log_checkpoints

log_checkpoints is the PostgreSQL setting that controls whether PostgreSQL logs each checkpoint.

Note

Fact — official short description: “Logs each checkpoint.”

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 , ValueReporting and Logging / What to Log: Upstream classification
Latest boot value , Valueon: on

Lifecycle

Fact	Value
First observed	PG9.0 (research boundary)
Present in	PG9.0–19 Beta 3
Removed in	No
Introduction commit	Not asserted: predates the PG9.0 research boundary
Commit date	—
Discussion	—

Default history

Measured PG9.0–19 Beta 3 boot defaults
Versions	Raw `boot_val`	Unit	Human value
PG9.0–14	`off`	—	off
PG15–19 Beta 3	`on`	—	on

How it works

log_checkpoints logs each checkpoint. A checkpoint record includes elapsed phases and buffer or WAL work, exposing checkpoint cadence and write pressure rather than merely a marker.

log_checkpoints 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.

It changes emitted diagnostic data rather than query semantics, but volume, sensitive content, log_line_prefix, destinations, collector throughput, and retention determine operational cost and usefulness.

Tuning advice

Tip

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

Workload	Guidance
OLTP	Tune log_checkpoints against an explicit observability question and a measured log-volume budget. Prefer selective thresholds, sampling, or role-level overrides over indiscriminate capture.
OLAP	Analytical jobs can justify richer log_checkpoints telemetry, but account for long statements, large bind values, and bursty completion patterns in the log pipeline.
Small nodes	Keep log_checkpoints useful but bounded: verify disk, collector, retention, and redaction capacity before increasing detail or frequency.

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	`on`	same as boot	`'on'`
OLAP	`on`	same as boot	`'on'`
CRIT	`on`	same as boot	`'on'`
TINY	`on`	same as boot	`'on'`

Caution

Advice — pending human review. Fact from the current Pigsty template projection: OLTP: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 = on (dcs); OLAP: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 = on (dcs); CRIT: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 = on (dcs); TINY: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 = on (dcs). Advice, pending human review — Editorial inference: Explicit checkpoint logging preserves write-volume and timing evidence consistently, including releases where the upstream default was off.

Common pitfalls

Editing log_checkpoints without reloading configuration and verifying the effective value and subsequent behavior.
Enabling richer logging without budgeting collector throughput, storage, retention, and downstream query cost.
Writing SQL text, bind values, identities, or host data without a redaction and access-control policy.
Changing log_checkpoints globally without a rollback plan and a client or operational compatibility test.

log_autovacuum_min_duration · log_lock_waits · log_lock_failures · log_temp_files · log_replication_commands