2 doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_ctl-ref.sgml
3 PostgreSQL documentation
6 <refentry id="app-pg-ctl">
8 <refentrytitle><application>pg_ctl</application></refentrytitle>
9 <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
10 <refmiscinfo>Application</refmiscinfo>
14 <refname>pg_ctl</refname>
15 <refpurpose>initialize, start, stop, or control a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> server</refpurpose>
18 <indexterm zone="app-pg-ctl">
19 <primary>pg_ctl</primary>
24 <command>pg_ctl</command>
25 <arg choice="plain"><option>init[db]</option></arg>
26 <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
27 <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
28 <arg choice="opt"><option>-o</option> <replaceable>initdb-options</replaceable></arg>
32 <command>pg_ctl</command>
33 <arg choice="plain"><option>start</option></arg>
34 <arg choice="opt"><option>-w</option></arg>
35 <arg choice="opt"><option>-t</option> <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
36 <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
37 <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
38 <arg choice="opt"><option>-l</option> <replaceable>filename</replaceable></arg>
39 <arg choice="opt"><option>-o</option> <replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
40 <arg choice="opt"><option>-p</option> <replaceable>path</replaceable></arg>
41 <arg choice="opt"><option>-c</option></arg>
45 <command>pg_ctl</command>
46 <arg choice="plain"><option>stop</option></arg>
47 <arg choice="opt"><option>-W</option></arg>
48 <arg choice="opt"><option>-t</option> <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
49 <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
50 <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
51 <arg choice="opt"><option>-m</option>
52 <group choice="plain">
53 <arg choice="plain"><option>s[mart]</option></arg>
54 <arg choice="plain"><option>f[ast]</option></arg>
55 <arg choice="plain"><option>i[mmediate]</option></arg>
61 <command>pg_ctl</command>
62 <arg choice="plain"><option>restart</option></arg>
63 <arg choice="opt"><option>-w</option></arg>
64 <arg choice="opt"><option>-t</option> <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
65 <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
66 <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
67 <arg choice="opt"><option>-c</option></arg>
68 <arg choice="opt"><option>-m</option>
69 <group choice="plain">
70 <arg choice="plain"><option>s[mart]</option></arg>
71 <arg choice="plain"><option>f[ast]</option></arg>
72 <arg choice="plain"><option>i[mmediate]</option></arg>
75 <arg choice="opt"><option>-o</option> <replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
79 <command>pg_ctl</command>
80 <arg choice="plain"><option>reload</option></arg>
81 <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
82 <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
86 <command>pg_ctl</command>
87 <arg choice="plain"><option>status</option></arg>
88 <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
92 <command>pg_ctl</command>
93 <arg choice="plain"><option>promote</option></arg>
94 <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
95 <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
99 <command>pg_ctl</command>
100 <arg choice="plain"><option>kill</option></arg>
101 <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>signal_name</replaceable></arg>
102 <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>process_id</replaceable></arg>
106 <command>pg_ctl</command>
107 <arg choice="plain"><option>register</option></arg>
108 <arg choice="opt"><option>-N</option> <replaceable>servicename</replaceable></arg>
109 <arg choice="opt"><option>-U</option> <replaceable>username</replaceable></arg>
110 <arg choice="opt"><option>-P</option> <replaceable>password</replaceable></arg>
111 <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
112 <arg choice="opt"><option>-S</option>
113 <group choice="plain">
114 <arg choice="plain"><option>a[uto]</option></arg>
115 <arg choice="plain"><option>d[emand]</option></arg>
118 <arg choice="opt"><option>-w</option></arg>
119 <arg choice="opt"><option>-t</option> <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
120 <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
121 <arg choice="opt"><option>-o</option> <replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
125 <command>pg_ctl</command>
126 <arg choice="plain"><option>unregister</option></arg>
127 <arg choice="opt"><option>-N</option> <replaceable>servicename</replaceable></arg>
132 <refsect1 id="app-pg-ctl-description">
133 <title>Description</title>
135 <application>pg_ctl</application> is a utility for initializing a
136 <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database cluster, starting,
137 stopping, or restarting the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
138 database server (<xref linkend="app-postgres">), or displaying the
139 status of a running server. Although the server can be started
140 manually, <application>pg_ctl</application> encapsulates tasks such
141 as redirecting log output and properly detaching from the terminal
142 and process group. It also provides convenient options for
147 The <option>init</option> or <option>initdb</option> mode creates a new
148 <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database cluster. A database
149 cluster is a collection of databases that are managed by a single
150 server instance. This mode invokes the <command>initdb</command>
151 command. See <xref linkend="app-initdb"> for details.
155 In <option>start</option> mode, a new server is launched. The
156 server is started in the background, and its standard input is attached
157 to <filename>/dev/null</filename> (or <literal>nul</> on Windows).
158 On Unix-like systems, by default, the server's standard output and
159 standard error are sent to <application>pg_ctl</application>'s
160 standard output (not standard error). The standard output of
161 <application>pg_ctl</application> should then be redirected to a
162 file or piped to another process such as a log rotating program
163 like <application>rotatelogs</>; otherwise <command>postgres</command>
164 will write its output to the controlling terminal (from the
165 background) and will not leave the shell's process group. On
166 Windows, by default the server's standard output and standard error
167 are sent to the terminal. These default behaviors can be changed
168 by using <option>-l</option> to append the server's output to a log file.
169 Use of either <option>-l</option> or output redirection is recommended.
173 In <option>stop</option> mode, the server that is running in
174 the specified data directory is shut down. Three different
175 shutdown methods can be selected with the <option>-m</option>
176 option. <quote>Smart</quote> mode (the default) waits for all active
177 clients to disconnect and any online backup to finish.
178 If the server is in hot standby, recovery and streaming replication
179 will be terminated once all clients have disconnected.
180 <quote>Fast</quote> mode does not wait for clients to disconnect and
181 will terminate an online backup in progress. All active transactions are
182 rolled back and clients are forcibly disconnected, then the
183 server is shut down. <quote>Immediate</quote> mode will abort
184 all server processes immediately, without a clean shutdown.
185 This will lead to a crash-recovery run on the next restart.
189 <option>restart</option> mode effectively executes a stop followed
190 by a start. This allows changing the <command>postgres</command>
191 command-line options.
195 <option>reload</option> mode simply sends the
196 <command>postgres</command> process a <systemitem>SIGHUP</>
197 signal, causing it to reread its configuration files
198 (<filename>postgresql.conf</filename>,
199 <filename>pg_hba.conf</filename>, etc.). This allows changing of
200 configuration-file options that do not require a complete restart
205 <option>status</option> mode checks whether a server is running in
206 the specified data directory. If it is, the <acronym>PID</acronym>
207 and the command line options that were used to invoke it are
208 displayed. If the server is not running, the process returns an
213 In <option>promote</option> mode, the standby server that is
214 running in the specified data directory is commanded to exit
215 recovery and begin read-write operations.
219 <option>kill</option> mode allows you to send a signal to a specified
220 process. This is particularly valuable for <productname>Microsoft Windows</>
221 which does not have a <application>kill</> command. Use
222 <literal>--help</> to see a list of supported signal names.
226 <option>register</option> mode allows you to register a system service
227 on <productname>Microsoft Windows</>. The <option>-S</option> option
228 allows selection of service start type, either <quote>auto</quote> (start
229 service automatically on system startup) or <quote>demand</quote> (start
234 <option>unregister</option> mode allows you to unregister a system service
235 on <productname>Microsoft Windows</>. This undoes the effects of the
236 <option>register</option> command.
240 <refsect1 id="app-pg-ctl-options">
241 <title>Options</title>
246 <term><option>-c</option></term>
247 <term><option>--core-file</option></term>
250 Attempt to allow server crashes to produce core files, on platforms
251 where this is possible, by lifting any soft resource limit placed on
253 This is useful in debugging or diagnosing problems by allowing a
254 stack trace to be obtained from a failed server process.
260 <term><option>-D <replaceable class="parameter">datadir</replaceable></option></term>
261 <term><option>--pgdata <replaceable class="parameter">datadir</replaceable></option></term>
264 Specifies the file system location of the database files. If
265 this is omitted, the environment variable
266 <envar>PGDATA</envar> is used.
272 <term><option>-l <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></option></term>
273 <term><option>--log <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></option></term>
276 Append the server log output to
277 <replaceable>filename</replaceable>. If the file does not
278 exist, it is created. The <systemitem>umask</> is set to 077,
279 so access to the log file is disallowed to other users by default.
285 <term><option>-m <replaceable class="parameter">mode</replaceable></option></term>
286 <term><option>--mode <replaceable class="parameter">mode</replaceable></option></term>
289 Specifies the shutdown mode. <replaceable>mode</replaceable>
290 can be <literal>smart</literal>, <literal>fast</literal>, or
291 <literal>immediate</literal>, or the first letter of one of
292 these three. If this is omitted, <literal>smart</literal> is used.
298 <term><option>-o <replaceable class="parameter">options</replaceable></option></term>
301 Specifies options to be passed directly to the
302 <command>postgres</command> command.
305 The options should usually be surrounded by single or double
306 quotes to ensure that they are passed through as a group.
312 <term><option>-o <replaceable class="parameter">initdb-options</replaceable></option></term>
315 Specifies options to be passed directly to the
316 <command>initdb</command> command.
319 The options should usually be surrounded by single or double
320 quotes to ensure that they are passed through as a group.
326 <term><option>-p <replaceable class="parameter">path</replaceable></option></term>
329 Specifies the location of the <filename>postgres</filename>
330 executable. By default the <filename>postgres</filename> executable is taken from the same
331 directory as <command>pg_ctl</command>, or failing that, the hard-wired
332 installation directory. It is not necessary to use this
333 option unless you are doing something unusual and get errors
334 that the <filename>postgres</filename> executable was not found.
338 In <literal>init</literal> mode, this option analogously
339 specifies the location of the <filename>initdb</filename>
346 <term><option>-s</option></term>
347 <term><option>--silent</option></term>
350 Print only errors, no informational messages.
356 <term><option>-t</option></term>
357 <term><option>--timeout</option></term>
360 The maximum number of seconds to wait when waiting for startup or
361 shutdown to complete. The default is 60 seconds.
367 <term><option>-w</option></term>
370 Wait for the startup or shutdown to complete.
371 Waiting is the default option for shutdowns, but not startups.
372 When waiting for startup, <command>pg_ctl</command> repeatedly
373 attempts to connect to the server.
374 When waiting for shutdown, <command>pg_ctl</command> waits for
375 the server to remove its <acronym>PID</acronym> file.
376 <command>pg_ctl</command> returns an exit code based on the
377 success of the startup or shutdown.
383 <term><option>-W</option></term>
386 Do not wait for startup or shutdown to complete. This is the
387 default for start and restart modes.
393 <refsect2 id="app-pg-ctl-windows-options">
394 <title>Options for Windows</title>
398 <term><option>-N <replaceable class="parameter">servicename</replaceable></option></term>
401 Name of the system service to register. The name will be used
402 as both the service name and the display name.
408 <term><option>-P <replaceable class="parameter">password</replaceable></option></term>
411 Password for the user to start the service.
417 <term><option>-S <replaceable class="parameter">start-type</replaceable></option></term>
420 Start type of the system service to register. start-type can
421 be <literal>auto</literal>, or <literal>demand</literal>, or
422 the first letter of one of these two. If this is omitted,
423 <literal>auto</literal> is used.
429 <term><option>-U <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></option></term>
432 User name for the user to start the service. For domain users, use the
433 format <literal>DOMAIN\username</literal>.
444 <title>Environment</title>
448 <term><envar>PGDATA</envar></term>
452 Default data directory location.
460 <command>pg_ctl</command>, like most other <productname>PostgreSQL</>
462 also uses the environment variables supported by <application>libpq</>
463 (see <xref linkend="libpq-envars">).
464 For additional server variables, see <xref linkend="app-postgres">.
474 <term><filename>postmaster.pid</filename></term>
478 The existence of this file in the data directory is used to help
479 <application>pg_ctl</application> determine if the server is
486 <term><filename>postmaster.opts</filename></term>
489 <para>If this file exists in the data directory,
490 <application>pg_ctl</application> (in <option>restart</option> mode)
491 will pass the contents of the file as options to
492 <application>postgres</application>, unless overridden
493 by the <option>-o</option> option. The contents of this file
494 are also displayed in <option>status</option> mode.
503 <refsect1 id="R1-APP-PGCTL-2">
504 <title>Examples</title>
506 <refsect2 id="R2-APP-PGCTL-3">
507 <title>Starting the Server</title>
512 <prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl start</userinput>
517 To start the server, waiting until the server is
518 accepting connections:
520 <prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl -w start</userinput>
525 To start the server using port 5433, and
526 running without <function>fsync</function>, use:
528 <prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl -o "-F -p 5433" start</userinput>
532 <refsect2 id="R2-APP-PGCTL-4">
533 <title>Stopping the Server</title>
535 To stop the server, use:
537 <prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl stop</userinput>
539 The <option>-m</option> option allows control over
540 <emphasis>how</emphasis> the server shuts down:
542 <prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl stop -m fast</userinput>
546 <refsect2 id="R2-APP-PGCTL-5">
547 <title>Restarting the Server</title>
550 Restarting the server is almost equivalent to stopping the
551 server and starting it again,
552 except that <command>pg_ctl</command> saves and reuses the command line options that
553 were passed to the previously running instance. To restart
554 the server in the simplest form, use:
556 <prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl restart</userinput>
561 To restart the server,
562 waiting for it to shut down and restart:
564 <prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl -w restart</userinput>
569 To restart using port 5433, disabling <function>fsync</> upon restart:
571 <prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl -o "-F -p 5433" restart</userinput>
575 <refsect2 id="R2-APP-PGCTL-6">
576 <title>Showing the Server Status</title>
579 Here is sample status output from
580 <application>pg_ctl</application>:
582 <prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl status</userinput>
584 pg_ctl: server is running (PID: 13718)
585 /usr/local/pgsql/bin/postgres "-D" "/usr/local/pgsql/data" "-p" "5433" "-B" "128"
588 This is the command line that would be invoked in restart mode.
595 <title>See Also</title>
597 <simplelist type="inline">
598 <member><xref linkend="app-initdb"></member>
599 <member><xref linkend="app-postgres"></member>