Reports the database encoding (character set).
At a glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Parameter | server_encoding |
| Category | Preset Options |
| Default | (see documentation) |
| Value type | string |
| Change scope | Per-session (SET) |
| Available in | PostgreSQL 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 (added in 12) |
What it does
Reports the database encoding (character set). It is determined when the database is created. Ordinarily, clients need only be concerned with the value of client_encoding.
(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 server_encoding; or SELECT name, setting, unit, context, source FROM pg_settings WHERE name = 'server_encoding';.
Tuning guidance
This is a preset, read-only parameter: it reports a value fixed when PostgreSQL was built or the cluster was initialized, and cannot be tuned at runtime. Read it to verify the server’s build or cluster configuration (for example when matching a replica or debugging a compatibility issue); there is no setting to adjust.