PostgreSQL JSONB: When to Use It and How to Query It Like a Pro

PostgreSQL's JSONB gives you the flexibility of a document database with the reliability of SQL. Here's when and how to use it effectively. When to Use JSONB Good use cases: User preferences and settings API response caching Event metadata with varying schemas Feature flags and configuration Bad use cases: Core business data you query frequently Data with strict relationships Anything that needs foreign key constraints Creating Tables with JSONB CREATE TABLE events ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY , event_type VARCHAR ( 50 ) NOT NULL , payload JSONB NOT NULL DEFAULT '{}' , metadata JSONB , created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW () ); INSERT INTO events ( event_type , payload , metadata ) VALUES ( 'user.signup' , '{"user_id": 123, "email": "alice@example.com", "plan": "pro"}' , '{"ip": "192.168.1.1", "browser": "Chrome"}' ), ( 'order.created' , '{"order_id": 456, "items": [{"sku": "A1", "qty": 2}, {"sku": "B2", "qty": 1}], "total": 99.99}' , '{"source": "web"}' ), ( 'user.login' , '{"user_id": 123, "m