gss_accept_delegation

gss_accept_delegation is the PostgreSQL setting that defines whether GSSAPI delegation should be accepted from the client.

Note

Fact — official short description: “Sets whether GSSAPI delegation should be accepted from the client.”

Identity

Type , Valuebool: Upstream pg_settings type
Context , Valuesighup: Takes effect after configuration reload
Unit , Value—: Raw unit
Range , Value—: Raw limits in the last observed version
Enum values , Value—: — for non-enum types
Category , ValueConnections and Authentication / Authentication: Upstream classification
Latest boot value , Valueoff: off

Lifecycle

Fact	Value
First observed	PG16
Present in	PG16–19 Beta 3
Removed in	No
Introduction commit	`9c0a0e2ed92a` — rename “gss_accept_deleg” to “gss_accept_delegation”.
Commit date	2023-05-20
Discussion	thread 1

Default history

Measured PG9.0–19 Beta 3 boot defaults
Versions	Raw `boot_val`	Unit	Human value
PG16–19 Beta 3	`off`	—	off

How it works

gss_accept_delegation sets whether GSSAPI delegation should be accepted from the client. Accepting delegated credentials lets server-side code act with the client’s GSS identity, so it expands trust beyond ordinary authentication.

gss_accept_delegation is a SIGHUP-context setting: a configuration reload activates the new server value without a restart; subsequent operations that consult it use the refreshed value.

The final authentication path combines this setting with pg_hba.conf, role attributes, credential material, client capabilities, and sometimes operating-system identity services.

Tuning advice

Tip

Advice. These are workload-specific starting points and must be validated with measurements.

Workload	Guidance
OLTP	Set gss_accept_delegation from the authentication architecture and security policy, not workload throughput. Test every driver, identity mapping, failover path, and credential-rotation procedure.
OLAP	Apply the same security baseline to analytical access; isolate any legacy client exception to a dedicated role and a dated migration plan.
Small nodes	Prefer the current secure default for gss_accept_delegation. Avoid weakening authentication to save marginal CPU on a small node; reduce connection churn with pooling instead.

Pigsty

Values use the fixed 8-vCPU, 32-GiB, 100-GiB SSD fixture and render the current Pigsty templates for PG19 Beta 3; this does not assert current Pigsty support for that historical or beta release.

Template	Effective value	Versus upstream boot	Source expression
OLTP	Unmodified	—	—
OLAP	Unmodified	—	—
CRIT	Unmodified	—	—
TINY	Unmodified	—	—

Caution

Advice — pending human review. Fact from the current Pigsty template projection: OLTP: PG16–19 Beta 3 unmodified; OLAP: PG16–19 Beta 3 unmodified; CRIT: PG16–19 Beta 3 unmodified; TINY: PG16–19 Beta 3 unmodified. No Pigsty-specific rationale is inferred from an absent override.

Common pitfalls

Editing gss_accept_delegation without reloading configuration and verifying the effective value and subsequent behavior.
Changing one authentication setting without testing pg_hba.conf ordering, existing secrets, mappings, and every client library.
Weakening identity policy to solve connection churn or CPU cost that should be addressed with pooling and capacity planning.
Changing gss_accept_delegation globally without a rollback plan and a client or operational compatibility test.

password_encryption · scram_iterations · md5_password_warnings · authentication_timeout · oauth_validator_libraries · krb_server_keyfile