PG_CONFTOOL(1)

✨ PG_CONFTOOL(1) ✨

okay bestie, welcome to pg_conftool 💖 this is section 1 of the manual, from the Debian PostgreSQL infrastructure era, and she is here to help you read and edit PostgreSQL cluster config files without losing your whole mind 💅

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🌸 NAME 🌸

pg_conftool — read and edit PostgreSQL cluster configuration files 🦋

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

pg_conftool [options] [version cluster] [configfile] command

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so, like, pg_conftool lets you show and set parameters in PostgreSQL configuration files. that's the whole gig. she's a config file whisperer 🧚

if you ghost the version cluster part and don't give it at all, it defaults to the default cluster — check user_clusters(5) and postgresqlrc(5) for the deets on that, iykyk 📖

and if you skip configfile, it just defaults to postgresql.conf like it's no big deal. configfile can also be a path, and in that case version cluster gets completely ignored — not even a vibe check, just straight up sidelined 💀

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💅 OPTIONS 💅

• -b, --boolean — format boolean values as on or off. ⚠️ heads up: this does not work for "show all", so don't come crying to me when it doesn't.
• -s, --short — just show the value, not the whole key = value pair. short queen behavior ✨
• -v, --verbose — verbose output, because sometimes you want her to talk more 💬
• --help — print help. classic. iconic. we love a --help. 🫶

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👑 COMMANDS 👑

• show parameter|all — show a single parameter, or all of the parameters present in this config file. pick your fighter ⭐
• set parameter value — set or update a parameter. this is the glow-up button 🌈
• remove parameter — remove a parameter from a config file by commenting it out. she's not gone, she's just resting 🙈
• edit — open the config file in an editor. unless $EDITOR is set, vi gets used, so... godspeed to anyone who hasn't learned how to exit vi yet 😭 (it's :q! bestie, you're welcome)

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

user_clusters(5), postgresqlrc(5)

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💜 AUTHOR 💜

Christoph Berg <myon@debian.org> — the legend herself 🎀

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! written by Debian, dated 2026-07-28, and that's your sign-off 💖 now go forth and set some parameters, you absolute main character 👑✨