From trust to Tokens: A Short History of PostgreSQL Authentication

PostgreSQL offers a surprisingly large number of authentication methods—but most users only encounter one or two of them, often without understanding why they exist. In this short talk, we take a fast, story driven tour through the evolution of PostgreSQL authentication. Starting with early Unix centric assumptions (trust, ident, peer), we move through password authentication, enterprise integrations like LDAP and Kerberos, and end with modern identity driven approaches such as certificate and token based authentication. Rather than listing every option, this talk focuses on key inflection points: what problem PostgreSQL was solving at each stage, what trade offs were made, and how those decisions still affect real world deployments today. Attendees will leave with a clear mental model of PostgreSQL authentication—enough to choose wisely, avoid common mistakes, and understand where the ecosystem is heading.