diff --git a/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/_psycopg_backend.py b/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/_psycopg_backend.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b6784c9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/_psycopg_backend.py
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+# Copyright 2026 Firefly Software Foundation
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+"""Shared scaffolding for Postgres-backed pipeline backends.
+
+The checkpointer and audit-log backends both need the same boilerplate:
+optional-dep guard on ``psycopg``, ``dsn`` xor ``connection`` constructor
+check, table-name validation, and lazy idempotent DDL on first write. This
+module centralizes it so each backend only has to declare its DDL and
+default table name.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import Any
+
+try:
+    import psycopg as _psycopg  # type: ignore[import-not-found]
+except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - optional dep
+    _psycopg = None  # type: ignore[assignment]
+
+
+class PsycopgBackend:
+    """Base class for backends that persist into a single Postgres table.
+
+    Subclasses set the class attribute ``_DDL`` to a format string with a
+    single ``{table}`` placeholder, and pass their human-readable name and
+    default table to ``__init__``. The base class handles the rest:
+
+    * Raises ``ImportError`` if the ``postgres`` extra is not installed.
+    * Enforces ``dsn`` xor ``connection``.
+    * Validates ``table_name`` against SQL injection (interpolated into DDL).
+    * Opens the connection (with ``autocommit=True``) when only ``dsn`` is given.
+    * Applies the DDL lazily and idempotently on first ``_ensure_table()`` call.
+    """
+
+    _DDL: str = ""
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        *,
+        kind: str,
+        dsn: str | None,
+        connection: Any,
+        table_name: str,
+    ) -> None:
+        if _psycopg is None:
+            raise ImportError(
+                f"{kind} requires the 'postgres' extra. Install with: pip install fireflyframework-agentic[postgres]"
+            )
+        if (dsn is None) == (connection is None):
+            raise ValueError(f"{kind} needs exactly one of `dsn` or `connection`.")
+        # Table name is interpolated into DDL — validate strictly to avoid SQL injection.
+        if not table_name.replace("_", "").isalnum():
+            raise ValueError(f"Invalid table_name {table_name!r}: must be alphanumeric/underscore only.")
+        self._conn = connection if connection is not None else _psycopg.connect(dsn, autocommit=True)
+        self._table = table_name
+        self._ddl_applied = False
+
+    def _ensure_table(self) -> None:
+        if self._ddl_applied:
+            return
+        with self._conn.cursor() as cur:
+            cur.execute(self._DDL.format(table=self._table))
+        self._ddl_applied = True
diff --git a/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/audit.py b/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/audit.py
index 481ea08d..d9691775 100644
--- a/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/audit.py
+++ b/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/audit.py
@@ -46,10 +46,7 @@
 
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
-try:
-    import psycopg as _psycopg  # type: ignore[import-not-found]
-except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - optional dep
-    _psycopg = None  # type: ignore[assignment]
+from fireflyframework_agentic.pipeline._psycopg_backend import PsycopgBackend
 
 try:
     from opentelemetry._logs import LogRecord as _OtelLogRecord  # type: ignore[import-not-found]
@@ -145,7 +142,7 @@ def list_entries(self, pipeline_name: str, run_id: str) -> list[AuditEntry]:
         return entries
 
 
-class PostgresAuditLog:
+class PostgresAuditLog(PsycopgBackend):
     """Postgres-backed audit log. Single table created on first ``record`` call.
 
     Reuses ``psycopg`` from the ``postgres`` optional extra. ``dsn`` or a
@@ -181,25 +178,7 @@ def __init__(
         connection: Any = None,
         table_name: str = "firefly_audit",
     ) -> None:
-        if _psycopg is None:
-            raise ImportError(
-                "PostgresAuditLog requires the 'postgres' extra. "
-                "Install with: pip install fireflyframework-agentic[postgres]"
-            )
-        if (dsn is None) == (connection is None):
-            raise ValueError("PostgresAuditLog needs exactly one of `dsn` or `connection`.")
-        if not table_name.replace("_", "").isalnum():
-            raise ValueError(f"Invalid table_name {table_name!r}: must be alphanumeric/underscore only.")
-        self._conn = connection if connection is not None else _psycopg.connect(dsn, autocommit=True)
-        self._table = table_name
-        self._ddl_applied = False
-
-    def _ensure_table(self) -> None:
-        if self._ddl_applied:
-            return
-        with self._conn.cursor() as cur:
-            cur.execute(self._DDL.format(table=self._table))
-        self._ddl_applied = True
+        super().__init__(kind="PostgresAuditLog", dsn=dsn, connection=connection, table_name=table_name)
 
     def record(self, entry: AuditEntry) -> None:
         self._ensure_table()
diff --git a/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/checkpoint.py b/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/checkpoint.py
index ecedb16c..5cb2b5cf 100644
--- a/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/checkpoint.py
+++ b/fireflyframework_agentic/pipeline/checkpoint.py
@@ -39,16 +39,13 @@
 
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
+from fireflyframework_agentic.pipeline._psycopg_backend import PsycopgBackend
+
 try:
     import redis as _redis  # type: ignore[import-not-found]
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - optional dep
     _redis = None  # type: ignore[assignment]
 
-try:
-    import psycopg as _psycopg  # type: ignore[import-not-found]
-except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - optional dep
-    _psycopg = None  # type: ignore[assignment]
-
 
 class CheckpointRecord(BaseModel):
     """One saved checkpoint.
@@ -194,7 +191,7 @@ def list_runs(self, pipeline_name: str) -> list[str]:
         return list(self._client.zrange(self._runs_index_key(pipeline_name), 0, -1))
 
 
-class PostgresCheckpointer:
+class PostgresCheckpointer(PsycopgBackend):
     """Postgres-backed checkpointer.
 
     Uses a single table created on first ``save`` call. The DDL is idempotent
@@ -232,26 +229,7 @@ def __init__(
         connection: Any = None,
         table_name: str = "firefly_checkpoints",
     ) -> None:
-        if _psycopg is None:
-            raise ImportError(
-                "PostgresCheckpointer requires the 'postgres' extra. "
-                "Install with: pip install fireflyframework-agentic[postgres]"
-            )
-        if (dsn is None) == (connection is None):
-            raise ValueError("PostgresCheckpointer needs exactly one of `dsn` or `connection`.")
-        # Table name is interpolated into DDL — validate it strictly to avoid SQL injection.
-        if not table_name.replace("_", "").isalnum():
-            raise ValueError(f"Invalid table_name {table_name!r}: must be alphanumeric/underscore only.")
-        self._conn = connection if connection is not None else _psycopg.connect(dsn, autocommit=True)
-        self._table = table_name
-        self._ddl_applied = False
-
-    def _ensure_table(self) -> None:
-        if self._ddl_applied:
-            return
-        with self._conn.cursor() as cur:
-            cur.execute(self._DDL.format(table=self._table))
-        self._ddl_applied = True
+        super().__init__(kind="PostgresCheckpointer", dsn=dsn, connection=connection, table_name=table_name)
 
     def save(self, record: CheckpointRecord) -> None:
         self._ensure_table()
diff --git a/tests/unit/pipeline/test_audit_log.py b/tests/unit/pipeline/test_audit_log.py
index e6b426b2..369cf6a5 100644
--- a/tests/unit/pipeline/test_audit_log.py
+++ b/tests/unit/pipeline/test_audit_log.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import pytest
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
+import fireflyframework_agentic.pipeline._psycopg_backend as psycopg_backend_module
 import fireflyframework_agentic.pipeline.audit as audit_module
 from fireflyframework_agentic.pipeline import (
     AuditEntry,
@@ -85,8 +86,8 @@ def test_file_audit_log_unknown_run_returns_empty(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
 def _stub_optional_deps(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
     """Stub _psycopg and OTel symbols so backends can be constructed with mocks."""
-    if audit_module._psycopg is None:
-        monkeypatch.setattr(audit_module, "_psycopg", MagicMock(name="psycopg_stub"))
+    if psycopg_backend_module._psycopg is None:
+        monkeypatch.setattr(psycopg_backend_module, "_psycopg", MagicMock(name="psycopg_stub"))
     if audit_module._otel_get_logger is None:
         monkeypatch.setattr(audit_module, "_otel_get_logger", MagicMock(name="otel_logger_factory"))
         monkeypatch.setattr(audit_module, "_OtelLogRecord", MagicMock(name="LogRecord"))
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ def _stub_optional_deps(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
 
 
 def test_postgres_audit_missing_dep_raises(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
-    monkeypatch.setattr(audit_module, "_psycopg", None)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(psycopg_backend_module, "_psycopg", None)
     with pytest.raises(ImportError, match=r"\[postgres\]"):
         PostgresAuditLog(dsn="postgresql://x")
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/pipeline/test_checkpoint_backends.py b/tests/unit/pipeline/test_checkpoint_backends.py
index 091f6cf3..47a6674c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/pipeline/test_checkpoint_backends.py
+++ b/tests/unit/pipeline/test_checkpoint_backends.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import pytest
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
+import fireflyframework_agentic.pipeline._psycopg_backend as psycopg_backend_module
 import fireflyframework_agentic.pipeline.checkpoint as checkpoint_module
 from fireflyframework_agentic.pipeline import (
     CheckpointRecord,
@@ -39,8 +40,8 @@ def _stub_optional_deps(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
     """
     if checkpoint_module._redis is None:
         monkeypatch.setattr(checkpoint_module, "_redis", MagicMock(name="redis_stub"))
-    if checkpoint_module._psycopg is None:
-        monkeypatch.setattr(checkpoint_module, "_psycopg", MagicMock(name="psycopg_stub"))
+    if psycopg_backend_module._psycopg is None:
+        monkeypatch.setattr(psycopg_backend_module, "_psycopg", MagicMock(name="psycopg_stub"))
 
 
 # =============================================================================
@@ -244,7 +245,7 @@ def fake_execute(sql: str, params: tuple | None = None) -> None:
 
 
 def test_postgres_checkpointer_missing_dep_raises(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
-    monkeypatch.setattr(checkpoint_module, "_psycopg", None)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(psycopg_backend_module, "_psycopg", None)
     with pytest.raises(ImportError, match=r"\[postgres\]"):
         PostgresCheckpointer(dsn="postgresql://x")