---
title: Initial Sync and Indexing
description: Wait for the initial copy, build ParadeDB indexes, and query replicated data
canonical: https://www.paradedb.com/docs/operate/deploy/logical-replication/bootstrapping
---

After [configuring logical replication](/operate/deploy/logical-replication/getting-started), follow these steps to prepare your replica for queries.

## Operating Model

When ParadeDB is used as a logical subscriber:

1. Your application writes to tables on the publisher
2. Postgres logical replication applies those row changes to matching tables
   on ParadeDB
3. ParadeDB maintains ParadeDB indexes locally on the subscriber
4. Search and analytics queries run against ParadeDB instead of the primary

This keeps the source database authoritative while isolating search traffic from
OLTP traffic.

<Note>
  Logical replication copies row changes into ParadeDB, but it does not copy
  ParadeDB indexes from the publisher. For the deployment described in this
  guide, build the ParadeDB indexes directly on the ParadeDB subscriber.
</Note>

## 1. Wait for the Initial Copy to Finish

By default, logical replication starts with an initial copy of the existing data. Let Postgres finish copying the base table data before you build ParadeDB indexes.
This avoids extra indexing work during the bootstrap phase.

### Initial-Copy Parallelism

`max_sync_workers_per_subscription` controls how many tables a subscription
can copy at once when it is created or refreshed. The default is `2`. Raising
it lets multi-table subscriptions copy more tables at once, but requires more
slots and workers. See [Replication Configuration](/operate/deploy/logical-replication/configuration#choosing-publication-and-subscription-boundaries)
for capacity settings.

### Checking Copy Progress

On ParadeDB, you can check whether the initial copy is still running with:

```sql
SELECT
  subname,
  worker_type,
  CASE WHEN relid = 0 THEN NULL ELSE relid::regclass END AS table_name,
  latest_end_time
FROM pg_stat_subscription
ORDER BY 1, 2, 3;
```

The initial copy is complete when there are no remaining rows with
`worker_type = 'table synchronization'`. If you want a stricter per-table
check, run:

```sql
SELECT srrelid::regclass AS table_name, srsubstate
FROM pg_subscription_rel
ORDER BY 1;
```

The initial copy is complete when every replicated table is in state `r`
(`ready`).

## 2. Build ParadeDB Indexes

Once the replicated tables are caught up, create ParadeDB indexes locally on the ParadeDB logical replica:

```sql
CREATE INDEX mock_items_search_idx ON public.mock_items
USING paradedb (id, description, category, rating)
WITH (key_field='id');
```

After this, ongoing replicated `INSERT`, `UPDATE`, and `DELETE` operations will
keep the ParadeDB index current automatically.

## 3. Query ParadeDB

Your application can now issue queries to ParadeDB without adding
indexes to the primary database:

```sql
SELECT description, pdb.score(id)
FROM mock_items
WHERE description ||| 'running shoes' AND rating > 2
ORDER BY score DESC
LIMIT 5;
```

For more query examples, see [Run Your First Queries](/start/run-queries).