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PostgreSQL Glossary

Standby Signal

A standby.signal file in the data directory triggers standby mode in v12+, replacing recovery.conf. Example: pg_basebackup -R creates standby.signal and p…

Definition

A standby.signal file in the data directory triggers standby mode in v12+, replacing recovery.conf.

What Standby Signal Means in PostgreSQL

A standby.signal file in the data directory triggers standby mode in v12+, replacing recovery.conf.

Standby Signal appears frequently in production operations, architecture decisions, and troubleshooting workflows. Understanding this term helps teams reason about reliability, performance, and safe change management.

Why Standby Signal Matters

Teams that understand Standby Signal can make better decisions on database design, incident response, and release safety.

In modern PostgreSQL environments, this concept often connects directly to backup strategy, performance tuning, and operational confidence.

  • Improves decision quality for production operations
  • Reduces avoidable troubleshooting time
  • Strengthens reliability and recovery planning

Practical Example

pg_basebackup -R creates standby.signal and primary_conninfo for a new replica automatically.

Where To Learn More

You can explore deeper implementation patterns in the Vela articles library, review platform workflows in How Vela Works, and compare approaches in our PostgreSQL comparisons.

Related Glossary Topics

SQL (Structured Query Language) Supabase ACID Atomicity Archiving (WAL Archiving) archive_command archive_mode BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Standby Signal in PostgreSQL?
A standby.signal file in the data directory triggers standby mode in v12+, replacing recovery.conf.
Why is Standby Signal important?
Standby Signal matters because it directly affects how teams build, operate, and recover PostgreSQL systems in production.
Can you give a practical Standby Signal example?
pg_basebackup -R creates standby.signal and primary_conninfo for a new replica automatically.
How does Standby Signal relate to backup, recovery, or performance?
In most production deployments, Standby Signal influences one or more of these areas: data safety, restore behavior, and performance under load.
What should teams check first when implementing Standby Signal?
Start with clear operational goals, test in a non-production environment, and validate behavior with repeatable runbooks before relying on it in production.