INSERT INTO users VALUES('{ "_id" : "derick@localhost", "email" : "derick@localhost", "words" : [ "derick", "rethans", "london", "uk" ] }'); You might add a B-tree index on hdoc->>'email'; Find %_id% for %email% address (B-tree-index): SELECT hdoc->>'_id' FROM users WHERE *hdoc->>'email'* = 'derick@localhost'; Find %users% without a %country% value set: SELECT hdoc->>'_id' FROM users WHERE hdoc->>'country' IS NOT NULL; Find users where %words% includes %london% (GIN index): SELECT \* FROM users WHERE *hdoc* @> '{"words": ["london"]}'; Update or add field: UPDATE users SET hdoc = hdoc || '{"country": "Europe"}';