 76-eventloop.md
Configure security/TLS	Transport Level Security (TLS) | 08-tls.md
Use command-line tools	Command Line Tools | 14-cli-tools.md
Set up monitoring	Prometheus | 11-prometheus.md
Optimize performance	Performance | 15-performance.md
Configure failover	Failover | 16-failover.md
Choose pipeline type	Pipelines | 17-pipelines.md
Harden security	Security | 18-security.md
Deploy with Docker	Docker | 13-docker.md
Configure database aliases	Database Aliases | 09-database_alias.md
Manage user credentials	Vault | 10-vault.md
Contribute to project	Git guide | 71-git.md, see also CONTRIBUTING.md in project root
Report issues or get help	GitHub Issues: https://github.com/pgagroal/pgagroal/issues

User Documentation

Manual Chapters (Comprehensive Guide)

Navigation Note: Each table entry has two links - a Chapter link and a File link:

• If reading the PDF manual: Use the Chapter links (first column) to navigate within the PDF
• If reading individual markdown files: Use the File links (second column) to open specific files
• The File links will not work in PDF format, and Chapter links may not work when browsing individual files

User-Focused Chapters (01-17):

Chapter	File	Description
Introduction	01-introduction.md	Overview of pgagroal features and manual structure
Installation	02-installation.md	Step-by-step setup for Rocky Linux, PostgreSQL 17, and pgagroal
Getting Started	03-gettingstarted.md	Quick introduction to basic pgagroal usage and configuration
Configuration	04-configuration.md	Comprehensive guide to all configuration files and options
Prefill	05-prefill.md	How to configure and use connection prefill for performance
Remote Management	06-remote_management.md	Setting up and using remote management features
Security Model	07-split_security.md	Implementing split security models for authentication
Transport Level Security	08-tls.md	Configuring TLS for secure connections
Database Aliases	09-database_alias.md	Using database aliases for flexible client connections
Vault	10-vault.md	Managing user credentials and secrets with pgagroal vault
Prometheus	11-prometheus.md	Integrating Prometheus metrics and monitoring
Web Console	12-console.md	Web-based monitoring console for metrics visualization
Docker	13-docker.md	Running pgagroal in Docker containers
Command Line Tools	14-cli-tools.md	Comprehensive CLI tools reference (pgagroal-cli, pgagroal-admin)
Performance	15-performance.md	Performance benchmarks, tuning, and optimization
Failover	16-failover.md	Failover configuration and scripting
Pipelines	17-pipelines.md	Pipeline types and configuration
Security	18-security.md	Comprehensive security hardening guide

Developer-Focused Chapters (70-79):

Chapter	File	Description
Developers	70-dev.md	Development environment setup and contribution guidelines (this chapter)
Git Guide	71-git.md	Git workflow and version control practices for the project
Architecture	72-architecture.md	High-level architecture and design of pgagroal
RPM	73-rpm.md	Building and using RPM packages
Building pgagroal	74-building.md	Compiling pgagroal from source
Code Coverage	75-codecoverage.md	Code coverage analysis and testing practices
Event Loop	76-eventloop.md	Understanding the event loop implementation
Core API	77-core_api.md	Reference for core API functions
Test Suite	78-test.md	Testing frameworks and procedures
Distribution Installation	79-distributions.md	Platform-specific installation notes

Reference Chapters (97-99):

Chapter	File	Description
Acknowledgements	97-acknowledgement.md	Credits and contributors
Licenses	98-licenses.md	License information
References	99-references.md	Additional resources and references

Additional User Resources

The manual chapters above provide comprehensive coverage. Additional standalone files in doc/ directory provide supplementary information:

• doc/GETTING_STARTED.md - Alternative quick start guide (supplements Getting Started | 03-gettingstarted.md)
• doc/VAULT.md - Additional vault examples (supplements Vault | 10-vault.md)

Administrator Documentation

All administration topics are covered in this manual:

Navigation Note: Use Chapter links when reading the PDF manual, File links when browsing individual markdown files.

Chapter	File	Description
Configuration	04-configuration.md	Complete configuration reference
Remote Management	06-remote_management.md	Remote management setup
Transport Level Security	08-tls.md	TLS configuration
Vault	10-vault.md	User credential management
Command Line Tools	14-cli-tools.md	Complete CLI reference (pgagroal-cli, pgagroal-admin)
Performance	15-performance.md	Performance tuning and benchmarks
Failover	16-failover.md	Failover configuration and procedures
Pipelines	17-pipelines.md	Pipeline configuration and usage
Security	18-security.md	Security hardening and best practices
Prometheus	11-prometheus.md	Monitoring and metrics
Web Console	12-console.md	Web-based monitoring console
Docker	13-docker.md	Container deployment

Legacy standalone documentation files (now superseded by manual chapters):

Legacy File	Superseded By	Chapter
doc/CLI.md	Command Line Tools	14-cli-tools.md
doc/ADMIN.md	Command Line Tools	14-cli-tools.md
doc/PERFORMANCE.md	Performance	15-performance.md
doc/FAILOVER.md	Failover	16-failover.md
doc/PIPELINES.md	Pipelines	17-pipelines.md
doc/SECURITY.md	Security	18-security.md
doc/DISTRIBUTIONS.md	Distribution Installation	79-distributions.md

Developer Documentation

Essential reading for contributors and developers:

Navigation Note: Use Chapter links when reading the PDF manual, File links when browsing individual markdown files.

Chapter	File	Description
Architecture	72-architecture.md	High-level architecture and design of pgagroal
Building pgagroal	74-building.md	Compiling pgagroal from source with development options
Git Guide	71-git.md	Git workflow and version control practices for the project
Test Suite	78-test.md	Testing frameworks and procedures
Code Coverage	75-codecoverage.md	Code coverage analysis and testing practices
Event Loop	76-eventloop.md	Understanding the event loop implementation
Core API	77-core_api.md	Reference for core API functions
RPM	73-rpm.md	Building and using RPM packages

Additional developer resources (supplements manual chapters):

File	Supplements	Description
doc/DEVELOPERS.md	Building pgagroal | 74-building.md	Detailed development environment setup
doc/ARCHITECTURE.md	Architecture | 72-architecture.md	Extended architecture documentation
doc/TEST.md	Test Suite | 78-test.md	Extended testing documentation

Project Management & Planning

Files in the project root directory:

File	Description
CONTRIBUTING.md	Contribution guidelines and legal information
README.md	Project overview and quick start
AUTHORS	List of project contributors
LICENSE	Project license information
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md	Community guidelines and conduct policies

Security & Certificate Documentation

Security topics covered in this manual:

Navigation Note: Use Chapter links when reading the PDF manual, File links when browsing individual markdown files.

Chapter	File	Description
Transport Level Security (TLS)	08-tls.md	Complete TLS configuration and certificate setup
Security Model	07-split_security.md	Advanced security models

Testing & Development Scripts

Testing covered in this manual:

Navigation Note: Use Chapter links when reading the PDF manual, File links when browsing individual markdown files.

Chapter	File	Description
Test Suite	78-test.md	Complete testing procedures and frameworks
Code Coverage	75-codecoverage.md	Code coverage analysis

Additional testing documentation in project root:

File	Description
TEST.md	Root-level testing documentation

Configuration Examples & Templates

Configuration file templates and examples in doc/etc/:

File	Description
doc/etc/pgagroal.conf	Main configuration file template
doc/etc/pgagroal_hba.conf	Host-based authentication template
doc/etc/pgagroal_vault.conf	Vault configuration template
doc/etc/pgagroal.service	Systemd service file
doc/etc/pgagroal.socket	Systemd socket file

Contrib Directory (Additional Tools & Examples)

Community contributions and additional tools in contrib/:

Path	Description
contrib/docker/	Docker configuration examples and Dockerfiles
contrib/grafana/README.md	Grafana dashboard setup and configuration
contrib/prometheus_scrape/README.md	Prometheus metrics documentation generator
contrib/valgrind/README.md	Valgrind memory debugging configuration
contrib/shell_comp/	Shell completion scripts for bash and zsh

Man Pages (Reference Documentation)

Complete command-line and configuration reference in doc/man/:

File	Description
doc/man/pgagroal.1.rst	Main pgagroal command reference
doc/man/pgagroal-cli.1.rst	CLI tool reference
doc/man/pgagroal-admin.1.rst	Admin tool reference
doc/man/pgagroal-vault.1.rst	Vault tool reference
doc/man/pgagroal.conf.5.rst	Main configuration file reference
doc/man/pgagroal_hba.conf.5.rst	HBA configuration reference
doc/man/pgagroal_databases.conf.5.rst	Database limits configuration reference
doc/man/pgagroal_vault.conf.5.rst	Vault configuration reference

Reference Materials

Navigation Note: Use Chapter links when reading the PDF manual, File links when browsing individual markdown files.

Chapter	File	Description
Acknowledgements	97-acknowledgement.md	Credits and contributors
Licenses	98-licenses.md	License information
References	99-references.md	Additional resources and references

Development Environment Setup

For detailed development environment setup, see Building pgagroal | 74-building.md. Here's a quick overview:

Prerequisites

For Fedora-based systems:

dnf install git gcc cmake make liburing liburing-devel openssl openssl-devel systemd systemd-devel python3-docutils libatomic zlib zlib-devel libzstd libzstd-devel lz4 lz4-devel bzip2 bzip2-devel libasan libasan-static binutils clang clang-analyzer clang-tools-extra

Quick Build

git clone https://github.com/pgagroal/pgagroal.git
cd pgagroal
mkdir build
cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local ..
make
make install

Contributing Workflow

1. Fork the repository on GitHub
2. Clone your fork locally
3. Create a feature branch from main
4. Make your changes following the coding guidelines
5. Test your changes thoroughly
6. Submit a pull request with a clear description

For detailed Git workflow, see Git guide | 71-git.md.

Key Development Principles

• Security First: Always consider security implications
• Performance Matters: pgagroal is a high-performance connection pool
• Code Quality: Follow established patterns and write tests
• Documentation: Update documentation with your changes
• Community: Engage with the community for feedback

Getting Help

• GitHub Discussions (https://github.com/pgagroal/pgagroal/discussions) - Ask questions
• GitHub Issues (https://github.com/pgagroal/pgagroal/issues) - Report bugs or request features
• Code of Conduct (see CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md in project root) - Community guidelines