Dev Tools · 2h ago
Postgres READ COMMITTED isolation can silently corrupt data
Postgres's default READ COMMITTED isolation level prevents dirty reads but does not prevent lost updates, phantom reads, or non-repeatable reads. Two concurrent transactions can read the same value, increment it, and both write the same result, losing one update. Developers relying on READ COMMITTED for safety may ship bugs that only surface under concurrency.
Meridian48 take
This is a classic gotcha that ORMs and default settings hide until production traffic hits — worth understanding even if you think you know transactions.
postgresdatabase-isolation