pg_shdescription — PostgreSQL system catalog

Summary

The catalog pg_shdescription stores optional descriptions (comments) for shared database objects. Descriptions can be manipulated with the COMMENT command and viewed with psql’s \d commands.

(Description quoted from the official PostgreSQL documentation.)

Columns

The pg_shdescription system catalog exposes the following columns (names, types and descriptions are taken verbatim from the PostgreSQL documentation):

• objoid oid references any OID column
  The OID of the object this description pertains to
• classoid oid references pg_class.oid
  The OID of the system catalog this object appears in
• description text
  Arbitrary text that serves as the description of this object

Related catalogs

This object references the following other system catalogs:

• classoid → pg_class

Version applicability

Present in PostgreSQL 17, 18, 19 (verified against each release’s documentation). This is a long-standing system object that also exists in earlier PostgreSQL releases.

Related & references

• PostgreSQL system catalog & view index
• Built-in function reference

Reference: PostgreSQL documentation — pg_shdescription.