1. Version Overview

[Release Date: September 17, 2026]

IvorySQL 5.6 updates the PostgreSQL core to version 18.6 and delivers fixes for Oracle compatibility, memory safety, client interfaces, and extension builds. For a comprehensive list of updates, please visit our documentation site.

2. Upstream Updates

PostgreSQL 18.5 was not released because a regression was discovered during release preparation.

  • PostgreSQL 18.6

    1. Restrict logical decoding output plugins to the set specified by a new server parameter output_plugin_libraries.

    2. Fix contrib/pgcrypto’s PGP encryption to detect unsupported ciphers.

    3. Fix psql to skip in-line data following a scripted COPY …​ FROM STDIN command, even if the COPY fails before sending PGRES_COPY_IN.

    4. Check for USAGE privilege on data types in places that formerly failed to check that.

    5. Invalidate role-dependent cached plans after role changes.

    6. Ensure that parallel GIN index builds update the table’s pg_class.reltuples value correctly.

For further details, visit PostgreSQL 18.6 release notes.

3. Enhancements

  • Upgrade to PG 18.6 kernel: Feature #1719
    PostgreSQL kernel upgraded to version 18.6.

  • AI-assisted contribution guidelines: Feature #1473
    Establish guidelines covering licensing compliance, human review and sign-off responsibilities, AI tool attribution, disclosure of AI-generated code percentages, and responsible participation in code reviews.

  • IvorySQL 5.6 Online Experience: Feature #12
    An interactive, browser-based environment is now available, allowing users to explore and evaluate IvorySQL 5.6 in real time — no installation required.

  • Packaging for All Platforms
    Provides multi-platform media packages for X86, ARM, MIPS, and LoongArch architectures.

  • Containerized Deployment Support
    Supports quick deployment of standalone or highly available IvorySQL 5.6 clusters via Docker Compose, Podman, Swarm, Helm, and the IvorySQL 5.6 Operator.

  • IvorySQL Cloud 5.6 released (Visual Database Lifecycle Management Platform)
    Offers a fully managed, graphical control plane that handles IvorySQL 5.6 database subscriptions, orchestrates end-to-end lifecycle operations, and integrates surrounding ecosystem services.

  • Extensions
    Support for 34 Extensions and Tools: AGE, ddlx, pg_ai_query, pg_bigm, pg_bulkload, pg_cron, pg_curl, pg_hint_plan, pg_jieba, pg_partman, pg_profile, pg_readonly, pg_repack, pg_show_plans, pg_stat_monitor, pg_textsearch, pgagent, pgaudit, pgBackRest, pgBouncer, PgDog, pgnodemx, PGroonga, pgRouting, pgsql-http, pgtt, pgvector, plpgsql_check, PostGIS, redis_fdw, set_user, system_stats, wal2json, zhparser.

4. Fixed Issues

  • Fix potential overflow and NaN mishandling in Oracle-compatible interval multiplication and division: PR #1211

  • Disallow persisting ivorysql.compatible\_mode through ALTER USER/ROLE/DATABASE SET, and close the SET …​ TO DEFAULT and parameter-specific RESET bypasses: PR #1372

  • Fix package-qualified variable references resolving to unrelated local variables during expression evaluation: PR #1381

  • Fix build failures with GCC 14 and later: PR #1385

  • Fix validation of conflicting or repeated SHARD options on sequences: PR #1401

  • Fix build failures of third-party PostgreSQL extensions against IvorySQL: PR #1448

  • Make ivorysql.enable\_case\_switch visible in SHOW ALL and configurable in configuration files: PR #1450

  • Fix missing package names and wrong schema qualification in DBMS\_UTILITY backtrace and call-stack output: PR #1471

  • Fix incorrect newline handling and m/n option behavior in REGEXP\_COUNT, REGEXP\_SUBSTR, REGEXP\_INSTR, and REGEXP\_REPLACE: PR #1489

  • Fix Ivyresult memory leaks on early-return paths: PR #1556

  • Fix heap buffer overruns in psql named-bind query escaping and \\bind handling: PR #1569

  • Fix heap buffer overflows when long namespace prefixes or URLs are used in XML functions: PR #1827

5. Source Code

IvorySQL’s development is maintained across four main repositories:

6. Contributors

The following individuals (in alphabetical order) have contributed to this release as patch authors, committers, reviewers, testers, or reporters of issues.

  • 123123213weqw

  • Aias00

  • ai-yang

  • btlqql

  • Cédric Villemain

  • db-nikhil

  • digoal

  • enkilee

  • Fawei Zhao

  • Ge Sui

  • goeason-world

  • Grant Zhou

  • hanjianqiao

  • lispking

  • messere1

  • NotHimmel

  • Shuntian Jiao

  • Steven Niu

  • tian1220A

  • Xiangyu Liang

  • Xiaohui Liu

  • Xinjie LYU

  • Xueyu Gao

  • xuhuicai

  • yaozichen2025

  • Yasir Hussain Shah

  • yyqdbngt

  • Z95-cmyk

  • Zhe Zhang

  • Zheng Tao

  • Zhenhao Pan

  • Zhuoyan Shi