Reports whether PostgreSQL has been built with assertions enabled.
At a glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Parameter | debug_assertions |
| Category | Preset Options |
| Default | (see documentation) |
| Value type | boolean (on/off) |
| Change scope | Per-session (SET) |
| Available in | PostgreSQL 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 (added in 12) |
What it does
Reports whether PostgreSQL has been built with assertions enabled. That is the case if the macro USE_ASSERT_CHECKING is defined when PostgreSQL is built (accomplished e.g., by the configure option –enable-cassert). By default PostgreSQL is built without assertions.
(Description quoted from the official PostgreSQL documentation.)
How to apply a change
Can be set per session with SET, per role/database with ALTER ROLE/DATABASE ... SET, or globally in postgresql.conf.
Inspect the current value and source with SHOW debug_assertions; or SELECT name, setting, unit, context, source FROM pg_settings WHERE name = 'debug_assertions';.
Tuning guidance
This is a preset, read-only parameter: it reports a value fixed when PostgreSQL was built or the cluster was initialized, and cannot be tuned at runtime. Read it to verify the server’s build or cluster configuration (for example when matching a replica or debugging a compatibility issue); there is no setting to adjust.