postmaster exited during data checksums processing

Symptoms

A statement failed with SQLSTATE 57P01 (admin_shutdown), reported at severity FATAL. This is a Operator Intervention condition: PostgreSQL emits the message postmaster exited during data checksums processing.

• 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:  postmaster exited during data checksums processing
HINT:  Data checksums processing must be restarted manually after cluster restart.

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.