-->
<refentry id="app-pg-ctl">
+ <indexterm zone="app-pg-ctl">
+ <primary>pg_ctl</primary>
+ </indexterm>
+
<refmeta>
<refentrytitle><application>pg_ctl</application></refentrytitle>
<manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
<refnamediv>
<refname>pg_ctl</refname>
- <refpurpose>initialize, start, stop, or
restart a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> server</refpurpose>
+ <refpurpose>initialize, start, stop, or
control a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> server</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>
- <indexterm zone="app-pg-ctl">
- <primary>pg_ctl</primary>
- </indexterm>
-
<refsynopsisdiv>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>pg_ctl</command>
- <arg choice="plain">init[db]</arg>
- <arg>-s</arg>
- <arg>-D <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-o <replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>init[db]</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-o</option> <replaceable>initdb-options</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>pg_ctl</command>
- <arg choice="plain">start</arg>
- <arg>-w</arg>
- <arg>-t <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-s</arg>
- <arg>-D <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-l <replaceable>filename</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-o <replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-p <replaceable>path</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-c</arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>start</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-w</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-t</option> <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-l</option> <replaceable>filename</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-o</option> <replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-p</option> <replaceable>path</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-c</option></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>pg_ctl</command>
- <arg choice="plain">stop</arg>
- <arg>-W</arg>
- <arg>-t <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-s</arg>
- <arg>-D <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-m
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>stop</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-W</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-t</option> <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-m</option>
<group choice="plain">
- <arg>s[mart]</arg>
- <arg>f[ast]</arg>
- <arg>i[mmediate]</arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>s[mart]</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>f[ast]</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>i[mmediate]</option></arg>
</group>
</arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>pg_ctl</command>
- <arg choice="plain">restart</arg>
- <arg>-w</arg>
- <arg>-t <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-s</arg>
- <arg>-D <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-c</arg>
- <arg>-m
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>restart</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-w</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-t</option> <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-c</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-m</option>
<group choice="plain">
- <arg>s[mart]</arg>
- <arg>f[ast]</arg>
- <arg>i[mmediate]</arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>s[mart]</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>f[ast]</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>i[mmediate]</option></arg>
</group>
</arg>
- <arg>-o <replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-o</option> <replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
+ </cmdsynopsis>
+
+ <cmdsynopsis>
+ <command>pg_ctl</command>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>reload</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>pg_ctl</command>
- <arg choice="plain">reload</arg>
- <arg>-s</arg>
- <arg>-D <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>status</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>pg_ctl</command>
- <arg choice="plain">status</arg>
- <arg>-D <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>promote</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>pg_ctl</command>
- <arg choice="plain">kill</arg>
- <arg><replaceable>signal_name</replaceable></arg>
- <arg><replaceable>process_id</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>kill</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>signal_name</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>process_id</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>pg_ctl</command>
- <arg choice="plain">register</arg>
- <arg>-N <replaceable>servicename</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-U <replaceable>username</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-P <replaceable>password</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-D <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-S
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>register</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-N</option> <replaceable>servicename</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-U</option> <replaceable>username</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-P</option> <replaceable>password</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-S</option>
<group choice="plain">
- <arg>a[uto]</arg>
- <arg>d[emand]</arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>a[uto]</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>d[emand]</option></arg>
</group>
</arg>
- <arg>-w</arg>
- <arg>-t <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
- <arg>-o <replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-w</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-t</option> <replaceable>seconds</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-s</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-o</option> <replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
<cmdsynopsis>
<command>pg_ctl</command>
- <arg choice="plain">unregister</arg>
- <arg>-N <replaceable>servicename</replaceable></arg>
+ <arg choice="plain"><option>unregister</option></arg>
+ <arg choice="opt"><option>-N</option> <replaceable>servicename</replaceable></arg>
</cmdsynopsis>
</refsynopsisdiv>
<application>pg_ctl</application> is a utility for initializing a
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database cluster, starting,
stopping, or restarting the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
- backend server (<xref linkend="app-postgres">), or displaying the
+ database server (<xref linkend="app-postgres">), or displaying the
status of a running server. Although the server can be started
manually, <application>pg_ctl</application> encapsulates tasks such
as redirecting log output and properly detaching from the terminal
</para>
<para>
- The <option>init</option> or <option>initdb</option> mode creates a
- new
+ The <option>init</option> or <option>initdb</option> mode creates a new
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database cluster. A database
cluster is a collection of databases that are managed by a single
server instance. This mode invokes the <command>initdb</command>
<para>
In <option>start</option> mode, a new server is launched. The
- server is started in the background, and standard input is attached
+ server is started in the background, and its standard input is attached
to <filename>/dev/null</filename> (or <literal>nul</> on Windows).
On Unix-like systems, by default, the server's standard output and
- standard error are sen
d to <application>pg_ctl</application>'s
+ standard error are sen
t to <application>pg_ctl</application>'s
standard output (not standard error). The standard output of
<application>pg_ctl</application> should then be redirected to a
file or piped to another process such as a log rotating program
will write its output to the controlling terminal (from the
background) and will not leave the shell's process group. On
Windows, by default the server's standard output and standard error
- are sent to the terminal. These default behaviors can be changed
- by using <option>-l</option> to append server output to a log file.
+ are sent to the terminal. These default behaviors can be changed
+ by using <option>-l</option> to append the server's output to a log file.
+ Use of either <option>-l</option> or output redirection is recommended.
</para>
<para>
In <option>stop</option> mode, the server that is running in
the specified data directory is shut down. Three different
shutdown methods can be selected with the <option>-m</option>
- option: <quote>Smart</quote> mode waits for online backup mode
- to finish and all the clients to disconnect. This is the default.
- If the server is in recovery, recovery and streaming replication
+ option. <quote>Smart</quote> mode (the default) waits for all active
+ clients to disconnect and any online backup to finish.
+ If the server is in hot standby, recovery and streaming replication
will be terminated once all clients have disconnected.
<quote>Fast</quote> mode does not wait for clients to disconnect and
will terminate an online backup in progress. All active transactions are
rolled back and clients are forcibly disconnected, then the
server is shut down. <quote>Immediate</quote> mode will abort
- all server processes without a clean shutdown. This will lead to
- a recovery run on restart.
+ all server processes immediately, without a clean shutdown.
+ This will lead to a crash-recovery run on the next restart.
</para>
<para>
<option>restart</option> mode effectively executes a stop followed
by a start. This allows changing the <command>postgres</command>
- command-line options.
+ command-line options. <option>restart</option> might fail if
+ relative paths specified were specified on the command-line during
+ server start.
</para>
<para>
<option>status</option> mode checks whether a server is running in
the specified data directory. If it is, the <acronym>PID</acronym>
and the command line options that were used to invoke it are
- displayed.
+ displayed. If the server is not running, the process returns an
+ exit status of 3. If an accessible data directory is not specified,
+ the process returns an exit status of 4.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ In <option>promote</option> mode, the standby server that is
+ running in the specified data directory is commanded to exit
+ recovery and begin read-write operations.
</para>
<para>
<option>kill</option> mode allows you to send a signal to a specified
process. This is particularly valuable for <productname>Microsoft Windows</>
- which does not have a <application>kill</> command. Use
+ which does not have a <application>kill</> command. Use
<literal>--help</> to see a list of supported signal names.
</para>
<option>register</option> mode allows you to register a system service
on <productname>Microsoft Windows</>. The <option>-S</option> option
allows selection of service start type, either <quote>auto</quote> (start
- service automatically on system startup), on <quote>demand</quote>.
+ service automatically on system startup) or <quote>demand</quote> (start
+ service on demand).
</para>
<para>
<option>unregister</option> mode allows you to unregister a system service
- on <productname>Microsoft Windows</>, previously registered with the
+ on <productname>Microsoft Windows</>. This undoes the effects of the
<option>register</option> command.
</para>
</refsect1>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>-c</option></term>
+ <term><option>--core-file</option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Attempt to allow server crashes to produce core files, on platforms
- where this available, by lifting any soft resource limit placed on
- them.
- This is useful in debugging or diagnosing problems by allowing a
+ where this is possible, by lifting any soft resource limit placed on
+ core files.
+ This is useful in debugging or diagnosing problems by allowing a
stack trace to be obtained from a failed server process.
</para>
</listitem>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>-D <replaceable class="parameter">datadir</replaceable></option></term>
+ <term><option>--pgdata <replaceable class="parameter">datadir</replaceable></option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Specifies the file system location of the database files. If
+ Specifies the file system location of the database configuration files. If
this is omitted, the environment variable
<envar>PGDATA</envar> is used.
</para>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>-l <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></option></term>
+ <term><option>--log <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Append the server log output to
<replaceable>filename</replaceable>. If the file does not
- exist, it is created. The <systemitem>umask</> is set to 077, so access to
- the log file from other users is disallowed by default.
+ exist, it is created. The <systemitem>umask</> is set to 077,
+ so access to the log file is disallowed to other users by default.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>-m <replaceable class="parameter">mode</replaceable></option></term>
+ <term><option>--mode <replaceable class="parameter">mode</replaceable></option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Specifies the shutdown mode. <replaceable>mode</replaceable>
<command>postgres</command> command.
</para>
<para>
- The options are usually surrounded by single or double
+ The options should usually be surrounded by single or double
+ quotes to ensure that they are passed through as a group.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>-o <replaceable class="parameter">initdb-options</replaceable></option></term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Specifies options to be passed directly to the
+ <command>initdb</command> command.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The options should usually be surrounded by single or double
quotes to ensure that they are passed through as a group.
</para>
</listitem>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>-s</option></term>
+ <term><option>--silent</option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Only print errors, no informational messages.
+ Print only errors, no informational messages.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>-t</option></term>
+ <term><option>--timeout</option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- The number of seconds to wait when waiting for start or shutdown
- to complete. The default is 60 seconds.
+ The maximum number of seconds to wait when waiting for startup or
+ shutdown to complete. The default is 60 seconds.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>-V</></term>
+ <term><option>--version</></term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Print the <application>pg_ctl</application> version and exit.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
<varlistentry>
<term><option>-w</option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Wait for the start or shutdown to complete. The default wait time
- is 60 seconds but can be overridden with the option <option>-t</option>.
- To wait is the default option for shutdowns. A successful
- shutdown is indicated by removal of the <acronym>PID</acronym>
- file. For starting up, a successful <command>psql -l</command>
- indicates success. <command>pg_ctl</command> will attempt to
- use the proper port for <application>psql</>. If the environment variable
- <envar>PGPORT</envar> exists, that is used. Otherwise, it will see if a port
- has been set in the <filename>postgresql.conf</filename> file.
- If neither of those is used, it will use the default port that
- <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> was compiled with
- (5432 by default). When waiting, <command>pg_ctl</command> will
- return an accurate exit code based on the success of the startup
- or shutdown.
+ Wait for the startup or shutdown to complete.
+ Waiting is the default option for shutdowns, but not startups.
+ When waiting for startup, <command>pg_ctl</command> repeatedly
+ attempts to connect to the server.
+ When waiting for shutdown, <command>pg_ctl</command> waits for
+ the server to remove its <acronym>PID</acronym> file.
+ This option allows the entry of an <acronym>SSL</> passphrase on startup.
+ <command>pg_ctl</command> returns an exit code based on the
+ success of the startup or shutdown.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><option>-W</option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Do not wait for start or shutdown to complete. This is the
- default for starts and restarts.
+ Do not wait for startup or shutdown to complete. This is the
+ default for start and restart modes.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>-?</></term>
+ <term><option>--help</></term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Show help about <application>pg_ctl</application> command line
+ arguments, and exit.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
- <term><option>-N <replaceable class="parameter">servicename</replaceable></option></term>
+ <term><option>-e <replaceable class="parameter">source</replaceable></option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Name of the system service to register. The name will be used
- as both the service name and the display name.
+ Name of the event source for <application>pg_ctl</application> to use
+ for logging to the event log when running as a Windows service. The
+ default is <literal>PostgreSQL</literal>. Note that this only controls
+ the logging from <application>pg_ctl</application> itself - once
+ started, the server will use the event source specified
+ by <xref linkend="guc-event-source">. Should the server fail during
+ early startup, it may also log using the default event
+ source <literal>PostgreSQL</literal>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
- <term><option>-P <replaceable class="parameter">password</replaceable></option></term>
+ <term><option>-N <replaceable class="parameter">servicename</replaceable></option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Password for the user to start the service.
+ Name of the system service to register. The name will be used
+ as both the service name and the display name.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
- <term><option>-U <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></option></term>
+ <term><option>-P <replaceable class="parameter">password</replaceable></option></term>
<listitem>
<para>
- User name for the user to start the service. For domain users, use the
- format <literal>DOMAIN\username</literal>.
+ Password for the user to start the service.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
+
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term><option>-U <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></option></term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ User name for the user to start the service. For domain users, use the
+ format <literal>DOMAIN\username</literal>.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect2>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
- <varlistentry>
- <term><envar>PGHOST</envar></term>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Default host name or Unix-domain socket location for <xref
- linkend="app-psql"> (used by the <option>-w</option> option).
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
- <varlistentry>
- <term><envar>PGPORT</envar></term>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Default port number for <xref linkend="app-psql"> (used by the <option>-w</option> option).
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
</variablelist>
<para>
- For additional server variables, see <xref linkend="app-postgres">.
- This utility, like most other <productname>PostgreSQL</> utilities,
+ <command>pg_ctl</command>, like most other <productname>PostgreSQL</>
+ utilities,
also uses the environment variables supported by <application>libpq</>
(see <xref linkend="libpq-envars">).
+ For additional server variables, see <xref linkend="app-postgres">.
</para>
</refsect1>
<para>
The existence of this file in the data directory is used to help
<application>pg_ctl</application> determine if the server is
- currently running or not.
+ currently running.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<listitem>
<para>If this file exists in the data directory,
- <application>pg_ctl</application> (in <option>restart</option> mode)
+ <application>pg_ctl</application> (in <option>restart</option> mode)
will pass the contents of the file as options to
- <application>postgres</application>, unless overridden
- by the <option>-o</option> option. The contents of this file
+ <application>postgres</application>, unless overridden
+ by the <option>-o</option> option. The contents of this file
are also displayed in <option>status</option> mode.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
- <varlistentry>
- <term><filename>postgresql.conf</filename></term>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- This file, located in the data directory, is parsed to find the
- proper port to use with <application>psql</application> when the
- <option>-w</option> is given in <option>start</option> mode.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </varlistentry>
-
</variablelist>
</refsect1>
- <refsect1>
- <title>Notes</title>
-
- <para>
- Waiting for complete start is not a well-defined operation and might
- fail if access control is set up so that a local client cannot
- connect without manual interaction (e.g., password authentication). For
- additional connection variables, see <xref linkend="libpq-envars">,
- and for passwords, also see <xref linkend="libpq-pgpass">.
- </para>
- </refsect1>
-
-
<refsect1 id="R1-APP-PGCTL-2">
<title>Examples</title>
<title>Starting the Server</title>
<para>
- To start up a server:
+ To start the server:
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl start</userinput>
</screen>
</para>
<para>
- An example of starting the server, blocking until the server has
- come up is:
+ To start the server, waiting until the server is
+ accepting connections:
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl -w start</userinput>
</screen>
</para>
<para>
- For a server using port 5433, and
+ To start the server using port 5433, and
running without <function>fsync</function>, use:
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl -o "-F -p 5433" start</userinput>
-</screen>
- </para>
+</screen></para>
</refsect2>
<refsect2 id="R2-APP-PGCTL-4">
<title>Stopping the Server</title>
<para>
+ To stop the server, use:
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl stop</userinput>
</screen>
- stops the server. Using the <option>-m</option> switch allows one
- to control <emphasis>how</emphasis> the backend shuts down.
- </para>
+ The <option>-m</option> option allows control over
+ <emphasis>how</emphasis> the server shuts down:
+<screen>
+<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl stop -m fast</userinput>
+</screen></para>
</refsect2>
<refsect2 id="R2-APP-PGCTL-5">
<para>
Restarting the server is almost equivalent to stopping the
- server and starting it again
+ server and starting it again,
except that <command>pg_ctl</command> saves and reuses the command line options that
were passed to the previously running instance. To restart
the server in the simplest form, use:
</para>
<para>
- To restart server,
- waiting for it to shut down and to come up:
+ To restart the server,
+ waiting for it to shut down and restart:
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl -w restart</userinput>
</screen>
</para>
<para>
- To restart using port 5433 and disabling <function>fsync</> after restarting:
+ To restart using port 5433, disabling <function>fsync</> upon restart:
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl -o "-F -p 5433" restart</userinput>
-</screen>
- </para>
+</screen></para>
</refsect2>
<refsect2 id="R2-APP-PGCTL-6">
<title>Showing the Server Status</title>
<para>
- Here is a sample status output from
+ Here is sample status output from
<application>pg_ctl</application>:
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_ctl status</userinput>
<computeroutput>
-pg_ctl: server is running (pid: 13718)
-Command line was:
-/usr/local/pgsql/bin/postgres '-D' '/usr/local/pgsql/data' '-p' '5433' '-B' '128'
+pg_ctl: server is running (PID: 13718)
+/usr/local/pgsql/bin/postgres "-D" "/usr/local/pgsql/data" "-p" "5433" "-B" "128"
</computeroutput>
</screen>
This is the command line that would be invoked in restart mode.
projects / postgresql / blobdiff