Where does PostgreSQL store configuration/conf files? - postgresql

Question

I have recently installed PostgreSQL on Ubuntu with the EnterpriseDB package. I can connect to the database locally, but I can't configure it because I can't find config files. I searched through entire hard drive and found only samples like pg_hba.conf.sample
Where are the PostgreSQL .conf files?

Answer 1

Or ask your database:
$ psql -U postgres -c 'SHOW config_file'
or, if logged in as the ubuntu user:
$ sudo -u postgres psql -c 'SHOW config_file'

Answer 2

Ubuntu 13.04 installed using software centre :
The location for mine is:
/etc/postgresql/9.1/main/postgresql.conf

Answer 3

Where are my postgres *.conf files?
Query the database with the sql query:
SHOW config_file;
The reason you may have trouble finding postgresql.conf is because it is owned by postgres, not root.
Here is where mine is on Fedora 17:
[root#defiant /]# ll /var/lib/pgsql/data/postgresql.conf
Notice it is owned by postgres:
-rw------- 1 postgres postgres 19332 Oct 14 09:38
/var/lib/pgsql/data/postgresql.conf
It has permission 600 which explains why you have a hard time finding it with a file search. The location of postgresql.conf will be different depending on what operating system you are using.
Here is the contents of mine:
# -----------------------------
# PostgreSQL configuration file
# -----------------------------
#
# This file consists of lines of the form:
#
# name = value
#
# (The "=" is optional.) Whitespace may be used. Comments are introduced with
# "#" anywhere on a line. The complete list of parameter names and allowed
# values can be found in the PostgreSQL documentation.
#
# The commented-out settings shown in this file represent the default values.
# Re-commenting a setting is NOT sufficient to revert it to the default value;
# you need to reload the server.
#
# This file is read on server startup and when the server receives a SIGHUP
# signal. If you edit the file on a running system, you have to SIGHUP the
# server for the changes to take effect, or use "pg_ctl reload". Some
# parameters, which are marked below, require a server shutdown and restart to
# take effect.
#
# Any parameter can also be given as a command-line option to the server, e.g.,
# "postgres -c log_connections=on". Some parameters can be changed at run time
# with the "SET" SQL command.
#
# Memory units: kB = kilobytes Time units: ms = milliseconds
# MB = megabytes s = seconds
# GB = gigabytes min = minutes
# h = hours
# d = days
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# FILE LOCATIONS
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# The default values of these variables are driven from the -D command-line
# option or PGDATA environment variable, represented here as ConfigDir.
#data_directory = 'ConfigDir' # use data in another directory
# (change requires restart)
#hba_file = 'ConfigDir/pg_hba.conf' # host-based authentication file
# (change requires restart)
#ident_file = 'ConfigDir/pg_ident.conf' # ident configuration file
# (change requires restart)
# If external_pid_file is not explicitly set, no extra PID file is written.
#external_pid_file = '(none)' # write an extra PID file
# (change requires restart)
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# CONNECTIONS AND AUTHENTICATION
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - Connection Settings -
#listen_addresses = 'localhost' # what IP address(es) to listen on;
# comma-separated list of addresses;
# defaults to 'localhost', '*' = all
# (change requires restart)
#port = 5432 # (change requires restart)
# Note: In RHEL/Fedora installations, you can't set the port number here;
# adjust it in the service file instead.
max_connections = 100 # (change requires restart)
# Note: Increasing max_connections costs ~400 bytes of shared memory per
# connection slot, plus lock space (see max_locks_per_transaction).
#superuser_reserved_connections = 3 # (change requires restart)
#unix_socket_directories = '/var/run/postgresql, /tmp'
# comma-separated list of directories
# (change requires restart)
#unix_socket_group = '' # (change requires restart)
#unix_socket_permissions = 0777 # begin with 0 to use octal notation
# (change requires restart)
#bonjour = off # advertise server via Bonjour
# (change requires restart)
#bonjour_name = '' # defaults to the computer name
# (change requires restart)
# - Security and Authentication -
#authentication_timeout = 1min # 1s-600s
#ssl = off # (change requires restart)
#ssl_ciphers = 'ALL:!ADH:!LOW:!EXP:!MD5:#STRENGTH' # allowed SSL ciphers
# (change requires restart)
#ssl_renegotiation_limit = 512MB # amount of data between renegotiations
#password_encryption = on
#db_user_namespace = off
# Kerberos and GSSAPI
#krb_server_keyfile = ''
#krb_srvname = 'postgres' # (Kerberos only)
#krb_caseins_users = off
# - TCP Keepalives -
# see "man 7 tcp" for details
#tcp_keepalives_idle = 0 # TCP_KEEPIDLE, in seconds;
# 0 selects the system default
#tcp_keepalives_interval = 0 # TCP_KEEPINTVL, in seconds;
# 0 selects the system default
#tcp_keepalives_count = 0 # TCP_KEEPCNT;
# 0 selects the system default
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# RESOURCE USAGE (except WAL)
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - Memory -
shared_buffers = 24MB # min 128kB
# (change requires restart)
#temp_buffers = 8MB # min 800kB
#max_prepared_transactions = 0 # zero disables the feature
# (change requires restart)
# Note: Increasing max_prepared_transactions costs ~600 bytes of shared memory
# per transaction slot, plus lock space (see max_locks_per_transaction).
# It is not advisable to set max_prepared_transactions nonzero unless you
# actively intend to use prepared transactions.
#work_mem = 1MB # min 64kB
#maintenance_work_mem = 16MB # min 1MB
#max_stack_depth = 2MB # min 100kB
# - Kernel Resource Usage -
#max_files_per_process = 1000 # min 25
# (change requires restart)
#shared_preload_libraries = '' # (change requires restart)
# - Cost-Based Vacuum Delay -
#vacuum_cost_delay = 0ms # 0-100 milliseconds
#vacuum_cost_page_hit = 1 # 0-10000 credits
#vacuum_cost_page_miss = 10 # 0-10000 credits
#vacuum_cost_page_dirty = 20 # 0-10000 credits
#vacuum_cost_limit = 200 # 1-10000 credits
# - Background Writer -
#bgwriter_delay = 200ms # 10-10000ms between rounds
#bgwriter_lru_maxpages = 100 # 0-1000 max buffers written/round
#bgwriter_lru_multiplier = 2.0 # 0-10.0 multipler on buffers scanned/round
# - Asynchronous Behavior -
#effective_io_concurrency = 1 # 1-1000. 0 disables prefetching
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# WRITE AHEAD LOG
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - Settings -
#wal_level = minimal # minimal, archive, or hot_standby
# (change requires restart)
#fsync = on # turns forced synchronization on or off
#synchronous_commit = on # synchronization level; on, off, or local
#wal_sync_method = fsync # the default is the first option
# supported by the operating system:
# open_datasync
# fdatasync (default on Linux)
# fsync
# fsync_writethrough
# open_sync
#full_page_writes = on # recover from partial page writes
#wal_buffers = -1 # min 32kB, -1 sets based on shared_buffers
# (change requires restart)
#wal_writer_delay = 200ms # 1-10000 milliseconds
#commit_delay = 0 # range 0-100000, in microseconds
#commit_siblings = 5 # range 1-1000
# - Checkpoints -
#checkpoint_segments = 3 # in logfile segments, min 1, 16MB each
#checkpoint_timeout = 5min # range 30s-1h
#checkpoint_completion_target = 0.5 # checkpoint target duration, 0.0 - 1.0
#checkpoint_warning = 30s # 0 disables
# - Archiving -
#archive_mode = off # allows archiving to be done
# (change requires restart)
#archive_command = '' # command to use to archive a logfile segment
#archive_timeout = 0 # force a logfile segment switch after this
# number of seconds; 0 disables
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# REPLICATION
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - Master Server -
# These settings are ignored on a standby server
#max_wal_senders = 0 # max number of walsender processes
# (change requires restart)
#wal_sender_delay = 1s # walsender cycle time, 1-10000 milliseconds
#wal_keep_segments = 0 # in logfile segments, 16MB each; 0 disables
#vacuum_defer_cleanup_age = 0 # number of xacts by which cleanup is delayed
#replication_timeout = 60s # in milliseconds; 0 disables
#synchronous_standby_names = '' # standby servers that provide sync rep
# comma-separated list of application_name
# from standby(s); '*' = all
# - Standby Servers -
# These settings are ignored on a master server
#hot_standby = off # "on" allows queries during recovery
# (change requires restart)
#max_standby_archive_delay = 30s # max delay before canceling queries
# when reading WAL from archive;
# -1 allows indefinite delay
#max_standby_streaming_delay = 30s # max delay before canceling queries
# when reading streaming WAL;
# -1 allows indefinite delay
#wal_receiver_status_interval = 10s # send replies at least this often
# 0 disables
#hot_standby_feedback = off # send info from standby to prevent
# query conflicts
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# QUERY TUNING
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - Planner Method Configuration -
#enable_bitmapscan = on
#enable_hashagg = on
#enable_hashjoin = on
#enable_indexscan = on
#enable_material = on
#enable_mergejoin = on
#enable_nestloop = on
#enable_seqscan = on
#enable_sort = on
#enable_tidscan = on
# - Planner Cost Constants -
#seq_page_cost = 1.0 # measured on an arbitrary scale
#random_page_cost = 4.0 # same scale as above
#cpu_tuple_cost = 0.01 # same scale as above
#cpu_index_tuple_cost = 0.005 # same scale as above
#cpu_operator_cost = 0.0025 # same scale as above
#effective_cache_size = 128MB
# - Genetic Query Optimizer -
#geqo = on
#geqo_threshold = 12
#geqo_effort = 5 # range 1-10
#geqo_pool_size = 0 # selects default based on effort
#geqo_generations = 0 # selects default based on effort
#geqo_selection_bias = 2.0 # range 1.5-2.0
#geqo_seed = 0.0 # range 0.0-1.0
# - Other Planner Options -
#default_statistics_target = 100 # range 1-10000
#constraint_exclusion = partition # on, off, or partition
#cursor_tuple_fraction = 0.1 # range 0.0-1.0
#from_collapse_limit = 8
#join_collapse_limit = 8 # 1 disables collapsing of explicit
# JOIN clauses
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# ERROR REPORTING AND LOGGING
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - Where to Log -
#log_destination = 'stderr' # Valid values are combinations of
# stderr, csvlog, syslog, and eventlog,
# depending on platform. csvlog
# requires logging_collector to be on.
# This is used when logging to stderr:
logging_collector = on # Enable capturing of stderr and csvlog
# into log files. Required to be on for
# csvlogs.
# (change requires restart)
# These are only used if logging_collector is on:
#log_directory = 'pg_log' # directory where log files are written,
# can be absolute or relative to PGDATA
log_filename = 'postgresql-%a.log' # log file name pattern,
# can include strftime() escapes
#log_file_mode = 0600 # creation mode for log files,
# begin with 0 to use octal notation
log_truncate_on_rotation = on # If on, an existing log file with the
# same name as the new log file will be
# truncated rather than appended to.
# But such truncation only occurs on
# time-driven rotation, not on restarts
# or size-driven rotation. Default is
# off, meaning append to existing files
# in all cases.
log_rotation_age = 1d # Automatic rotation of logfiles will
# happen after that time. 0 disables.
log_rotation_size = 0 # Automatic rotation of logfiles will
# happen after that much log output.
# 0 disables.
# These are relevant when logging to syslog:
#syslog_facility = 'LOCAL0'
#syslog_ident = 'postgres'
#silent_mode = off # Run server silently.
# DO NOT USE without syslog or
# logging_collector
# (change requires restart)
# - When to Log -
#client_min_messages = notice # values in order of decreasing detail:
# debug5
# debug4
# debug3
# debug2
# debug1
# log
# notice
# warning
# error
#log_min_messages = warning # values in order of decreasing detail:
# debug5
# debug4
# debug3
# debug2
# debug1
# info
# notice
# warning
# error
# log
# fatal
# panic
#log_min_error_statement = error # values in order of decreasing detail:
# debug5
# debug4
# debug3
# debug2
# debug1
# info
# notice
# warning
# error
# log
# fatal
# panic (effectively off)
#log_min_duration_statement = -1 # -1 is disabled, 0 logs all statements
# and their durations, > 0 logs only
# statements running at least this number
# of milliseconds
# - What to Log -
#debug_print_parse = off
#debug_print_rewritten = off
#debug_print_plan = off
#debug_pretty_print = on
#log_checkpoints = off
#log_connections = off
#log_disconnections = off
#log_duration = off
#log_error_verbosity = default # terse, default, or verbose messages
#log_hostname = off
#log_line_prefix = '' # special values:
# %a = application name
# %u = user name
# %d = database name
# %r = remote host and port
# %h = remote host
# %p = process ID
# %t = timestamp without milliseconds
# %m = timestamp with milliseconds
# %i = command tag
# %e = SQL state
# %c = session ID
# %l = session line number
# %s = session start timestamp
# %v = virtual transaction ID
# %x = transaction ID (0 if none)
# %q = stop here in non-session
# processes
# %% = '%'
# e.g. '<%u%%%d> '
#log_lock_waits = off # log lock waits >= deadlock_timeout
#log_statement = 'none' # none, ddl, mod, all
#log_temp_files = -1 # log temporary files equal or larger
# than the specified size in kilobytes;
# -1 disables, 0 logs all temp files
#log_timezone = '(defaults to server environment setting)'
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# RUNTIME STATISTICS
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - Query/Index Statistics Collector -
#track_activities = on
#track_counts = on
#track_functions = none # none, pl, all
#track_activity_query_size = 1024 # (change requires restart)
#update_process_title = on
#stats_temp_directory = 'pg_stat_tmp'
# - Statistics Monitoring -
#log_parser_stats = off
#log_planner_stats = off
#log_executor_stats = off
#log_statement_stats = off
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# AUTOVACUUM PARAMETERS
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#autovacuum = on # Enable autovacuum subprocess? 'on'
# requires track_counts to also be on.
#log_autovacuum_min_duration = -1 # -1 disables, 0 logs all actions and
# their durations, > 0 logs only
# actions running at least this number
# of milliseconds.
#autovacuum_max_workers = 3 # max number of autovacuum subprocesses
# (change requires restart)
#autovacuum_naptime = 1min # time between autovacuum runs
#autovacuum_vacuum_threshold = 50 # min number of row updates before
# vacuum
#autovacuum_analyze_threshold = 50 # min number of row updates before
# analyze
#autovacuum_vacuum_scale_factor = 0.2 # fraction of table size before vacuum
#autovacuum_analyze_scale_factor = 0.1 # fraction of table size before analyze
#autovacuum_freeze_max_age = 200000000 # maximum XID age before forced vacuum
# (change requires restart)
#autovacuum_vacuum_cost_delay = 20ms # default vacuum cost delay for
# autovacuum, in milliseconds;
# -1 means use vacuum_cost_delay
#autovacuum_vacuum_cost_limit = -1 # default vacuum cost limit for
# autovacuum, -1 means use
# vacuum_cost_limit
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# CLIENT CONNECTION DEFAULTS
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - Statement Behavior -
#search_path = '"$user",public' # schema names
#default_tablespace = '' # a tablespace name, '' uses the default
#temp_tablespaces = '' # a list of tablespace names, '' uses
# only default tablespace
#check_function_bodies = on
#default_transaction_isolation = 'read committed'
#default_transaction_read_only = off
#default_transaction_deferrable = off
#session_replication_role = 'origin'
#statement_timeout = 0 # in milliseconds, 0 is disabled
#vacuum_freeze_min_age = 50000000
#vacuum_freeze_table_age = 150000000
#bytea_output = 'hex' # hex, escape
#xmlbinary = 'base64'
#xmloption = 'content'
# - Locale and Formatting -
datestyle = 'iso, mdy'
#intervalstyle = 'postgres'
#timezone = '(defaults to server environment setting)'
#timezone_abbreviations = 'Default' # Select the set of available time zone
# abbreviations. Currently, there are
# Default
# Australia
# India
# You can create your own file in
# share/timezonesets/.
#extra_float_digits = 0 # min -15, max 3
#client_encoding = sql_ascii # actually, defaults to database
# encoding
# These settings are initialized by initdb, but they can be changed.
lc_messages = 'en_US.UTF-8' # locale for system error message
# strings
lc_monetary = 'en_US.UTF-8' # locale for monetary formatting
lc_numeric = 'en_US.UTF-8' # locale for number formatting
lc_time = 'en_US.UTF-8' # locale for time formatting
# default configuration for text search
default_text_search_config = 'pg_catalog.english'
# - Other Defaults -
#dynamic_library_path = '$libdir'
#local_preload_libraries = ''
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# LOCK MANAGEMENT
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#deadlock_timeout = 1s
#max_locks_per_transaction = 64 # min 10
# (change requires restart)
# Note: Each lock table slot uses ~270 bytes of shared memory, and there are
# max_locks_per_transaction * (max_connections + max_prepared_transactions)
# lock table slots.
#max_pred_locks_per_transaction = 64 # min 10
# (change requires restart)
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# VERSION/PLATFORM COMPATIBILITY
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# - Previous PostgreSQL Versions -
#array_nulls = on
#backslash_quote = safe_encoding # on, off, or safe_encoding
#default_with_oids = off
#escape_string_warning = on
#lo_compat_privileges = off
#quote_all_identifiers = off
#sql_inheritance = on
#standard_conforming_strings = on
#synchronize_seqscans = on
# - Other Platforms and Clients -
#transform_null_equals = off
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# ERROR HANDLING
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#exit_on_error = off # terminate session on any error?
#restart_after_crash = on # reinitialize after backend crash?
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# CUSTOMIZED OPTIONS
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#custom_variable_classes = '' # list of custom variable class names

Answer 4

Run
sudo updatedb
followed by
locate postgresql.conf

Answer 5

To get the location of the pg_hba.conf file, you can also query the database like
SHOW hba_file;
You should get something like
hba_file
---------------------------------
/var/lib/pgsql/data/pg_hba.conf
(1 row)

Answer 6

If you have just installed it, it is possible that locate doesn't help. In that case, the service should be running and you can run
ps aux | grep 'postgres *-D'
to see where the postgresql-master is loading the config files from.

Answer 7

On Mac (Postgres installed using brew) :
/usr/local/Cellar/postgresql/9.3.3>bin/postgres -D /usr/local/var/postgres/

Answer 8

Print pg_hba.conf file location:
su - postgres -c "psql -t -P format=unaligned -c 'show hba_file';"
Print postgresql.conf file location:
su - postgres -c "psql -t -P format=unaligned -c 'SHOW config_file';"

Answer 9

On Fedora 20
$ cd /var/lib/pgsql/data
$ ls -ltr *.conf
-rw-------. 1 postgres postgres 20453 Jan 18 23:22 postgresql.conf
-rw-------. 1 postgres postgres 1636 Jan 18 23:22 pg_ident.conf
-rw-------. 1 postgres postgres 4476 Jan 18 23:22 pg_hba.conf

Answer 10

On Mac OS X:
sudo find / -name postgresql.conf
You can find other conf files by the following command:
sudo find / -name pg\*.conf
Note: See usage using man:
man find

Answer 11

For CentOS 6 and 7 and postgresql 9.2 (and below, I suppose, possibly Fedora and Redhat as well):
/var/lib/pgsql/data
For CentOS 6 and 7 postgresql 9.3 or 9.4 (and above, I suppose):
/var/lib/pgsql/9.3/data
/var/lib/pgsql/9.4/data
For Ubuntu 14 and postgresql 9.3:
/etc/postgresql/9.3/main/postgresql.conf

Answer 12

The answer may be that you have not initialized the database yet. After installing postgres, but before initializing the database, the postgres*.sql files will be absent. After initializing the database the postgres*.sql files will appear. (Centos 6, Postgres 9.3 demonstrated here)
[root#localhost /]# yum -y install postgresql93 postgresql93-server
[root#localhost /]# ls /var/lib/pgsql/9.3/data/
[root#localhost /]#
[root#localhost /]# service postgresql-9.3 initdb
Initializing database: [ OK ]
[root#localhost /]# ls /var/lib/pgsql/9.3/data/
base pg_ident.conf pg_serial pg_subtrans pg_xlog
global pg_log pg_snapshots pg_tblspc postgresql.conf
pg_clog pg_multixact pg_stat pg_twophase
pg_hba.conf pg_notify pg_stat_tmp PG_VERSION
[root#localhost /]#

Answer 13

30-07-2019
In Windows 10 pro:
C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\11\data

Answer 14

As I don't have access to postgres account (so can't run SHOW config_file) and my postgres is installed on Windows, none of the answers helped me, so I'm sharing my file location for future Windows readers:
C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\9.5\data

Answer 15

Besides the direct answer, you will probably want to check out the docs about Postgres config file locations.
In most cases: under $PGDATA, which is normally /var/lib/postgresql/data or something similar (at least it's the default path if you use Docker images).

Answer 16

I like this thread because it documents the default locations for various postgresql.conf files on various architectures...
However, I've also gotten in trouble by relying on those defaults on installations where they have specified alternate locations. One way to find out where a particular config file is by querying the database directly:
select * from pg_settings where name='config_file'
Drop the where clause to see all the settings, which can also be illuminating because it shows where data directories, pg_hba.conf, etc. are.

Answer 17

For Debian 9 I found mine using Franke Heikens answer - $ /etc/postgresql/9.6/main/postgresql.conf

Answer 18

If you have the postgres in a docker container, probably you are binding the .conf file, to find the .conf file you are using outside the docker, run docker inspect postgres11 or the postgres container name or id. That command returns a json, look for somethig like
"HostConfig": {
"Binds": [
"/home/my_user/postgres11/:/var/lib/postgresql/data"
]
If you execute SHOW config_file; and the result is in /var/lib/postgresql/data/postgresql.conf then you know the .conf file outside is in /home/my_user/postgres11/postgresql.conf, or the resulted in the property "Binds"

Answer 19

nantha=# SHOW config_file;
config_file
/var/lib/postgresql/data/postgresql.conf
(1 row)
nantha=# SHOW hba_file;
hba_file
/var/lib/postgresql/data/pg_hba.conf
(1 row)

Answer 20

Win7, version 10 location:
C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\10\postgresql.conf

Answer 21

In CentOS 7 with PostgreSQL 9.4 it's in the following directory:
/var/lib/pgsql/9.4/data
I can see it when I'm logged in as root.

Answer 22

on MacOS Mojave where I used brew install postgresql to install, I found it here
/usr/local/var/postgres/postgresql.conf
I got this using the following sql command cited in this response here:
psql -U postgres -c 'SHOW config_file'

Answer 23

For ubuntu 18/20, run the following command to locate your postgresql.conf file:
locate postgresql.conf
If locate is missing in your linux then run sudo apt-get install locate to install locate first.

Answer 24

I located it here:
/var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data/postgresql.conf

Answer 25

In ubuntu, you can find
/etc/postgresql/11/main/pg_hba.conf
// after change restart it otherwise it won't be work
service postgresql restart

Answer 26

If you followed the white paper put out by Amazon for installing Postgresql on AWS, which included creating a /data/ directory on a filesystem mounted on a separate EBS volume, then your postgresql.conf file is in /data/
From which I conclude the file is created during initialisation of the data directory, and resides in the root of the data dir. For a default install this appears to be /var/lib/pgsql/data, but not if you moved the data dir

Answer 27

My installation is not default, but you can go to directory the Postgres and find subdirectory \Data.
Configuration Files
C:\Postgres\Data\postgresql.conf
C:\Postgres\Data\pg_hba.conf

Answer 28

2022-4-25 update:
Location: /Library/PostgreSQL/14/data/postgresql.conf
System: MacOS Monterey
Just for anyone who is looking for this path...

Answer 29

On linux default location is:
cd /etc/postgresql/12/main/
12-version
version might be vary according to installed version