What prevents the PostgreSQL server from starting when there's an error in primary_conninfo?

Question

I'm using PostgreSQL 14, and during the replication setup, I forgot to include single quotes around the value of primary_conninfo. I'm puzzled as to why the server isn't starting, and I'm not finding any logs indicating an error in the postgresql.conf file.

The original string format is "primary_conninfo = 'host=XX port=5432 user=XX password=XX'" without single quotes. I attempted to use "primary_conninfo = host=XX port=5432 user=XX password=XX" without enclosing it in single quotes. I'm not receiving any logs or indications of the server starting. Can someone help me understand why this is happening?

Answer 1

PostgreSQL doesn't try to recover from syntax errors in the config file, it just aborts the start up.

Since the logging configuration is set in that same file, it doesn't get activated and the error isn't logged in the usual place. Where it is logged instead depends on how you are trying to do the start-up, which you haven't told us.

If you are starting manually with pg_ctl without -l, the error just goes to your terminal. If you starting with sudo service ... on a typical ubuntu/apt install, the error seems to go to /var/log/syslog.

Answer 2

If there is a syntax error or a bad setting in postgresql.conf, PostgreSQL will refuse to start, because it does not have a valid configuration. Look into the PostgreSQL log file to determine the error.

Answer 3

Run pg_ctl -D <your-data-directory> restart and see if its working.