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Return to PostgreSQL, PostgreSQL CLI commands, initdb

pg_ctl –help

pg_ctl is a utility to initialize, start, stop, or control a PostgreSQL server.

Usage:

 pg_ctl init[db]   [-D DATADIR] [-s] [-o OPTIONS]
 pg_ctl start      [-D DATADIR] [-l FILENAME] [-W] [-t SECS] [-s]
                   [-o OPTIONS] [-p PATH] [-c]
 pg_ctl stop       [-D DATADIR] [-m SHUTDOWN-MODE] [-W] [-t SECS] [-s]
 pg_ctl restart    [-D DATADIR] [-m SHUTDOWN-MODE] [-W] [-t SECS] [-s]
                   [-o OPTIONS] [-c]
 pg_ctl reload     [-D DATADIR] [-s]
 pg_ctl status     [-D DATADIR]
 pg_ctl promote    [-D DATADIR] [-W] [-t SECS] [-s]
 pg_ctl logrotate  [-D DATADIR] [-s]
 pg_ctl kill       SIGNALNAME PID

Common options:

 -D, --pgdata=DATADIR   location of the database storage area
 -s, --silent           only print errors, no informational messages
 -t, --timeout=SECS     seconds to wait when using -w option
 -V, --version          output version information, then exit
 -w, --wait             wait until operation completes (default)
 -W, --no-wait          do not wait until operation completes
 -?, --help             show this help, then exit

If the -D option is omitted, the environment variable PGDATA is used.

Options for start or restart:

 -c, --core-files       allow postgres to produce core files
 -l, --log=FILENAME     write (or append) server log to FILENAME
 -o, --options=OPTIONS  command line options to pass to postgres
                        (PostgreSQL server executable) or initdb
 -p PATH-TO-POSTGRES    normally not necessary

Options for stop or restart:

 -m, --mode=MODE        MODE can be "smart", "fast", or "immediate"

Shutdown modes are:

 smart       quit after all clients have disconnected
 fast        quit directly, with proper shutdown (default)
 immediate   quit without complete shutdown; will lead to recovery on restart

Allowed signal names for kill:

 ABRT HUP INT KILL QUIT TERM USR1 USR2

Report bugs to pgsql-bugs@lists.postgresql.org.