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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>initdb</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet.css" /><link rev="made" href="pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets Vsnapshot" /><link rel="prev" href="reference-server.html" title="PostgreSQL Server Applications" /><link rel="next" href="pgarchivecleanup.html" title="pg_archivecleanup" /></head><body id="docContent" class="container-fluid col-10"><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center"><span class="application">initdb</span></th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="reference-server.html" title="PostgreSQL Server Applications">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="reference-server.html" title="PostgreSQL Server Applications">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">PostgreSQL Server Applications</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 18.4 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="pgarchivecleanup.html" title="pg_archivecleanup">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="refentry" id="APP-INITDB"><div class="titlepage"></div><a id="id-1.9.5.3.1" class="indexterm"></a><div class="refnamediv"><h2><span class="refentrytitle"><span class="application">initdb</span></span></h2><p>initdb — create a new <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> database cluster</p></div><div class="refsynopsisdiv"><h2>Synopsis</h2><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p id="id-1.9.5.3.4.1"><code class="command">initdb</code> [<em class="replaceable"><code>option</code></em>...]  [ <code class="option">--pgdata</code>  |   <code class="option">-D</code> ]<em class="replaceable"><code> directory</code></em> </p></div></div><div class="refsect1" id="R1-APP-INITDB-1"><h2>Description</h2><p>
   <code class="command">initdb</code> creates a new
   <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> <a class="glossterm" href="glossary.html#GLOSSARY-DB-CLUSTER"><em class="glossterm"><a class="glossterm" href="glossary.html#GLOSSARY-DB-CLUSTER" title="Database cluster">database cluster</a></em></a>.
  </p><p>
   Creating a database cluster consists of creating the
   <a class="glossterm" href="glossary.html#GLOSSARY-DATA-DIRECTORY"><em class="glossterm"><a class="glossterm" href="glossary.html#GLOSSARY-DATA-DIRECTORY" title="Data directory">directories</a></em></a> in
   which the cluster data will live, generating the shared catalog
   tables (tables that belong to the whole cluster rather than to any
   particular database), and creating the <code class="literal">postgres</code>,
   <code class="literal">template1</code>, and <code class="literal">template0</code> databases.
   The <code class="literal">postgres</code> database is a default database meant
   for use by users, utilities and third party applications.
   <code class="literal">template1</code> and <code class="literal">template0</code> are
   meant as source databases to be copied by later <code class="command">CREATE
   DATABASE</code> commands.  <code class="literal">template0</code> should never
   be modified, but you can add objects to <code class="literal">template1</code>,
   which by default will be copied into databases created later.  See
   <a class="xref" href="manage-ag-templatedbs.html" title="22.3. Template Databases">Section 22.3</a> for more details.
  </p><p>
   Although <code class="command">initdb</code> will attempt to create the
   specified data directory, it might not have permission if the parent
   directory of the desired data directory is root-owned. To initialize
   in such a setup, create an empty data directory as root, then use
   <code class="command">chown</code> to assign ownership of that directory to the
   database user account, then <code class="command">su</code> to become the
   database user to run <code class="command">initdb</code>.
  </p><p>
   <code class="command">initdb</code> must be run as the user that will own the
   server process, because the server needs to have access to the
   files and directories that <code class="command">initdb</code> creates.
   Since the server cannot be run as root, you must not run
   <code class="command">initdb</code> as root either.  (It will in fact refuse
   to do so.)
  </p><p>
    For security reasons the new cluster created by <code class="command">initdb</code>
    will only be accessible by the cluster owner by default.  The
    <code class="option">--allow-group-access</code> option allows any user in the same
    group as the cluster owner to read files in the cluster.  This is useful
    for performing backups as a non-privileged user.
  </p><p>
   <code class="command">initdb</code> initializes the database cluster's default locale
   and character set encoding. These can also be set separately for each
   database when it is created. <code class="command">initdb</code> determines those
   settings for the template databases, which will serve as the default for
   all other databases.
  </p><p>
   By default, <code class="command">initdb</code> uses the locale provider
   <code class="literal">libc</code> (see <a class="xref" href="locale.html#LOCALE-PROVIDERS" title="23.1.4. Locale Providers">Section 23.1.4</a>). The
   <code class="literal">libc</code> locale provider takes the locale settings from the
   environment, and determines the encoding from the locale settings.
  </p><p>
   To choose a different locale for the cluster, use the option
   <code class="option">--locale</code>.  There are also individual options
   <code class="option">--lc-*</code> and <code class="option">--icu-locale</code> (see below) to
   set values for the individual locale categories.  Note that inconsistent
   settings for different locale categories can give nonsensical results, so
   this should be used with care.
  </p><p>
   Alternatively, <code class="command">initdb</code> can use the ICU library to provide
   locale services by specifying <code class="literal">--locale-provider=icu</code>. The
   server must be built with ICU support. To choose the specific ICU locale ID
   to apply, use the option <code class="option">--icu-locale</code>.  Note that for
   implementation reasons and to support legacy code,
   <code class="command">initdb</code> will still select and initialize libc locale
   settings when the ICU locale provider is used.
  </p><p>
   When <code class="command">initdb</code> runs, it will print out the locale settings
   it has chosen.  If you have complex requirements or specified multiple
   options, it is advisable to check that the result matches what was
   intended.
  </p><p>
   More details about locale settings can be found in <a class="xref" href="locale.html" title="23.1. Locale Support">Section 23.1</a>.
  </p><p>
   To alter the default encoding, use the <code class="option">--encoding</code>.
   More details can be found in <a class="xref" href="multibyte.html" title="23.3. Character Set Support">Section 23.3</a>.
  </p></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.5.3.6"><h2>Options</h2><p>
    </p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-AUTH"><span class="term"><code class="option">-A <em class="replaceable"><code>authmethod</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--auth=<em class="replaceable"><code>authmethod</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-AUTH" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        This option specifies the default authentication method for local
        users used in <code class="filename">pg_hba.conf</code> (<code class="literal">host</code>
        and <code class="literal">local</code> lines).  See <a class="xref" href="auth-pg-hba-conf.html" title="20.1. The pg_hba.conf File">Section 20.1</a>
        for an overview of valid values.
       </p><p>
        <code class="command">initdb</code> will
        prepopulate <code class="filename">pg_hba.conf</code> entries using the
        specified authentication method for non-replication as well as
        replication connections.
       </p><p>
        Do not use <code class="literal">trust</code> unless you trust all local users on your
        system.  <code class="literal">trust</code> is the default for ease of installation.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-AUTH-HOST"><span class="term"><code class="option">--auth-host=<em class="replaceable"><code>authmethod</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-AUTH-HOST" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        This option specifies the authentication method for local users via
        TCP/IP connections used in <code class="filename">pg_hba.conf</code>
        (<code class="literal">host</code> lines).
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-AUTH-LOCAL"><span class="term"><code class="option">--auth-local=<em class="replaceable"><code>authmethod</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-AUTH-LOCAL" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        This option specifies the authentication method for local users via
        Unix-domain socket connections used in <code class="filename">pg_hba.conf</code>
        (<code class="literal">local</code> lines).
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-PGDATA"><span class="term"><code class="option">-D <em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--pgdata=<em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-PGDATA" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        This option specifies the directory where the database cluster
        should be stored. This is the only information required by
        <code class="command">initdb</code>, but you can avoid writing it by
        setting the <code class="envar">PGDATA</code> environment variable, which
        can be convenient since the database server
        (<code class="command">postgres</code>) can find the data
        directory later by the same variable.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-ENCODING"><span class="term"><code class="option">-E <em class="replaceable"><code>encoding</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--encoding=<em class="replaceable"><code>encoding</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-ENCODING" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Selects the encoding of the template databases. This will also be the
        default encoding of any database you create later, unless you override
        it then. The character sets supported by the
        <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> server are described in <a class="xref" href="multibyte.html#MULTIBYTE-CHARSET-SUPPORTED" title="23.3.1. Supported Character Sets">Section 23.3.1</a>.
       </p><p>
        By default, the template database encoding is derived from the
        locale. If <a class="xref" href="app-initdb.html#APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-LOCALE"><code class="option">--no-locale</code></a> is specified
        (or equivalently, if the locale is <code class="literal">C</code> or
        <code class="literal">POSIX</code>), then the default is <code class="literal">UTF8</code>
        for the ICU provider and <code class="literal">SQL_ASCII</code> for the
        <code class="literal">libc</code> provider.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-ALLOW-GROUP-ACCESS"><span class="term"><code class="option">-g</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--allow-group-access</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-ALLOW-GROUP-ACCESS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Allows users in the same group as the cluster owner to read all cluster
        files created by <code class="command">initdb</code>.  This option is ignored
        on <span class="productname">Windows</span> as it does not support
        <acronym class="acronym">POSIX</acronym>-style group permissions.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-ICU-LOCALE"><span class="term"><code class="option">--icu-locale=<em class="replaceable"><code>locale</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-ICU-LOCALE" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Specifies the ICU locale when the ICU provider is used. Locale support
        is described in <a class="xref" href="locale.html" title="23.1. Locale Support">Section 23.1</a>.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-ICU-RULES"><span class="term"><code class="option">--icu-rules=<em class="replaceable"><code>rules</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-ICU-RULES" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Specifies additional collation rules to customize the behavior of the
        default collation.  This is supported for ICU only.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-DATA-CHECKSUMS"><span class="term"><code class="option">-k</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--data-checksums</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-DATA-CHECKSUMS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Use checksums on data pages to help detect corruption by the I/O
        system that would otherwise be silent.  This is enabled by default;
        use <a class="xref" href="app-initdb.html#APP-INITDB-NO-DATA-CHECKSUMS"><code class="option">--no-data-checksums</code></a> to disable
        checksums.
       </p><p>
        Enabling checksums
        might incur a small performance penalty. If set, checksums
        are calculated for all objects, in all databases. All checksum
        failures will be reported in the
        <a class="link" href="monitoring-stats.html#MONITORING-PG-STAT-DATABASE-VIEW" title="27.2.17. pg_stat_database">
        <code class="structname">pg_stat_database</code></a> view.
        See <a class="xref" href="checksums.html" title="28.2. Data Checksums">Section 28.2</a> for details.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-LOCALE"><span class="term"><code class="option">--locale=<em class="replaceable"><code>locale</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-LOCALE" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Sets the default locale for the database cluster.  If this
        option is not specified, the locale is inherited from the
        environment that <code class="command">initdb</code> runs in. Locale
        support is described in <a class="xref" href="locale.html" title="23.1. Locale Support">Section 23.1</a>.
       </p><p>
        If <code class="option">--locale-provider</code> is <code class="literal">builtin</code>,
        <code class="option">--locale</code> or <code class="option">--builtin-locale</code> must be
        specified and set to <code class="literal">C</code>, <code class="literal">C.UTF-8</code>
        or <code class="literal">PG_UNICODE_FAST</code>.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-LC-COLLATE"><span class="term"><code class="option">--lc-collate=<em class="replaceable"><code>locale</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--lc-ctype=<em class="replaceable"><code>locale</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--lc-messages=<em class="replaceable"><code>locale</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--lc-monetary=<em class="replaceable"><code>locale</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--lc-numeric=<em class="replaceable"><code>locale</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--lc-time=<em class="replaceable"><code>locale</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-LC-COLLATE" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Like <code class="option">--locale</code>, but only sets the locale in
        the specified category.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-LOCALE"><span class="term"><code class="option">--no-locale</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-LOCALE" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Equivalent to <code class="option">--locale=C</code>.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-BUILTIN-LOCALE"><span class="term"><code class="option">--builtin-locale=<em class="replaceable"><code>locale</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-BUILTIN-LOCALE" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Specifies the locale name when the builtin provider is used. Locale support
        is described in <a class="xref" href="locale.html" title="23.1. Locale Support">Section 23.1</a>.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-LOCALE-PROVIDER"><span class="term"><code class="option">--locale-provider={<code class="literal">builtin</code>|<code class="literal">libc</code>|<code class="literal">icu</code>}</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-LOCALE-PROVIDER" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        This option sets the locale provider for databases created in the new
        cluster.  It can be overridden in the <code class="command">CREATE
        DATABASE</code> command when new databases are subsequently
        created.  The default is <code class="literal">libc</code> (see <a class="xref" href="locale.html#LOCALE-PROVIDERS" title="23.1.4. Locale Providers">Section 23.1.4</a>).
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-NO-DATA-CHECKSUMS"><span class="term"><code class="option">--no-data-checksums</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-NO-DATA-CHECKSUMS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Do not enable data checksums.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-PWFILE"><span class="term"><code class="option">--pwfile=<em class="replaceable"><code>filename</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-PWFILE" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Makes <code class="command">initdb</code> read the bootstrap superuser's password
        from a file.  The first line of the file is taken as the password.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-TEXT-SEARCH-CONFIG"><span class="term"><code class="option">-T <em class="replaceable"><code>config</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--text-search-config=<em class="replaceable"><code>config</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-TEXT-SEARCH-CONFIG" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Sets the default text search configuration.
        See <a class="xref" href="runtime-config-client.html#GUC-DEFAULT-TEXT-SEARCH-CONFIG">default_text_search_config</a> for further information.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-USERNAME"><span class="term"><code class="option">-U <em class="replaceable"><code>username</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--username=<em class="replaceable"><code>username</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-USERNAME" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Sets the user name of the
        <a class="glossterm" href="glossary.html#GLOSSARY-BOOTSTRAP-SUPERUSER"><em class="glossterm"><a class="glossterm" href="glossary.html#GLOSSARY-BOOTSTRAP-SUPERUSER" title="Bootstrap superuser">bootstrap superuser</a></em></a>.
        This defaults to the name of the operating-system user running
        <code class="command">initdb</code>.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-PWPROMPT"><span class="term"><code class="option">-W</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--pwprompt</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-PWPROMPT" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Makes <code class="command">initdb</code> prompt for a password
        to give the bootstrap superuser. If you don't plan on using password
        authentication, this is not important.  Otherwise you won't be
        able to use password authentication until you have a password
        set up.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-WALDIR"><span class="term"><code class="option">-X <em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--waldir=<em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-WALDIR" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        This option specifies the directory where the write-ahead log
        should be stored.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-WAL-SEGSIZE"><span class="term"><code class="option">--wal-segsize=<em class="replaceable"><code>size</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-WAL-SEGSIZE" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Set the <em class="firstterm">WAL segment size</em>, in megabytes.  This
        is the size of each individual file in the WAL log.  The default size
        is 16 megabytes.  The value must be a power of 2 between 1 and 1024
        (megabytes).  This option can only be set during initialization, and
        cannot be changed later.
       </p><p>
        It may be useful to adjust this size to control the granularity of
        WAL log shipping or archiving.  Also, in databases with a high volume
        of WAL, the sheer number of WAL files per directory can become a
        performance and management problem.  Increasing the WAL file size
        will reduce the number of WAL files.
       </p></dd></dl></div><p>
   </p><p>
    Other, less commonly used, options are also available:

    </p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-SET"><span class="term"><code class="option">-c <em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>=<em class="replaceable"><code>value</code></em></code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--set <em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>=<em class="replaceable"><code>value</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-SET" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Forcibly set the server parameter <em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
        to <em class="replaceable"><code>value</code></em> during <code class="command">initdb</code>,
        and also install that setting in the
        generated <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> file,
        so that it will apply during future server runs.
        This option can be given more than once to set several parameters.
        It is primarily useful when the environment is such that the server
        will not start at all using the default parameters.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-DEBUG"><span class="term"><code class="option">-d</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--debug</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-DEBUG" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Print debugging output from the bootstrap backend and a few other
        messages of lesser interest for the general public.
        The bootstrap backend is the program <code class="command">initdb</code>
        uses to create the catalog tables.  This option generates a tremendous
        amount of extremely boring output.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-DISCARD-CACHES"><span class="term"><code class="option">--discard-caches</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-DISCARD-CACHES" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Run the bootstrap backend with the
        <code class="literal">debug_discard_caches=1</code> option.
        This takes a very long time and is only of use for deep debugging.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-L"><span class="term"><code class="option">-L <em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-L" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Specifies where <code class="command">initdb</code> should find
        its input files to initialize the database cluster.  This is
        normally not necessary.  You will be told if you need to
        specify their location explicitly.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-CLEAN"><span class="term"><code class="option">-n</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--no-clean</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-CLEAN" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        By default, when <code class="command">initdb</code>
        determines that an error prevented it from completely creating the database
        cluster, it removes any files it might have created before discovering
        that it cannot finish the job. This option inhibits tidying-up and is
        thus useful for debugging.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-SYNC"><span class="term"><code class="option">-N</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--no-sync</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-SYNC" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        By default, <code class="command">initdb</code> will wait for all files to be
        written safely to disk.  This option causes <code class="command">initdb</code>
        to return without waiting, which is faster, but means that a
        subsequent operating system crash can leave the data directory
        corrupt.  Generally, this option is useful for testing, but should not
        be used when creating a production installation.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-SYNC-DATA-FILES"><span class="term"><code class="option">--no-sync-data-files</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-SYNC-DATA-FILES" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        By default, <code class="command">initdb</code> safely writes all database files
        to disk.  This option instructs <code class="command">initdb</code> to skip
        synchronizing all files in the individual database directories, the
        database directories themselves, and the tablespace directories, i.e.,
        everything in the <code class="filename">base</code> subdirectory and any other
        tablespace directories.  Other files, such as those in
        <code class="literal">pg_wal</code> and <code class="literal">pg_xact</code>, will still be
        synchronized unless the <code class="option">--no-sync</code> option is also
        specified.
       </p><p>
        Note that if <code class="option">--no-sync-data-files</code> is used in
        conjunction with <code class="option">--sync-method=syncfs</code>, some or all of
        the aforementioned files and directories will be synchronized because
        <code class="literal">syncfs</code> processes entire file systems.
       </p><p>
        This option is primarily intended for internal use by tools that
        separately ensure the skipped files are synchronized to disk.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-INSTRUCTIONS"><span class="term"><code class="option">--no-instructions</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-NO-INSTRUCTIONS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        By default, <code class="command">initdb</code> will write instructions for how
        to start the cluster at the end of its output. This option causes
        those instructions to be left out. This is primarily intended for use
        by tools that wrap <code class="command">initdb</code> in platform-specific
        behavior, where those instructions are likely to be incorrect.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-SHOW"><span class="term"><code class="option">-s</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--show</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-SHOW" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Show internal settings and exit, without doing anything else.  This
        can be used to debug the <span class="application">initdb</span>
        installation.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-SYNC-METHOD"><span class="term"><code class="option">--sync-method=<em class="replaceable"><code>method</code></em></code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-SYNC-METHOD" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        When set to <code class="literal">fsync</code>, which is the default,
        <code class="command">initdb</code> will recursively open and synchronize all
        files in the data directory.  The search for files will follow symbolic
        links for the WAL directory and each configured tablespace.
       </p><p>
        On Linux, <code class="literal">syncfs</code> may be used instead to ask the
        operating system to synchronize the whole file systems that contain the
        data directory, the WAL files, and each tablespace.  See
        <a class="xref" href="runtime-config-error-handling.html#GUC-RECOVERY-INIT-SYNC-METHOD">recovery_init_sync_method</a> for information about
        the caveats to be aware of when using <code class="literal">syncfs</code>.
       </p><p>
        This option has no effect when <code class="option">--no-sync</code> is used.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-SYNC-ONLY"><span class="term"><code class="option">-S</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--sync-only</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-SYNC-ONLY" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
        Safely write all database files to disk and exit.  This does not
        perform any of the normal <span class="application">initdb</span> operations.
        Generally, this option is useful for ensuring reliable recovery after
        changing <a class="xref" href="runtime-config-wal.html#GUC-FSYNC">fsync</a> from <code class="literal">off</code> to
        <code class="literal">on</code>.
       </p></dd></dl></div><p>
   </p><p>
    Other options:

    </p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-VERSION"><span class="term"><code class="option">-V</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--version</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-VERSION" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
       Print the <span class="application">initdb</span> version and exit.
       </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-OPTION-HELP"><span class="term"><code class="option">-?</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="option">--help</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-OPTION-HELP" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
       Show help about <span class="application">initdb</span> command line
       arguments, and exit.
       </p></dd></dl></div><p>
   </p></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.5.3.7"><h2>Environment</h2><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt id="APP-INITDB-ENVIRONMENT-PGDATA"><span class="term"><code class="envar">PGDATA</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-ENVIRONMENT-PGDATA" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
      Specifies the directory where the database cluster is to be
      stored; can be overridden using the <code class="option">-D</code> option.
     </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-ENVIRONMENT-PG-COLOR"><span class="term"><code class="envar">PG_COLOR</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-ENVIRONMENT-PG-COLOR" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
      Specifies whether to use color in diagnostic messages. Possible values
      are <code class="literal">always</code>, <code class="literal">auto</code> and
      <code class="literal">never</code>.
     </p></dd><dt id="APP-INITDB-ENVIRONMENT-TZ"><span class="term"><code class="envar">TZ</code></span> <a href="#APP-INITDB-ENVIRONMENT-TZ" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
      Specifies the default time zone of the created database cluster.  The
      value should be a full time zone name
      (see <a class="xref" href="datatype-datetime.html#DATATYPE-TIMEZONES" title="8.5.3. Time Zones">Section 8.5.3</a>).
     </p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.5.3.8"><h2>Notes</h2><p>
   <code class="command">initdb</code> can also be invoked via
   <code class="command">pg_ctl initdb</code>.
  </p></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.5.3.9"><h2>See Also</h2><span class="simplelist"><a class="xref" href="app-pg-ctl.html" title="pg_ctl"><span class="refentrytitle"><span class="application">pg_ctl</span></span></a>, <a class="xref" href="app-postgres.html" title="postgres"><span class="refentrytitle"><span class="application">postgres</span></span></a>, <a class="xref" href="auth-pg-hba-conf.html" title="20.1. The pg_hba.conf File">Section 20.1</a></span></div></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="reference-server.html" title="PostgreSQL Server Applications">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="reference-server.html" title="PostgreSQL Server Applications">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="pgarchivecleanup.html" title="pg_archivecleanup">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">PostgreSQL Server Applications </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 18.4 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> <span class="application">pg_archivecleanup</span></td></tr></table></div></body></html>