1PG_CTL(1) PostgreSQL 9.2.24 Documentation PG_CTL(1)
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6 pg_ctl - initialize, start, stop, or control a PostgreSQL server
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9 pg_ctl init[db] [-s] [-D datadir] [-o initdb-options]
10 pg_ctl start [-w] [-t seconds] [-s] [-D datadir] [-l filename]
12 [-o options] [-p path] [-c]
13 pg_ctl stop [-W] [-t seconds] [-s] [-D datadir]
15 [-m s[mart] | f[ast] | i[mmediate]]
16 pg_ctl restart [-w] [-t seconds] [-s] [-D datadir] [-c]
18 [-m s[mart] | f[ast] | i[mmediate]] [-o options]
19 pg_ctl reload [-s] [-D datadir]
21 pg_ctl status [-D datadir]
23 pg_ctl promote [-s] [-D datadir]
25 pg_ctl kill signal_name process_id
27 pg_ctl register [-N servicename] [-U username] [-P password]
29 [-D datadir] [-S a[uto] | d[emand]] [-w] [-t seconds] [-s]
30 [-o options]
31 pg_ctl unregister [-N servicename]
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35 pg_ctl is a utility for initializing a PostgreSQL database cluster,
36 starting, stopping, or restarting the PostgreSQL database server
37 (postgres(1)), or displaying the status of a running server. Although
38 the server can be started manually, pg_ctl encapsulates tasks such as
39 redirecting log output and properly detaching from the terminal and
40 process group. It also provides convenient options for controlled
41 shutdown.
42 The init or initdb mode creates a new PostgreSQL database cluster. A
44 database cluster is a collection of databases that are managed by a
45 single server instance. This mode invokes the initdb command. See
46 initdb(1) for details.
47 In start mode, a new server is launched. The server is started in the
49 background, and its standard input is attached to /dev/null (or nul on
50 Windows). On Unix-like systems, by default, the server's standard
51 output and standard error are sent to pg_ctl's standard output (not
52 standard error). The standard output of pg_ctl should then be
53 redirected to a file or piped to another process such as a log rotating
54 program like rotatelogs; otherwise postgres will write its output to
55 the controlling terminal (from the background) and will not leave the
56 shell's process group. On Windows, by default the server's standard
57 output and standard error are sent to the terminal. These default
58 behaviors can be changed by using -l to append the server's output to a
59 log file. Use of either -l or output redirection is recommended.
60 In stop mode, the server that is running in the specified data
62 directory is shut down. Three different shutdown methods can be
63 selected with the -m option. “Smart” mode (the default) waits for all
64 active clients to disconnect and any online backup to finish. If the
65 server is in hot standby, recovery and streaming replication will be
66 terminated once all clients have disconnected. “Fast” mode does not
67 wait for clients to disconnect and will terminate an online backup in
68 progress. All active transactions are rolled back and clients are
69 forcibly disconnected, then the server is shut down. “Immediate” mode
70 will abort all server processes immediately, without a clean shutdown.
71 This will lead to a crash-recovery run on the next restart.
72 restart mode effectively executes a stop followed by a start. This
74 allows changing the postgres command-line options.
75 reload mode simply sends the postgres process a SIGHUP signal, causing
77 it to reread its configuration files (postgresql.conf, pg_hba.conf,
78 etc.). This allows changing of configuration-file options that do not
79 require a complete restart to take effect.
80 status mode checks whether a server is running in the specified data
82 directory. If it is, the PID and the command line options that were
83 used to invoke it are displayed. If the server is not running, the
84 process returns an exit status of 3.
85 In promote mode, the standby server that is running in the specified
87 data directory is commanded to exit recovery and begin read-write
88 operations.
89 kill mode allows you to send a signal to a specified process. This is
91 particularly valuable for Microsoft Windows which does not have a kill
92 command. Use --help to see a list of supported signal names.
93 register mode allows you to register a system service on Microsoft
95 Windows. The -S option allows selection of service start type, either
96 “auto” (start service automatically on system startup) or “demand”
97 (start service on demand).
98 unregister mode allows you to unregister a system service on Microsoft
100 Windows. This undoes the effects of the register command.
101
103 -c, --core-file
104 Attempt to allow server crashes to produce core files, on platforms
105 where this is possible, by lifting any soft resource limit placed
106 on core files. This is useful in debugging or diagnosing problems
107 by allowing a stack trace to be obtained from a failed server
108 process.
109 -D datadir, --pgdata datadir
111 Specifies the file system location of the database files. If this
112 is omitted, the environment variable PGDATA is used.
113 -l filename, --log filename
115 Append the server log output to filename. If the file does not
116 exist, it is created. The umask is set to 077, so access to the log
117 file is disallowed to other users by default.
118 -m mode, --mode mode
120 Specifies the shutdown mode. mode can be smart, fast, or
121 immediate, or the first letter of one of these three. If this is
122 omitted, smart is used.
123 -o options
125 Specifies options to be passed directly to the postgres command.
126 The options should usually be surrounded by single or double quotes
128 to ensure that they are passed through as a group.
129 -o initdb-options
131 Specifies options to be passed directly to the initdb command.
132 The options should usually be surrounded by single or double quotes
134 to ensure that they are passed through as a group.
135 -p path
137 Specifies the location of the postgres executable. By default the
138 postgres executable is taken from the same directory as pg_ctl, or
139 failing that, the hard-wired installation directory. It is not
140 necessary to use this option unless you are doing something unusual
141 and get errors that the postgres executable was not found.
142 In init mode, this option analogously specifies the location of the
144 initdb executable.
145 -s, --silent
147 Print only errors, no informational messages.
148 -t, --timeout
150 The maximum number of seconds to wait when waiting for startup or
151 shutdown to complete. Defaults to the value of the PGCTLTIMEOUT
152 environment variable or, if not set, to 60 seconds.
153 -V, --version
155 Print the pg_ctl version and exit.
156 -w
158 Wait for the startup or shutdown to complete. Waiting is the
159 default option for shutdowns, but not startups. When waiting for
160 startup, pg_ctl repeatedly attempts to connect to the server. When
161 waiting for shutdown, pg_ctl waits for the server to remove its PID
162 file. pg_ctl returns an exit code based on the success of the
163 startup or shutdown.
164 -W
166 Do not wait for startup or shutdown to complete. This is the
167 default for start and restart modes.
168 -?, --help
170 Show help about pg_ctl command line arguments, and exit.
171 Options for Windows
173 -N servicename
174 Name of the system service to register. The name will be used as
175 both the service name and the display name.
176 -P password
178 Password for the user to start the service.
179 -S start-type
181 Start type of the system service to register. start-type can be
182 auto, or demand, or the first letter of one of these two. If this
183 is omitted, auto is used.
184 -U username
186 User name for the user to start the service. For domain users, use
187 the format DOMAIN\username.
188
190 PGCTLTIMEOUT
191 Default limit on the number of seconds to wait when waiting for
192 startup or shutdown to complete. If not set, the default is 60
193 seconds.
194 PGDATA
196 Default data directory location.
197 pg_ctl, like most other PostgreSQL utilities, also uses the environment
199 variables supported by libpq (see Section 31.14, “Environment
200 Variables”, in the documentation). For additional server variables, see
201 postgres(1).
202
204 postmaster.pid
205 The existence of this file in the data directory is used to help
206 pg_ctl determine if the server is currently running.
207 postmaster.opts
209 If this file exists in the data directory, pg_ctl (in restart mode)
210 will pass the contents of the file as options to postgres, unless
211 overridden by the -o option. The contents of this file are also
212 displayed in status mode.
213
215 Starting the Server
216 To start the server:
217 $ pg_ctl start
219 To start the server, waiting until the server is accepting connections:
221 $ pg_ctl -w start
223 To start the server using port 5433, and running without fsync, use:
225 $ pg_ctl -o "-F -p 5433" start
227 Stopping the Server
229 To stop the server, use:
230 $ pg_ctl stop
232 The -m option allows control over how the server shuts down:
234 $ pg_ctl stop -m fast
236 Restarting the Server
238 Restarting the server is almost equivalent to stopping the server and
239 starting it again, except that pg_ctl saves and reuses the command line
240 options that were passed to the previously running instance. To restart
241 the server in the simplest form, use:
242 $ pg_ctl restart
244 To restart the server, waiting for it to shut down and restart:
246 $ pg_ctl -w restart
248 To restart using port 5433, disabling fsync upon restart:
250 $ pg_ctl -o "-F -p 5433" restart
252 Showing the Server Status
254 Here is sample status output from pg_ctl:
255 $ pg_ctl status
257 pg_ctl: server is running (PID: 13718)
258 /usr/local/pgsql/bin/postgres "-D" "/usr/local/pgsql/data" "-p" "5433" "-B" "128"
259 This is the command line that would be invoked in restart mode.
261
263 initdb(1), postgres(1)
264PostgreSQL 9.2.24 2017-11-06 PG_CTL(1)