If on, any error will terminate the current session.
At a glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Parameter | exit_on_error |
| Category | Error Handling |
| Default | (see documentation) |
| Value type | boolean (on/off) |
| Change scope | Per-session (SET) |
| Available in | PostgreSQL 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 (added in 12) |
What it does
If on, any error will terminate the current session. By default, this is set to off, so that only FATAL errors will terminate the session.
(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 exit_on_error; or SELECT name, setting, unit, context, source FROM pg_settings WHERE name = 'exit_on_error';.
Tuning guidance
This parameter is rarely a performance lever. Leave it at the default unless you have a specific, documented reason to change it, change it on one session or one role/database first, and confirm the effect with pg_settings and your own measurements before rolling it out cluster-wide.