Postgres Binary Protocol Proxy Proof of Concept

The query hit the wire. Packets moved fast. You watch the bytes shift as Postgres speaks in its binary protocol. Every field, every message. No human-readable fluff. Just precision.

A proof of concept for Postgres binary protocol proxying strips the process to its core. You intercept frontend and backend messages. You parse startup packets, authentication responses, query, and data transfer. You maintain wire-level integrity so Postgres and the client never know you exist. It is transparent. It is exact.

Building a PoC means handling the full lifecycle. Startup. SSL negotiation. Authentication. Parameter status. Query responses. Termination. The binary protocol is stateful, so the proxy must keep track of session state without dropping sync. A single missed byte or wrong sequence will break the connection.

For performance, avoid converting binary data to text unless required. The goal in proxying is low latency. This is why a direct binary relay works. Socket buffers should pass through raw frames as soon as possible. Monitoring can hook into parsed frames after dispatch. Logging and metrics can be added with minimal disruption to protocol flow.

Security matters. Binary protocol proxying lets you inspect or filter requests before they reach the database. Block risky queries. Mask sensitive information. Because you operate at the message level, you can enforce rules beyond SQL parsing.

To extend the PoC, add connection pooling. Manage worker threads or async loops that reuse backend connections. This cuts down on handshake cost and speeds up high-concurrency environments.

A working proof of concept for Postgres binary protocol proxying opens the door to custom routing, query inspection, and database firewalling—all without changing the client or server code.

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