# pre_auth_delay

> pre_auth_delay — Sets the amount of time to wait before authentication on connection startup. Observed in PG9.0–19 Beta 3; its last measured boot default is 0 s in PG19 Beta 3, with sighup context. This is a beta-snapshot fact and can change before PostgreSQL 19 GA.
---

> [!NOTE]
> **Fact — official short description:** “Sets the amount of time to wait before authentication on connection startup.”

## Identity {#identity}

| Field | Value | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Type | `integer` | Upstream pg_settings type |
| Context | `sighup` | Takes effect after configuration reload |
| Unit | `s` | Raw unit |
| Range | `0` – `60` | Raw limits in the last observed version |
| Enum values | — | — for non-enum types |
| Category | Developer Options | Upstream classification |
| Latest boot value | `0` | 0 s |
{.fields meta="-"}

## Lifecycle {#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 {#default-history}

| Versions | Raw `boot_val` | Unit | Human value |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PG9.0–19 Beta 3 | `0` | `s` | 0 s |
{.full-width caption="Measured PG9.0–19 Beta 3 boot defaults"}

## How it works {#mechanism}

pre_auth_delay pauses a newly forked server process before authentication so a developer can attach a debugger to handshake and authentication code. Zero disables it.

The SIGHUP setting applies to future connection startups. While a process sleeps, the client is unauthenticated and a server process and connection slot can remain occupied.

It intentionally delays every affected connection and can amplify denial-of-service exposure. It is not a replacement for authentication_timeout or network rate limiting. Its SIGHUP context allows configuration reload without a server restart.

## Tuning advice {#tuning-advice}

> [!TIP]
> **Advice.** These are workload-specific starting points and must be validated with measurements.

| Workload | Guidance |
| --- | --- |
| OLTP | Do not tune production OLTP with pre_auth_delay. Enable it only for a bounded reproduction with an owner, log/disk budget, rollback condition, and evidence-capture plan; restore the default immediately afterward. |
| OLAP | Long analytical runs can amplify pre_auth_delay's debug overhead and artifacts. Prefer standard EXPLAIN and statistics first, and isolate any developer experiment from normal users. |
| Small nodes | Keep pre_auth_delay at its upstream default. A small host has less spare CPU, disk, connection, and log capacity for developer instrumentation. |
{.full-width}

## Pigsty {#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 | — | — |
{.full-width}

> [!CAUTION]
> **Advice — pending human review.** Fact from the current Pigsty template projection: OLTP: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 unmodified; OLAP: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 unmodified; CRIT: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 unmodified; TINY: PG9.0–19 Beta 3 unmodified. No Pigsty-specific rationale is inferred from an absent override.

## Common pitfalls {#common-pitfalls}

- Leaving pre_auth_delay enabled after the bounded diagnostic or recovery task.
- Running the experiment on the only copy of production data.
- Underestimating log, core-file, temporary-file, WAL, CPU, or connection-slot amplification.
- Treating a server that merely starts or completes a query as proof that data and behavior are correct.

## Related parameters {#related-parameters}

[`post_auth_delay`](/parameters/post-auth-delay/) · [`authentication_timeout`](/parameters/authentication-timeout/) · [`max_connections`](/parameters/max-connections/) · [`trace_connection_negotiation`](/parameters/trace-connection-negotiation/)

## References {#references}

- [PostgreSQL 19 Beta 3 — pre_auth_delay](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/19/runtime-config-developer.html#GUC-PRE-AUTH-DELAY)
- [PostgreSQL 19 release notes](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/19/release-19.html)
- [Machine-readable GUC export](/data/guc.jsonl)