update_process_title — PostgreSQL configuration parameter

Enables updating of the process title every time a new SQL command is received by the server.

At a glance

What it does

Enables updating of the process title every time a new SQL command is received by the server. This setting defaults to on on most platforms, but it defaults to off on Windows due to that platform’s larger overhead for updating the process title. Only superusers and users with the appropriate SET privilege can change this setting.

(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 update_process_title; or SELECT name, setting, unit, context, source FROM pg_settings WHERE name = 'update_process_title';.

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 — update_process_title.