On Sat, 2025-05-17 at 08:50 -0600, Scott Ribe wrote: > > On May 16, 2025, at 1:37 PM, Laurenz Albe <laurenz.albe@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > > Sometimes, a backend writes a block to disk itself. This might happen if a lot > > of cache pressure, but usually it happens when the table is extended with new > > blocks. > > Ah, that's the piece I was missing! > > Do the written blocks get counted as dirty first, or only as written? They will certainly be dirty as well. You can use simple experiments to answer questions like this: CREATE TABLE new(id integer); EXPLAIN (ANALYZE, BUFFERS, COSTS OFF, SUMMARY OFF) INSERT INTO new VALUES (42); QUERY PLAN ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Insert on new (actual time=0.165..0.166 rows=0.00 loops=1) Buffers: shared dirtied=1 written=1 -> Result (actual time=0.002..0.003 rows=1.00 loops=1) Yours, Laurenz Albe