Assigning pg_monitor role to users in managed PostgreSQL database

Hi there,

As far as I know, DigitalOcean Managed PostgreSQL doesn’t allow granting system roles like pg_monitor, since users don’t have full superuser privileges. It seems those roles are reserved for internal management and stability reasons.

You could still use built-in metrics or query views like pg_stat_activity for monitoring. If you’d like more flexibility, it might be worth sharing the request with the product team here: https://ideas.digitalocean.com/

Hi Taha,

In DigitalOcean Managed PostgreSQL, certain superuser-level roles like pg_monitor are restricted for security reasons. Unlike self-managed PostgreSQL instances, you cannot directly grant pg_monitor to other users because doadmin itself does not have full superuser privileges.

If you want to monitor metrics externally:

1. Use DigitalOcean’s Metrics & Monitoring API, which exposes key database stats.

2. Connect via a read-only user to query system views that are accessible without pg_monitor (e.g., pg_stat_activity, pg_stat_database).

3. Consider using a monitoring agent or external tool (like pgDash, Datadog, or pgAdmin) that works with the privileges available to doadmin.

Essentially, DigitalOcean’s managed environment does not allow granting pg_monitor for security isolation — the built-in monitoring is the recommended approach.

You can usually assign the pg_monitor role with a simple GRANT pg_monitor TO username;. Just make sure your managed PostgreSQL allows role changes, as some providers restrict superuser-level modifications.