Postgres remove FKey without lock

Question

Edited :

I need to remove foreign key constraints from some PostgreSQL tables. However, these tables are heavily used and contain a significant volume of data. Some are partitioned, while others are not.

When I try to alter the table to drop the foreign key, it causes a lock, which interrupts ongoing operations or is locked due to some write operation unless we schedule downtime.

Is there a way to remove foreign key constraints from a table in PostgreSQL without causing locks or impacting ongoing operations?

Any suggestions or best practices would be appreciated.

PS : I do think that without locks it could cause issues with data consistency, integrity, and concurrency control.

Answer 1

No, there is no way to remove a foreign key without placing a lock on the table. However, that lock will only be held for a very short time, so that shouldn't be a problem unless you always have long-running transactions that involve the table.