A path to search for extensions, specifically extension control files (name.control).
At a glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Parameter | extension_control_path |
| Category | Client Connection Defaults |
| Default | (see documentation) |
| Value type | string |
| Change scope | Per-session (SET) |
| Available in | PostgreSQL 18, 19 (added in 18) |
What it does
A path to search for extensions, specifically extension control files (name.control). The remaining extension script and secondary control files are then loaded from the same directory where the primary control file was found. See extend_extensions_files for details.
The value for extension_control_path must be a list of absolute directory paths separated by colons (or semi-colons on Windows). If a list element starts with the special string $system, the compiled-in PostgreSQL extension directory is substituted for $system; this is where the extensions provided by the standard PostgreSQL distribution are installed. (Use pg_config –sharedir to find out the name of this directory.) For example: extension_control_path = ‘/usr/local/share/postgresql:/home/my_project/share:$system’ or, in a Windows environment: extension_control_path = ‘C:\tools\postgresql;H:\my_project\share;$system’ Note that the specified paths elements are expected to have a subdirectory extension which will contain the .control and .sql files; the extension suffix is automatically appended to each path element.
(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 extension_control_path; or SELECT name, setting, unit, context, source FROM pg_settings WHERE name = 'extension_control_path';.
Tuning guidance
This sets a session default (locale, formatting, search path or transaction behaviour) rather than a performance knob. Set it per role or database with ALTER ROLE/DATABASE ... SET so the right default follows the right workload, and prefer setting it explicitly in the application for behaviour the query results depend on.