pg_file_settings — PostgreSQL system view

Summary

The view pg_file_settings provides a summary of the contents of the server’s configuration file(s). A row appears in this view for each “name = value” entry appearing in the files, with annotations indicating whether the value could be applied successfully. Additional row(s) may appear for problems not linked to a “name = value” entry, such as syntax errors in the files.

(Description quoted from the official PostgreSQL documentation.)

Columns

The pg_file_settings system view exposes the following columns (names, types and descriptions are taken verbatim from the PostgreSQL documentation):

• sourcefile text
  Full path name of the configuration file
• sourceline int4
  Line number within the configuration file where the entry appears
• seqno int4
  Order in which the entries are processed (1..n)
• name text
  Configuration parameter name
• setting text
  Value to be assigned to the parameter
• applied bool
  True if the value can be applied successfully
• error text
  If not null, an error message indicating why this entry could not be applied

Version applicability

Present in PostgreSQL 17, 18, 19 (verified against each release’s documentation). This is a long-standing system object that also exists in earlier PostgreSQL releases.

Related & references

• PostgreSQL system catalog & view index
• Built-in function reference

Reference: PostgreSQL documentation — pg_file_settings.