server_encoding

server_encoding — Shows the server (database) character set encoding. Observed in PG9.0–19 Beta 3; its last measured boot default is SQL_ASCII in PG19 Beta 3, with internal context. This is a beta-snapshot fact and can change before PostgreSQL 19 GA.

Note

Fact — official short description: “Shows the server (database) character set encoding.”

Identity

Type , Valuestring: Upstream pg_settings type
Context , Valueinternal: Internal/preset and not user-settable
Unit , Value—: Raw unit
Range , Value—: Raw limits in the last observed version
Enum values , Value—: — for non-enum types
Category , ValuePreset Options: Upstream classification
Latest boot value , ValueSQL_ASCII: SQL_ASCII

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
PG9.0–19 Beta 3	`SQL_ASCII`	—	SQL_ASCII

How it works

Shows the server (database) character set encoding. It is read-only and cannot be changed with SET or configuration-file edits.

It reports the current database encoding. Encoding is selected at database creation and can differ between databases in a cluster.

Interpret it with lc_collate, lc_ctype, client_encoding. Applications and operations tooling may read server_encoding for capability or environment detection, but cannot SET it; cross-cluster comparisons must account for build, initdb, and current-database differences.

Tuning advice

Tip

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

Workload	Guidance
OLTP	Not tunable. Record server_encoding as a deployment/capability fact; if it is unexpected, fix the binary, initdb, or database-creation process rather than trying SET.
OLAP	Not tunable. Use server_encoding to verify format, build, or resource assumptions on analytical nodes and keep every read/write candidate compatible.
Small nodes	Not tunable. Preserve it in inventory and incident reports; do not custom-build or rebuild merely to change it without a demonstrated compatibility need.

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: PG9.0–19 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

Trying to change read-only server_encoding with SET or a configuration file.
Assuming every cluster, database, or vendor build reports the same value.
Ignoring the value in file-format or feature-compatibility checks.
Treating reported metadata as a performance target instead of an environment fact.

lc_collate · lc_ctype · client_encoding · default_text_search_config · icu_validation_level · server_version