Parameter · Reporting and Logging / Process Title

cluster_name

Sets the name of the cluster, which is included in the process title.

Default: '' (empty)
Type: string
Applies: Restart required

In plain words

A short name for this PostgreSQL instance. It appears in the title of every server process, so in ps or top you can see which instance each process belongs to when several run on one machine.

For DBAs and operators

Process titles become postgres: <cluster_name>: …. Real ps output with cluster_name = 'p5test':

4548 postgres: p5test: checkpointer 4552 postgres: p5test: autovacuum launcher 5466 postgres: p5test: postgres postgres 127.0.0.1(55276) SELECT 5530 postgres: p5test: postgres postgres [local] SELECT waiting

Other uses: it is the default application_name of a standby's WAL receiver (so it is what synchronous_standby_names matches if primary_conninfo does not set one); there is no log_line_prefix escape for it, but it shows in pg_settings and monitoring tools pick it up. At most 63 characters; characters other than printable ASCII are replaced with C-style hexadecimal escapes. Requires a restart.

Debian/Ubuntu packages set it to 18/main automatically. The postmaster's own title is not changed (it shows its command line). Process titles must be enabled (update_process_title for the activity part).

How to change it

Change in postgresql.conf or ALTER SYSTEM, then restart the server.

See it in context

Process model Postmaster

Related parameters

update_process_title application_name synchronous_standby_names primary_conninfo

All Reporting and Logging parameters