{"Entry":{"collection":"guc","key":"hba_file","name":"hba_file","aliases":[],"metadata":{"baseline":false,"boot_human":"Not specified","boot_val":null,"category":"File Locations","category_zh":"","changed_in":[],"changes":[{"documentation_changed":false,"fields":{},"from":"7.4","status":"added","to":"8.0"},{"documentation_changed":true,"fields":{},"from":"8.1","status":"changed","to":"8.2"}],"content_hash":"4e2ea428cb6cf8d7a69358b142c00070acff7d3cf2fac0a0f2f37b5e4aec69a2","context":"","default_changed_in":[],"default_history":[{"from":"9.0","to":"19","value":"Not specified"}],"editorial":{"advice":{"olap":"Follow the OLTP rule, and for separate mounts also verify boot ordering, backup coverage, and path consistency on failover nodes.","oltp":"hba_file is deployment topology, not workload tuning. Use an absolute path, least privilege, and atomic configuration rollout; verify access as the postgres service account before restart/reload.","small":"The default co-located layout is simplest. Split paths only for a concrete backup, packaging, or permission-isolation benefit."},"mechanism":["Sets the server's \"hba\" configuration file. The value is fixed when the server starts, so changing it requires a restart.","This path selects pg_hba.conf. The path setting is fixed at startup, while edits to the selected file take effect after reload and should be checked with pg_hba_file_rules before relying on them.","Monitor and change hba_file together with allow_alter_system, config_file, data_directory. Validate on the relevant server role and real workload, then use its postmaster context to choose session change, reload, or restart; a historical boot default is not the current effective value."],"pitfalls":["Missing directory traversal, read, or write permission for the service account.","Confusing restart requirements for a path with reload behavior of the selected file contents.","Omitting the path on a failover node or from backup inventory.","Using a relative path that depends on an unstable working directory."],"references":[{"title":"PostgreSQL 19 Beta 4: hba_file","url":"https://www.postgresql.org/docs/19/runtime-config-file-locations.html#GUC-HBA-FILE"},{"title":"PostgreSQL 19 release notes","url":"https://www.postgresql.org/docs/19/release-19.html"}],"related":["allow_alter_system","config_file","data_directory","ident_file","external_pid_file","extension_destdir"],"summary":"hba_file — Sets the server's \"hba\" configuration file. Observed in PG9.0–19 Beta 4; its last measured boot default is not set in PG19 Beta 4, with postmaster context. This is a beta-snapshot fact and can change before PostgreSQL 19 GA."},"enumvals":[],"first_version":"8.0","group":"File Locations","group_slug":"file-locations","imported_at":"2026-09-27T17:57:31.3455+08:00","intro_commit":{},"key":"hba_file","last_version":"20","max_val":"","min_val":"","name":"hba_file","position":164,"present_in":["8.0","8.1","8.2","8.3","8.4","9.0","9.1","9.2","9.3","9.4","9.5","9.6","10","11","12","13","14","15","16","17","18","19","20"],"short_desc":"Specifies the configuration file for host-based authentication (customarily called pg_hba.conf).","short_desc_zh":"","source_rev":"english-manuals:a6944d322cd4807908d9e12d83a9438425bf7fff79383b50ce3e691b5754456d","unit":"","vartype":"string"}},"Definition":{"Collection":"guc","Key":"hba_file","SourceDatabase":"center","Version":"18","SourceTable":"guc","SourceKey":"hba_file","SourceRevision":"english-manuals:a6944d322cd4807908d9e12d83a9438425bf7fff79383b50ce3e691b5754456d","Facts":{"boot_val":null,"category":"File Locations","context":"postmaster","description":"Specifies the configuration file for host-based authentication (customarily called pg_hba.conf). This parameter can only be set at server start.","doc":{"anchor":"GUC-HBA-FILE","file":"runtime-config-file-locations.html","lang":"en","sha256":"d32b4a6043ad0ec1a0b4d476f80aa279be0a3491176860e0d2f2439eddf612ad","slug":"18"},"documented":true,"enumvals":null,"extra_desc":null,"lang":"en","max_val":null,"metadata_version":"18","min_val":null,"name":"hba_file","short_desc":"Sets the server's \"hba\" configuration file.","source":"pg-settings-source-snapshot","unit":null,"vartype":"string"},"ManualEvidence":{"doc":{"anchor":"GUC-HBA-FILE","file":"runtime-config-file-locations.html","lang":"en","sha256":"d32b4a6043ad0ec1a0b4d476f80aa279be0a3491176860e0d2f2439eddf612ad","slug":"18"}},"MeasuredEvidence":{"metadata_version":"18"}},"Text":{"Collection":"guc","Key":"hba_file","SourceDatabase":"center","Version":"18","Locale":"en","Title":"hba_file","Summary":"Specifies the configuration file for host-based authentication (customarily called pg_hba.conf). This parameter can only be set at server start.","BodyHTML":"\u003cp\u003eSpecifies the configuration file for host-based authentication (customarily called pg_hba.conf). This parameter can only be set at server start.\u003c/p\u003e","SourceRevision":"english-manuals:a6944d322cd4807908d9e12d83a9438425bf7fff79383b50ce3e691b5754456d","ContentHash":"549bc333927050711d7a07414e25ecb8dfbc24913852b4994ba561ee05326519","Payload":{"description":"Specifies the configuration file for host-based authentication (customarily called pg_hba.conf). This parameter can only be set at server start."}},"RequestedLocale":"zh-Hans","Fallback":true,"Versions":["10","11","12","13","14","15","16","17","18","19","20","8.0","8.1","8.2","8.3","8.4","9.0","9.1","9.2","9.3","9.4","9.5","9.6"],"Locales":["en"],"Signatures":null,"Spellings":null,"SQLState":null,"Evidence":null}