# System catalogs

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [cloud-data-platform-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform-full.txt)

---
title: System catalogs
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-connect-version: 4.93.0
latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.9
docname: sql/system-catalogs/index
page-component-name: cloud-data-platform
page-version: master
page-component-version: master
page-component-title: Cloud
page-relative-src-path: sql/system-catalogs/index.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/cloud-docs/edit/main/modules/reference/pages/sql/system-catalogs/index.adoc
description: System catalogs in Redpanda SQL store metadata about the database and its objects, including tables, columns, indexes, and schemas.
page-topic-type: reference
page-git-created-date: "2026-05-26"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26"
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform/reference/sql/system-catalogs.md -->

System catalogs are PostgreSQL-compatible metadata tables that store information about the database and its objects, such as tables, columns, data types, functions, and roles. These tables reside in the `pg_catalog` schema and are queried like regular tables.

> 📝 **NOTE**
>
> System catalogs (`pg_*` tables) are unrelated to [Redpanda catalogs](https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform/sql/query-data/redpanda-catalogs/). System catalogs provide PostgreSQL-compatible database metadata. Redpanda catalogs are named connections that map Redpanda topics to SQL tables.

> 📝 **NOTE**
>
> System catalog tables are designed for compatibility with tools that require PostgreSQL system tables. They mostly contain dummy data, and not all columns are applicable to every type of relation.

The following system catalog tables are available in Redpanda SQL:

| Table | Description |
| --- | --- |
| pg_attrdef | Default values for table columns |
| pg_attribute | Information about table columns |
| pg_authid | Authorization identifiers (roles) |
| pg_class | Tables, indexes, sequences, views, and other relations |
| pg_constraint | Table constraints (check, unique, primary key, foreign key) |
| pg_database | Databases in the cluster |
| pg_depend | Dependencies between database objects |
| pg_description | Descriptions (comments) for database objects |
| pg_index | Index information |
| pg_language | Procedural languages |
| pg_namespace | Schemas (namespaces) |
| pg_proc | Functions and procedures |
| pg_roles | Database roles (public view) |
| pg_settings | Runtime configuration parameters |
| pg_shadow | Database users (superuser-only view with passwords) |
| pg_statio_user_tables | I/O statistics for user tables |
| pg_type | Data types |
| pg_user | Database users (public view) |