13.2. repmgrd daemon

If installed from a package, the repmgrd can be started via the operating system's service command, e.g. in systemd using systemctl.

See appendix Package details for details of service commands for different distributions.

repmgrd can be started manually like this:

        repmgrd -f /etc/repmgr.conf --pid-file /tmp/repmgrd.pid

and stopped with kill `cat /tmp/repmgrd.pid`. Adjust paths as appropriate.

13.2.1. repmgrd's PID file

repmgrd will generate a PID file by default.

Note: This is a behaviour change from previous versions (earlier than 4.1), where the PID file had to be explicitly specified with the command line parameter --pid-file.

The PID file can be specified in repmgr.conf with the configuration parameter repmgrd_pid_file.

It can also be specified on the command line (as in previous versions) with the command line parameter --pid-file. Note this will override any value set in repmgr.conf with repmgrd_pid_file. --pid-file may be deprecated in future releases.

If a PID file location was specified by the package maintainer, repmgrd will use that. This only applies if repmgr was installed from a package and the package maintainer has specified the PID file location.

If none of the above apply, repmgrd will create a PID file in the operating system's temporary directory (das etermined by the environment variable TMPDIR, or if that is not set, will use /tmp).

To prevent a PID file being generated at all, provide the command line option --no-pid-file.

To see which PID file repmgrd would use, execute repmgrd with the option --show-pid-file. repmgrd will not start if this option is provided. Note that the value shown is the file repmgrd would use next time it starts, and is not necessarily the PID file currently in use.

13.2.2. repmgrd daemon configuration on Debian/Ubuntu

If repmgr was installed from Debian/Ubuntu packages, additional configuration is required before repmgrd is started as a daemon.

This is done via the file /etc/default/repmgrd, which by default looks like this:

# default settings for repmgrd. This file is source by /bin/sh from
# /etc/init.d/repmgrd

# disable repmgrd by default so it won't get started upon installation
# valid values: yes/no
REPMGRD_ENABLED=no

# configuration file (required)
#REPMGRD_CONF="/path/to/repmgr.conf"

# additional options
REPMGRD_OPTS="--daemonize=false"

# user to run repmgrd as
#REPMGRD_USER=postgres

# repmgrd binary
#REPMGRD_BIN=/usr/bin/repmgrd

# pid file
#REPMGRD_PIDFILE=/var/run/repmgrd.pid

Set REPMGRD_ENABLED to yes, and REPMGRD_CONF to the repmgr.conf file you are using.

Tip: See Debian/Ubuntu packages for details of the Debian/Ubuntu packages and typical file locations (including repmgr.conf).

From repmgrd 4.1, ensure REPMGRD_OPTS includes --daemonize=false, as daemonization is handled by the service command.

If using systemd, you may need to execute systemctl daemon-reload. Also, if you attempted to start repmgrd using systemctl start repmgrd, you'll need to execute systemctl stop repmgrd. Because that's how systemd rolls.