25.3. Standby Server Settings

Specifies whether to start the PostgreSQL server as a standby. If this parameter is on, the server will not stop recovery when the end of archived WAL is reached, but will keep trying to continue recovery by fetching new WAL segments using restore_command and/or by connecting to the primary server as specified by the primary_conninfo setting.

Specifies a connection string to be used for the standby server to connect with the primary. This string is in the format accepted by the libpq PQconnectdb function, described in Section 30.1. If any option is unspecified in this string, then the corresponding environment variable (see Section 30.13) is checked. If the environment variable is not set either, then defaults are used.

The connection string should specify the host name (or address) of the primary server, as well as the port number if it is not the same as the standby server's default. Also specify a user name corresponding to a role that has the SUPERUSER and LOGIN privileges on the primary (see Section 24.2.5.1). A password needs to be provided too, if the primary demands password authentication. It can be provided in the primary_conninfo string, or in a separate ~/.pgpass file on the standby server (use replication as the database name). Do not specify a database name in the primary_conninfo string.

This setting has no effect if standby_mode is off.

Specifies a trigger file whose presence ends recovery in the standby. Even if this value is not set, you can still promote the standby using pg_ctl promote. This setting has no effect if standby_mode is off.