log_recovery_conflict_waits — PostgreSQL configuration parameter

Controls whether a log message is produced when the startup process waits longer than deadlock_timeout for recovery conflicts.

At a glance

What it does

Controls whether a log message is produced when the startup process waits longer than deadlock_timeout for recovery conflicts. This is useful in determining if recovery conflicts prevent the recovery from applying WAL.

The default is off. This parameter can only be set in the postgresql.conf file or on the server command line.

(Description quoted from the official PostgreSQL documentation.)

How to apply a change

Set it in postgresql.conf (or with ALTER SYSTEM) and reload with SELECT pg_reload_conf(); or pg_ctl reload — no restart needed.

Inspect the current value and source with SHOW log_recovery_conflict_waits; or SELECT name, setting, unit, context, source FROM pg_settings WHERE name = 'log_recovery_conflict_waits';.

Tuning guidance

Tune this for observability versus log volume, not for raw performance. More verbose logging helps diagnose problems but costs disk and I/O; quieter logging saves space but hides detail. Pick a level your log pipeline can store and search, and raise verbosity temporarily when investigating an incident.

Reference

PostgreSQL documentation — log_recovery_conflict_waits.