PG_CTL(1)               PostgreSQL 9.4.5 Documentation               PG_CTL(1)



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.  restart might fail
       if relative paths specified were specified on the command-line during
       server start.

       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. If an accessible data directory is
       not specified, the process returns an exit status of 4.

       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
           Attempt to allow server crashes to produce core files, on platforms
           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.

       -D datadir
       --pgdata datadir
           Specifies the file system location of the database configuration
           files. If this is omitted, the environment variable PGDATA is used.

       -l filename
       --log filename
           Append the server log output to filename. If the file does not
           exist, it is created. The umask is set to 077, so access to the log
           file is disallowed to other users by default.

       -m mode
       --mode mode
           Specifies the shutdown mode.  mode can be smart, fast, or
           immediate, or the first letter of one of these three. If this is
           omitted, smart is used.

       -o options
           Specifies options to be passed directly to the postgres command.

           The options should usually be surrounded by single or double quotes
           to ensure that they are passed through as a group.

       -o initdb-options
           Specifies options to be passed directly to the initdb command.

           The options should usually be surrounded by single or double quotes
           to ensure that they are passed through as a group.

       -p path
           Specifies the location of the postgres executable. By default the
           postgres executable is taken from the same directory as pg_ctl, or
           failing that, the hard-wired installation directory. It is not
           necessary to use this option unless you are doing something unusual
           and get errors that the postgres executable was not found.

           In init mode, this option analogously specifies the location of the
           initdb executable.

       -s
       --silent
           Print only errors, no informational messages.

       -t
       --timeout
           The maximum number of seconds to wait when waiting for startup or
           shutdown to complete. The default is 60 seconds.

       -V
       --version
           Print the pg_ctl version and exit.

       -w
           Wait for the startup or shutdown to complete. Waiting is the
           default option for shutdowns, but not startups. When waiting for
           startup, pg_ctl repeatedly attempts to connect to the server. When
           waiting for shutdown, pg_ctl waits for the server to remove its PID
           file. This option allows the entry of an SSL passphrase on startup.
           pg_ctl returns an exit code based on the success of the startup or
           shutdown.

       -W
           Do not wait for startup or shutdown to complete. This is the
           default for start and restart modes.

       -?
       --help
           Show help about pg_ctl command line arguments, and exit.

   Options for Windows
       -N servicename
           Name of the system service to register. The name will be used as
           both the service name and the display name.

       -P password
           Password for the user to start the service.

       -S start-type
           Start type of the system service to register. start-type can be
           auto, or demand, or the first letter of one of these two. If this
           is omitted, auto is used.

       -U username
           User name for the user to start the service. For domain users, use
           the format DOMAIN\username.

ENVIRONMENT
       PGDATA
           Default data directory location.

       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
           The existence of this file in the data directory is used to help
           pg_ctl determine if the server is currently running.

       postmaster.opts
           If this file exists in the data directory, pg_ctl (in restart mode)
           will pass the contents of the file as options to postgres, unless
           overridden by the -o option. The contents of this file are also
           displayed in status mode.

EXAMPLES
   Starting the Server
       To start the server:

           $ pg_ctl start

       To start the server, waiting until the server is accepting connections:

           $ pg_ctl -w start

       To start the server using port 5433, and running without fsync, use:

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

   Stopping the Server
       To stop the server, use:

           $ pg_ctl stop

       The -m option allows control over how the server shuts down:

           $ pg_ctl stop -m fast

   Restarting the Server
       Restarting the server is almost equivalent to stopping the server and
       starting it again, except that pg_ctl saves and reuses the command line
       options that were passed to the previously running instance. To restart
       the server in the simplest form, use:

           $ pg_ctl restart

       To restart the server, waiting for it to shut down and restart:

           $ pg_ctl -w restart

       To restart using port 5433, disabling fsync upon restart:

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

   Showing the Server Status
       Here is sample status output from pg_ctl:

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

       This is the command line that would be invoked in restart mode.

SEE ALSO
       initdb(1), postgres(1)



PostgreSQL 9.4.5                     2015                            PG_CTL(1)
