lock_timeout

lock_timeout is the PostgreSQL setting that defines the maximum allowed duration of any wait for a lock.

Note

Fact — official short description: “Sets the maximum allowed duration of any wait for a lock.”

Identity

Type , Valueinteger: Upstream pg_settings type
Context , Valueuser: Settable by an ordinary user
Unit , Valuems: Raw unit
Range , Value0 – 2147483647: Raw limits in the last observed version
Enum values , Value—: — for non-enum types
Category , ValueClient Connection Defaults / Statement Behavior: Upstream classification
Latest boot value , Value0: 0 ms

Lifecycle

Fact	Value
First observed	PG9.3
Present in	PG9.3–19 Beta 3
Removed in	No
Introduction commit	`d43837d03067` — Add lock_timeout configuration parameter.
Commit date	2013-03-16
Discussion	—

Default history

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

How it works

lock_timeout sets the maximum allowed duration of any wait for a lock. 0 disables the timeout. The timer applies separately to each lock acquisition, not to total statement runtime; a statement_timeout at the same or lower value will fire first.

lock_timeout is a USER-context setting. An authorized role can change it for a session, while ALTER ROLE or ALTER DATABASE can establish a default for future sessions.

Timeouts overlap: the first applicable deadline wins, while client, pooler, TCP, and server cancellation behavior determines whether work is retried, canceled, or the session is closed.

Tuning advice

Tip

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

Workload	Guidance
OLTP	Set lock_timeout from the service latency and failure budget, preferably per role or application. Test retries and cancellation paths before enforcing a cluster-wide value.
OLAP	Analytical work usually needs a larger or job-specific lock_timeout; preserve a finite guardrail for abandoned work without killing legitimate long scans.
Small nodes	Use a conservative finite lock_timeout only when the client or operating system handles termination correctly; verify that maintenance still has a dedicated exception.

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: PG9.3–19 Beta 3 unmodified; OLAP: PG9.3–19 Beta 3 unmodified; CRIT: PG9.3–19 Beta 3 unmodified; TINY: PG9.3–19 Beta 3 unmodified. No Pigsty-specific rationale is inferred from an absent override.

Common pitfalls

Changing lock_timeout in one session and assuming role defaults, database defaults, or other pooled sessions changed with it.
Forgetting that zero usually disables the timeout or delegates behavior to the operating system.
Setting overlapping deadlines without deciding which layer owns retries, cancellation, and connection disposal.
Changing lock_timeout globally without a rollback plan and a client or operational compatibility test.

statement_timeout · transaction_timeout · idle_in_transaction_session_timeout · idle_session_timeout · deadlock_timeout