NAME¶

pg_ctl - initialize, start, stop, or control a PostgreSQL server

SYNOPSIS¶

pg_ctl init[db] [-s] [-D datadir] [-o initdb-options]

pg_ctl start [-w] [-t seconds] [-s] [-D datadir] [-l filename] [-o options] [-p path] [-c]

pg_ctl stop [-W] [-t seconds] [-s] [-D datadir] [-m s[mart] | f[ast] | i[mmediate]]

pg_ctl restart [-w] [-t seconds] [-s] [-D datadir] [-c] [-m s[mart] | f[ast] | i[mmediate]] [-o options]

pg_ctl reload [-s] [-D datadir]

pg_ctl status [-D datadir]

pg_ctl promote [-s] [-D datadir]

pg_ctl kill signal_name process_id

pg_ctl register [-N servicename] [-U username] [-P password] [-D datadir] [-S a[uto] | d[emand]] [-w] [-t seconds] [-s] [-o options]

pg_ctl unregister [-N servicename]

DESCRIPTION¶

pg_ctl is a utility for initializing a PostgreSQL database cluster, starting, stopping, or restarting the PostgreSQL database server (postgres(1)), or displaying the status of a running server. Although the server can be started manually, pg_ctl encapsulates tasks such as redirecting log output and properly detaching from the terminal and process group. It also provides convenient options for controlled shutdown.

The init or initdb mode creates a new PostgreSQL database cluster. A database cluster is a collection of databases that are managed by a single server instance. This mode invokes the initdb command. See initdb(1) for details.

In start mode, a new server is launched. The server is started in the background, and its standard input is attached to /dev/null (or nul on Windows). On Unix-like systems, by default, the server's standard output and standard error are sent to pg_ctl's standard output (not standard error). The standard output of pg_ctl should then be redirected to a file or piped to another process such as a log rotating program like rotatelogs; otherwise postgres 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 -l to append the server's output to a log file. Use of either -l or output redirection is recommended.

In stop mode, the server that is running in the specified data directory is shut down. Three different shutdown methods can be selected with the -m option. “Smart” 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. “Fast” 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. “Immediate” mode will abort all server processes immediately, without a clean shutdown. This will lead to a crash-recovery run on the next restart.

restart mode effectively executes a stop followed by a start. This allows changing the postgres command-line options.

reload mode simply sends the postgres process a SIGHUP signal, causing it to reread its configuration files (postgresql.conf, pg_hba.conf, etc.). This allows changing of configuration-file options that do not require a complete restart to take effect.

status mode checks whether a server is running in the specified data directory. If it is, the PID and the command line options that were used to invoke it are displayed. If the server is not running, the process returns an exit status of 3.

In promote mode, the standby server that is running in the specified data directory is commanded to exit recovery and begin read-write operations.

kill mode allows you to send a signal to a specified process. This is particularly valuable for Microsoft Windows which does not have a kill command. Use --help to see a list of supported signal names.

register mode allows you to register a system service on Microsoft Windows. The -S option allows selection of service start type, either “auto” (start service automatically on system startup) or “demand” (start service on demand).

unregister mode allows you to unregister a system service on Microsoft Windows. This undoes the effects of the register command.

OPTIONS¶

-c, --core-file

-D datadir, --pgdata datadir

-l filename, --log filename

-m mode, --mode mode

-o options

-o initdb-options

-p path

-s, --silent

-t, --timeout

-V, --version

-w

-W

-?, --help

ENVIRONMENT¶

PGCTLTIMEOUT

PGDATA

pg_ctl, like most other PostgreSQL utilities, also uses the environment variables supported by libpq (see Section 31.14, “Environment Variables”, in the documentation). For additional server variables, see postgres(1).

FILES¶

postmaster.pid

postmaster.opts

EXAMPLES¶

$ pg_ctl start

$ pg_ctl -w start

$ pg_ctl -o "-F -p 5433" start

$ pg_ctl stop

$ pg_ctl stop -m fast

$ pg_ctl restart

$ pg_ctl -w restart

$ pg_ctl -o "-F -p 5433" restart

$ pg_ctl status
pg_ctl: server is running (PID: 13718)
/usr/local/pgsql/bin/postgres "-D" "/usr/local/pgsql/data" "-p" "5433" "-B" "128"

SEE ALSO¶

initdb(1), postgres(1)