--core-files

Attempt to allow server crashes to produce core files, on platforms where this is possible, by lifting anysoft resource limit placed on core files. This is useful in debugging or diagnosing problems by allowing astack trace to be obtained from a failed server process.

--pgdata

Specifies the file system location of the database configuration files. If this option is omitted, theenvironment variable PGDATA is used.

--log

Append the server log output to filename. If the file does not exist, it is created. The umask is set to077, so access to the log file is disallowed to other users by default.

--mode

Specifies the shutdown mode. mode can be smart, fast, or immediate, or the first letter of one of thesethree. If this option is omitted, fast is the default.

--options

Specifies options to be passed directly to the postgres command. -o can be specified multiple times, withall the given options being passed through.The options should usually be surrounded by single or double quotes to ensure that they are passed throughas a group.

-p

Specifies the location of the postgres executable. By default the postgres executable is taken from thesame directory as pg_ctl, or failing that, the hard-wired installation directory. It is not necessary touse this option unless you are doing something unusual and get errors that the postgres executable was notfound.In init mode, this option analogously specifies the location of the initdb executable.

--silent

Print only errors, no informational messages.

--timeout

Specifies the maximum number of seconds to wait when waiting for an operation to complete (see option -w).Defaults to the value of the PGCTLTIMEOUT environment variable or, if not set, to 60 seconds.

--version

Print the pg_ctl version and exit.

--wait

Wait for the operation to complete. This is supported for the modes start, stop, restart, promote, andregister, and is the default for those modes.When waiting, pg_ctl repeatedly checks the server's PID file, sleeping for a short amount of time betweenchecks. Startup is considered complete when the PID file indicates that the server is ready to acceptconnections. Shutdown is considered complete when the server removes the PID file. pg_ctl returns an exitcode based on the success of the startup or shutdown.If the operation does not complete within the timeout (see option -t), then pg_ctl exits with a nonzeroexit status. But note that the operation might continue in the background and eventually succeed.

--no-wait

Do not wait for the operation to complete. This is the opposite of the option -w.If waiting is disabled, the requested action is triggered, but there is no feedback about its success. Inthat case, the server log file or an external monitoring system would have to be used to check theprogress and success of the operation.In prior releases of PostgreSQL, this was the default except for the stop mode.

--help

Show help about pg_ctl command line arguments, and exit.If an option is specified that is valid, but not relevant to the selected operating mode, pg_ctl ignores it.Options for Windows

-e

Name of the event source for pg_ctl to use for logging to the event log when running as a Windows service.The default is PostgreSQL. Note that this only controls messages sent from pg_ctl itself; once started,the server will use the event source specified by its event_source parameter. Should the server fail veryearly in startup, before that parameter has been set, it might also log using the default event sourcename PostgreSQL.

-N

Name of the system service to register. This name will be used as both the service name and the displayname. The default is PostgreSQL.

-P

Password for the user to run the service as.

-S

Start type of the system service. start-type can be auto, or demand, or the first letter of one of thesetwo. If this option is omitted, auto is the default.

-U

User name for the user to run the service as. For domain users, use the format DOMAIN\username.ENVIRONMENTPGCTLTIMEOUTDefault limit on the number of seconds to wait when waiting for startup or shutdown to complete. If notset, the default is 60 seconds.PGDATADefault data directory location.Most pg_ctl modes require knowing the data directory location; therefore, the -D option is required unlessPGDATA is set.pg_ctl, like most other PostgreSQL utilities, also uses the environment variables supported by libpq (seeSection 33.14).For additional variables that affect the server, see postgres(1).FILESpostmaster.pidpg_ctl examines this file in the data directory to determine whether the server is currently running.postmaster.optsIf this file exists in the data directory, pg_ctl (in restart mode) will pass the contents of the file asoptions to postgres, unless overridden by the -o option. The contents of this file are also displayed instatus mode.EXAMPLESStarting the ServerTo start the server, waiting until the server is accepting connections:$ pg_ctl startTo start the server using port 5433, and running without fsync, use:$ pg_ctl -o "-F -p 5433" startStopping the ServerTo stop the server, use:$ pg_ctl stopThe -m option allows control over how the server shuts down:$ pg_ctl stop -m smartRestarting the ServerRestarting the server is almost equivalent to stopping the server and starting it again, except that bydefault, pg_ctl saves and reuses the command line options that were passed to the previously-running instance.To restart the server using the same options as before, use:$ pg_ctl restartBut if -o is specified, that replaces any previous options. To restart using port 5433, disabling fsync uponrestart:$ pg_ctl -o "-F -p 5433" restartShowing the Server StatusHere is sample status output from pg_ctl:$ pg_ctl statuspg_ctl: server is running (PID: 13718)/usr/local/pgsql/bin/postgres "-D" "/usr/local/pgsql/data" "-p" "5433" "-B" "128"The second line is the command that would be invoked in restart mode.