Wiki / Configuration Parameters
summarize_wal
Enables the WAL summarizer process. Note that WAL summarization can be enabled either on a primary or on a standby. This parameter can only be set in the postgresql.conf file or on the server command line. The default is off. The server cannot be started with summarize_wal=on if wal_level is set to minimal. If summarize_wal=on is configured after server startup while wal_level=minimal, the summarizer will run but refuse to generate summary files for any WAL generated with wal_level=minimal.
English manual coverage begins with PostgreSQL 7.4. Source history and runtime observations have their own recorded version boundaries.
Reading PG 18·Select a recorded version
- boot val
- off
- category
- Write-Ahead Log / Summarization
- context
- sighup
- documented
- true
- enumvals
- Unknown
- extra desc
- Unknown
- lang
- en
- max val
- Unknown
- metadata version
- 18
- min val
- Unknown
- name
- summarize_wal
- short desc
- Starts the WAL summarizer process to enable incremental backup.
- source
- pg-settings-source-snapshot
- unit
- Unknown
- vartype
- bool
Definition PG 18
Enables the WAL summarizer process. Note that WAL summarization can be enabled either on a primary or on a standby. This parameter can only be set in the postgresql.conf file or on the server command line. The default is off. The server cannot be started with summarize_wal=on if wal_level is set to minimal. If summarize_wal=on is configured after server startup while wal_level=minimal, the summarizer will run but refuse to generate summary files for any WAL generated with wal_level=minimal.
Compare versions
Source references
Full definition and evidence JSON
Definition sources
center · PostgreSQL 18 · wiki-repair-20261023:840083c408e66484aa2a517e0f11626119b613de722daed3d45cfcdb86aa2e69
Text language: en · wiki-repair-20261023:840083c408e66484aa2a517e0f11626119b613de722daed3d45cfcdb86aa2e69