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+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>20.1. Setting Parameters</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet.css" /><link rev="made" href="pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets Vsnapshot" /><link rel="prev" href="runtime-config.html" title="Chapter 20. Server Configuration" /><link rel="next" href="runtime-config-file-locations.html" title="20.2. File Locations" /></head><body id="docContent" class="container-fluid col-10"><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/transitional" class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center">20.1. Setting Parameters</th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="runtime-config.html" title="Chapter 20. Server Configuration">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="runtime-config.html" title="Chapter 20. Server Configuration">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">Chapter 20. Server Configuration</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 14.5 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="runtime-config-file-locations.html" title="20.2. File Locations">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr></hr></div><div class="sect1" id="CONFIG-SETTING"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">20.1. Setting Parameters</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="config-setting.html#CONFIG-SETTING-NAMES-VALUES">20.1.1. Parameter Names and Values</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="config-setting.html#CONFIG-SETTING-CONFIGURATION-FILE">20.1.2. Parameter Interaction via the Configuration File</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="config-setting.html#CONFIG-SETTING-SQL-COMMAND-INTERACTION">20.1.3. Parameter Interaction via SQL</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="config-setting.html#id-1.6.7.4.5">20.1.4. Parameter Interaction via the Shell</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="config-setting.html#CONFIG-INCLUDES">20.1.5. Managing Configuration File Contents</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="sect2" id="CONFIG-SETTING-NAMES-VALUES"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">20.1.1. Parameter Names and Values</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ All parameter names are case-insensitive. Every parameter takes a
+ value of one of five types: boolean, string, integer, floating point,
+ or enumerated (enum). The type determines the syntax for setting the
+ parameter:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>Boolean:</em></span>
+ Values can be written as
+ <code class="literal">on</code>,
+ <code class="literal">off</code>,
+ <code class="literal">true</code>,
+ <code class="literal">false</code>,
+ <code class="literal">yes</code>,
+ <code class="literal">no</code>,
+ <code class="literal">1</code>,
+ <code class="literal">0</code>
+ (all case-insensitive) or any unambiguous prefix of one of these.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>String:</em></span>
+ In general, enclose the value in single quotes, doubling any single
+ quotes within the value. Quotes can usually be omitted if the value
+ is a simple number or identifier, however.
+ (Values that match an SQL keyword require quoting in some contexts.)
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>Numeric (integer and floating point):</em></span>
+ Numeric parameters can be specified in the customary integer and
+ floating-point formats; fractional values are rounded to the nearest
+ integer if the parameter is of integer type. Integer parameters
+ additionally accept hexadecimal input (beginning
+ with <code class="literal">0x</code>) and octal input (beginning
+ with <code class="literal">0</code>), but these formats cannot have a fraction.
+ Do not use thousands separators.
+ Quotes are not required, except for hexadecimal input.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>Numeric with Unit:</em></span>
+ Some numeric parameters have an implicit unit, because they describe
+ quantities of memory or time. The unit might be bytes, kilobytes, blocks
+ (typically eight kilobytes), milliseconds, seconds, or minutes.
+ An unadorned numeric value for one of these settings will use the
+ setting's default unit, which can be learned from
+ <code class="structname">pg_settings</code>.<code class="structfield">unit</code>.
+ For convenience, settings can be given with a unit specified explicitly,
+ for example <code class="literal">'120 ms'</code> for a time value, and they will be
+ converted to whatever the parameter's actual unit is. Note that the
+ value must be written as a string (with quotes) to use this feature.
+ The unit name is case-sensitive, and there can be whitespace between
+ the numeric value and the unit.
+
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: circle; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Valid memory units are <code class="literal">B</code> (bytes),
+ <code class="literal">kB</code> (kilobytes),
+ <code class="literal">MB</code> (megabytes), <code class="literal">GB</code>
+ (gigabytes), and <code class="literal">TB</code> (terabytes).
+ The multiplier for memory units is 1024, not 1000.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Valid time units are
+ <code class="literal">us</code> (microseconds),
+ <code class="literal">ms</code> (milliseconds),
+ <code class="literal">s</code> (seconds), <code class="literal">min</code> (minutes),
+ <code class="literal">h</code> (hours), and <code class="literal">d</code> (days).
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+
+ If a fractional value is specified with a unit, it will be rounded
+ to a multiple of the next smaller unit if there is one.
+ For example, <code class="literal">30.1 GB</code> will be converted
+ to <code class="literal">30822 MB</code> not <code class="literal">32319628902 B</code>.
+ If the parameter is of integer type, a final rounding to integer
+ occurs after any unit conversion.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ <span class="emphasis"><em>Enumerated:</em></span>
+ Enumerated-type parameters are written in the same way as string
+ parameters, but are restricted to have one of a limited set of
+ values. The values allowable for such a parameter can be found from
+ <code class="structname">pg_settings</code>.<code class="structfield">enumvals</code>.
+ Enum parameter values are case-insensitive.
+ </p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect2" id="CONFIG-SETTING-CONFIGURATION-FILE"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">20.1.2. Parameter Interaction via the Configuration File</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ The most fundamental way to set these parameters is to edit the file
+ <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code><a id="id-1.6.7.4.3.2.2" class="indexterm"></a>,
+ which is normally kept in the data directory. A default copy is
+ installed when the database cluster directory is initialized.
+ An example of what this file might look like is:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+# This is a comment
+log_connections = yes
+log_destination = 'syslog'
+search_path = '"$user", public'
+shared_buffers = 128MB
+</pre><p>
+ One parameter is specified per line. The equal sign between name and
+ value is optional. Whitespace is insignificant (except within a quoted
+ parameter value) and blank lines are
+ ignored. Hash marks (<code class="literal">#</code>) designate the remainder
+ of the line as a comment. Parameter values that are not simple
+ identifiers or numbers must be single-quoted. To embed a single
+ quote in a parameter value, write either two quotes (preferred)
+ or backslash-quote.
+ If the file contains multiple entries for the same parameter,
+ all but the last one are ignored.
+ </p><p>
+ Parameters set in this way provide default values for the cluster.
+ The settings seen by active sessions will be these values unless they
+ are overridden. The following sections describe ways in which the
+ administrator or user can override these defaults.
+ </p><p>
+ <a id="id-1.6.7.4.3.4.1" class="indexterm"></a>
+ The configuration file is reread whenever the main server process
+ receives a <span class="systemitem">SIGHUP</span> signal; this signal is most easily
+ sent by running <code class="literal">pg_ctl reload</code> from the command line or by
+ calling the SQL function <code class="function">pg_reload_conf()</code>. The main
+ server process also propagates this signal to all currently running
+ server processes, so that existing sessions also adopt the new values
+ (this will happen after they complete any currently-executing client
+ command). Alternatively, you can
+ send the signal to a single server process directly. Some parameters
+ can only be set at server start; any changes to their entries in the
+ configuration file will be ignored until the server is restarted.
+ Invalid parameter settings in the configuration file are likewise
+ ignored (but logged) during <span class="systemitem">SIGHUP</span> processing.
+ </p><p>
+ In addition to <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code>,
+ a <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> data directory contains a file
+ <code class="filename">postgresql.auto.conf</code><a id="id-1.6.7.4.3.5.4" class="indexterm"></a>,
+ which has the same format as <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> but
+ is intended to be edited automatically, not manually. This file holds
+ settings provided through the <a class="link" href="sql-altersystem.html" title="ALTER SYSTEM"><code class="command">ALTER SYSTEM</code></a> command.
+ This file is read whenever <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> is,
+ and its settings take effect in the same way. Settings
+ in <code class="filename">postgresql.auto.conf</code> override those
+ in <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code>.
+ </p><p>
+ External tools may also
+ modify <code class="filename">postgresql.auto.conf</code>. It is not
+ recommended to do this while the server is running, since a
+ concurrent <code class="command">ALTER SYSTEM</code> command could overwrite
+ such changes. Such tools might simply append new settings to the end,
+ or they might choose to remove duplicate settings and/or comments
+ (as <code class="command">ALTER SYSTEM</code> will).
+ </p><p>
+ The system view
+ <a class="link" href="view-pg-file-settings.html" title="52.70. pg_file_settings"><code class="structname">pg_file_settings</code></a>
+ can be helpful for pre-testing changes to the configuration files, or for
+ diagnosing problems if a <span class="systemitem">SIGHUP</span> signal did not have the
+ desired effects.
+ </p></div><div class="sect2" id="CONFIG-SETTING-SQL-COMMAND-INTERACTION"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">20.1.3. Parameter Interaction via SQL</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> provides three SQL
+ commands to establish configuration defaults.
+ The already-mentioned <code class="command">ALTER SYSTEM</code> command
+ provides an SQL-accessible means of changing global defaults; it is
+ functionally equivalent to editing <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code>.
+ In addition, there are two commands that allow setting of defaults
+ on a per-database or per-role basis:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ The <a class="link" href="sql-alterdatabase.html" title="ALTER DATABASE"><code class="command">ALTER DATABASE</code></a> command allows global
+ settings to be overridden on a per-database basis.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ The <a class="link" href="sql-alterrole.html" title="ALTER ROLE"><code class="command">ALTER ROLE</code></a> command allows both global and
+ per-database settings to be overridden with user-specific values.
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ Values set with <code class="command">ALTER DATABASE</code> and <code class="command">ALTER ROLE</code>
+ are applied only when starting a fresh database session. They
+ override values obtained from the configuration files or server
+ command line, and constitute defaults for the rest of the session.
+ Note that some settings cannot be changed after server start, and
+ so cannot be set with these commands (or the ones listed below).
+ </p><p>
+ Once a client is connected to the database, <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span>
+ provides two additional SQL commands (and equivalent functions) to
+ interact with session-local configuration settings:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ The <a class="link" href="sql-show.html" title="SHOW"><code class="command">SHOW</code></a> command allows inspection of the
+ current value of any parameter. The corresponding SQL function is
+ <code class="function">current_setting(setting_name text)</code>
+ (see <a class="xref" href="functions-admin.html#FUNCTIONS-ADMIN-SET" title="9.27.1. Configuration Settings Functions">Section 9.27.1</a>).
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ The <a class="link" href="sql-set.html" title="SET"><code class="command">SET</code></a> command allows modification of the
+ current value of those parameters that can be set locally to a
+ session; it has no effect on other sessions.
+ The corresponding SQL function is
+ <code class="function">set_config(setting_name, new_value, is_local)</code>
+ (see <a class="xref" href="functions-admin.html#FUNCTIONS-ADMIN-SET" title="9.27.1. Configuration Settings Functions">Section 9.27.1</a>).
+ </p></li></ul></div><p>
+ In addition, the system view <a class="link" href="view-pg-settings.html" title="52.86. pg_settings"><code class="structname">pg_settings</code></a> can be
+ used to view and change session-local values:
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Querying this view is similar to using <code class="command">SHOW ALL</code> but
+ provides more detail. It is also more flexible, since it's possible
+ to specify filter conditions or join against other relations.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ Using <code class="command">UPDATE</code> on this view, specifically
+ updating the <code class="structname">setting</code> column, is the equivalent
+ of issuing <code class="command">SET</code> commands. For example, the equivalent of
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+SET configuration_parameter TO DEFAULT;
+</pre><p>
+ is:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+UPDATE pg_settings SET setting = reset_val WHERE name = 'configuration_parameter';
+</pre><p>
+ </p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.6.7.4.5"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">20.1.4. Parameter Interaction via the Shell</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ In addition to setting global defaults or attaching
+ overrides at the database or role level, you can pass settings to
+ <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> via shell facilities.
+ Both the server and <span class="application">libpq</span> client library
+ accept parameter values via the shell.
+ </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
+ During server startup, parameter settings can be
+ passed to the <code class="command">postgres</code> command via the
+ <code class="option">-c</code> command-line parameter. For example,
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+postgres -c log_connections=yes -c log_destination='syslog'
+</pre><p>
+ Settings provided in this way override those set via
+ <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> or <code class="command">ALTER SYSTEM</code>,
+ so they cannot be changed globally without restarting the server.
+ </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
+ When starting a client session via <span class="application">libpq</span>,
+ parameter settings can be
+ specified using the <code class="envar">PGOPTIONS</code> environment variable.
+ Settings established in this way constitute defaults for the life
+ of the session, but do not affect other sessions.
+ For historical reasons, the format of <code class="envar">PGOPTIONS</code> is
+ similar to that used when launching the <code class="command">postgres</code>
+ command; specifically, the <code class="option">-c</code> flag must be specified.
+ For example,
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+env PGOPTIONS="-c geqo=off -c statement_timeout=5min" psql
+</pre><p>
+ </p><p>
+ Other clients and libraries might provide their own mechanisms,
+ via the shell or otherwise, that allow the user to alter session
+ settings without direct use of SQL commands.
+ </p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect2" id="CONFIG-INCLUDES"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">20.1.5. Managing Configuration File Contents</h3></div></div></div><p>
+ <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> provides several features for breaking
+ down complex <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> files into sub-files.
+ These features are especially useful when managing multiple servers
+ with related, but not identical, configurations.
+ </p><p>
+ <a id="id-1.6.7.4.6.3.1" class="indexterm"></a>
+ In addition to individual parameter settings,
+ the <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> file can contain <em class="firstterm">include
+ directives</em>, which specify another file to read and process as if
+ it were inserted into the configuration file at this point. This
+ feature allows a configuration file to be divided into physically
+ separate parts. Include directives simply look like:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+include 'filename'
+</pre><p>
+ If the file name is not an absolute path, it is taken as relative to
+ the directory containing the referencing configuration file.
+ Inclusions can be nested.
+ </p><p>
+ <a id="id-1.6.7.4.6.4.1" class="indexterm"></a>
+ There is also an <code class="literal">include_if_exists</code> directive, which acts
+ the same as the <code class="literal">include</code> directive, except
+ when the referenced file does not exist or cannot be read. A regular
+ <code class="literal">include</code> will consider this an error condition, but
+ <code class="literal">include_if_exists</code> merely logs a message and continues
+ processing the referencing configuration file.
+ </p><p>
+ <a id="id-1.6.7.4.6.5.1" class="indexterm"></a>
+ The <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> file can also contain
+ <code class="literal">include_dir</code> directives, which specify an entire
+ directory of configuration files to include. These look like
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+include_dir 'directory'
+</pre><p>
+ Non-absolute directory names are taken as relative to the directory
+ containing the referencing configuration file. Within the specified
+ directory, only non-directory files whose names end with the
+ suffix <code class="literal">.conf</code> will be included. File names that
+ start with the <code class="literal">.</code> character are also ignored, to
+ prevent mistakes since such files are hidden on some platforms. Multiple
+ files within an include directory are processed in file name order
+ (according to C locale rules, i.e., numbers before letters, and
+ uppercase letters before lowercase ones).
+ </p><p>
+ Include files or directories can be used to logically separate portions
+ of the database configuration, rather than having a single large
+ <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> file. Consider a company that has two
+ database servers, each with a different amount of memory. There are
+ likely elements of the configuration both will share, for things such
+ as logging. But memory-related parameters on the server will vary
+ between the two. And there might be server specific customizations,
+ too. One way to manage this situation is to break the custom
+ configuration changes for your site into three files. You could add
+ this to the end of your <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> file to include
+ them:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+include 'shared.conf'
+include 'memory.conf'
+include 'server.conf'
+</pre><p>
+ All systems would have the same <code class="filename">shared.conf</code>. Each
+ server with a particular amount of memory could share the
+ same <code class="filename">memory.conf</code>; you might have one for all servers
+ with 8GB of RAM, another for those having 16GB. And
+ finally <code class="filename">server.conf</code> could have truly server-specific
+ configuration information in it.
+ </p><p>
+ Another possibility is to create a configuration file directory and
+ put this information into files there. For example, a <code class="filename">conf.d</code>
+ directory could be referenced at the end of <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code>:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+include_dir 'conf.d'
+</pre><p>
+ Then you could name the files in the <code class="filename">conf.d</code> directory
+ like this:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+00shared.conf
+01memory.conf
+02server.conf
+</pre><p>
+ This naming convention establishes a clear order in which these
+ files will be loaded. This is important because only the last
+ setting encountered for a particular parameter while the server is
+ reading configuration files will be used. In this example,
+ something set in <code class="filename">conf.d/02server.conf</code> would override a
+ value set in <code class="filename">conf.d/01memory.conf</code>.
+ </p><p>
+ You might instead use this approach to naming the files
+ descriptively:
+</p><pre class="programlisting">
+00shared.conf
+01memory-8GB.conf
+02server-foo.conf
+</pre><p>
+ This sort of arrangement gives a unique name for each configuration file
+ variation. This can help eliminate ambiguity when several servers have
+ their configurations all stored in one place, such as in a version
+ control repository. (Storing database configuration files under version
+ control is another good practice to consider.)
+ </p></div></div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/transitional" class="navfooter"><hr></hr><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="runtime-config.html" title="Chapter 20. Server Configuration">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="runtime-config.html" title="Chapter 20. Server Configuration">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="runtime-config-file-locations.html" title="20.2. File Locations">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">Chapter 20. Server Configuration </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 14.5 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> 20.2. File Locations</td></tr></table></div></body></html> \ No newline at end of file