Solve: CLI View Dependency Tool for Postgres

Solve: CLI View Dependency Tool for Postgres

Trace recursive relationships with Linux-style clarity

If you’ve ever had to untangle deeply layered views in a Postgres database, you know the pain. You dig through catalog tables, guess at relationships, and still come away with more questions than answers. That’s where a good CLI tool comes in—and in this post, we’re introducing exactly that.

This is the second version of our recursive view dependency walker. It’s now interactive, command-line friendly, and styled like a native Linux tool. Whether you're building data pipelines, refactoring legacy views, or just trying to understand what depends on what, this tool gives you answers fast.


What's New in the CLI Version

This script improves on the original by adding:

• Prompt-style interactivity using argparse
• Environment variable support for DB credentials
• Customizable output styles, including Linux-style tree formatting
• Cycle detection with visual markers
• Optional file output using --out results.txt

In short: it’s portable, readable, and built for engineers who want answers—not clutter.

How to Use It

Clone or download the script from our GitHub Gist, then run:

Bash

python3 view_dependency_cli.py --view view_main --style tree    

And here’s what you’ll see in your terminal when the script runs:

Bash

├── view_main
│   ├── view_sub1
│   │   └── view_leaf
│   └── view_sub2 (cycle) 

You can also set connection parameters via environment variables:

Bash

export PGDATABASE=mydb
export PGUSER=postgres
export PGPASSWORD=secret
export PGHOST=localhost

python3 view_dependency_cli.py --view your_view_name  

Want to save the output to a file? Just add:

Bash

--out dependencies.txt  

It’ll quietly save the results and print a quick confirmation:

Bash

Output saved to dependencies.txt   

What’s Next

This CLI tool wraps up our two-part Solve series on recursive view mapping in Postgres. If you’re just joining us, start with Part 1 to see the basic walker script and learn how Postgres handles view dependencies under the hood.

And if you don’t have Postgres set up yet—especially if you’re working on a Raspberry Pi—we’ve got a full Build series that covers installation and basic scripting.

More tools coming soon in the Solve and Insight series.

Need Postgres Expertise?

We're happy to help you with your Postgres projects!  Feel free to contact us.

Email: info@pacificw.com

Image: Gemini