PostgreSQL 10 Use different directories for config_file and data_directory

Question

I want to start postmaster using /some/dir/postgresql.conf and have the data /in/another/directory.

I have tried:

Setting "Environment=PGOPTS='--config_file="/some/dir/postgresql.conf" in override.conf
Setting "Environment=PGOPTS='--config_file="/some/dir/postgresql.conf" in postgresql.service
Changing "ExecStart" in postgresql.service to start with -o "-c config_file='/some/dir/postgresql.conf'" (obsolete)

Setting -D /some/dir works and it uses postgresql.conf from correct path, but it does not respect data_directory and still uses the directory specified in -D.

postgres=# SELECT name, setting FROM pg_settings WHERE setting LIKE '/%';
          name           |              setting
-------------------------+------------------------------------
 config_file             | /some/dir/postgresql.conf
 data_directory          | /some/dir

I have not been able to start postmaster in any way that shows different dir's for config_file and data_directory.

What's the correct way to start postmaster with configuration in one directory and make it read data_directory for where to locate the DBs?

Thanks!

Laurenz Albe · Accepted Answer · 2019-12-06 15:40:28Z

1

The -D option is (counter-intuitively) not the data directory, but the directory that contains postgresql.conf. As the documentation says:

-D datadir

Specifies the file system location of the database configuration files.

Then you specify the data directory in postgresql.conf by setting the data_directory parameter.

answered Dec 6, 2019 at 15:40

Laurenz Albe

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