cannot enable data checksums without the postmaster process

Symptoms

A statement failed with SQLSTATE 57P01 (admin_shutdown), reported at severity FATAL. This is a Operator Intervention condition: PostgreSQL emits the message cannot enable data checksums without the postmaster process.

• The client receives SQLSTATE 57P01 (admin shutdown).
• The operation is rejected at FATAL level; the statement does not complete.

What the server log shows

FATAL:  cannot enable data checksums without the postmaster process
HINT:  Restart the database and restart data checksum processing by calling pg_enable_data_checksums().

Why PostgreSQL raises this

Class 57 (Operator Intervention) is raised when an administrator action or server lifecycle event interrupts the session — shutdown, cancellation, or a forced termination.

As described in PostgreSQL’s Section 19.6 Error Handling and Appendix A (PostgreSQL Error Codes), SQLSTATE 57P01 carries the condition name admin_shutdown in class Operator Intervention. (Paraphrased — see the linked reference for the exact wording.)

Common causes

• The administrator cancelled the query or terminated the backend.
• The server is shutting down or in recovery.
• A statement or idle-in-transaction timeout fired.

How to fix it

1. Retry once the server is available again.
2. Investigate why the backend was cancelled/terminated.
3. Tune the relevant timeout if cancellations are unintended.

Version applicability

This message text is present in PostgreSQL 19. It was introduced around PostgreSQL 19; earlier releases do not emit this exact text.

Related & next steps

• SQLSTATE 57P01 — Admin Shutdown (full reference)
• PostgreSQL error code index

Reference: PostgreSQL Section 19.6 Error Handling.