Total background worker processes the cluster can run.
At a glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Parameter | max_worker_processes |
| Category | Parallelism |
| Default | 8 |
| Value type | boolean / enum / numeric |
| Change scope | Restart required |
What it does
Maximum number of background worker processes, shared by parallel query, logical replication, and extensions.
How to apply a change
Requires a full server restart (postmaster context). Set it in postgresql.conf and restart PostgreSQL.
Inspect the current value and source with SHOW max_worker_processes; or SELECT name, setting, unit, context, source FROM pg_settings WHERE name = 'max_worker_processes';.
Tuning guidance
Raise when you combine parallel query with logical replication or extensions (e.g. pg_cron, Citus). Requires restart.