wal_receiver_status_interval — PostgreSQL configuration parameter

Specifies the minimum frequency for the WAL receiver process on the standby to send information about replication progress to the primary or upstream standby, where it can be seen using the pg_stat_replication view.

At a glance

What it does

Specifies the minimum frequency for the WAL receiver process on the standby to send information about replication progress to the primary or upstream standby, where it can be seen using the pg_stat_replication view. The standby will report the last write-ahead log location it has written, the last position it has flushed to disk, and the last position it has applied. This parameter’s value is the maximum amount of time between reports. Updates are sent each time the write or flush positions change, or as often as specified by this parameter if set to a non-zero value. There are additional cases where updates are sent while ignoring this parameter; for example, when processing of the existing WAL completes or when synchronous_commit is set to remote_apply. Thus, the apply position may lag slightly behind the true position. If this value is specified without units, it is taken as seconds. The default value is 10 seconds. This parameter can only be set in the postgresql.conf file or on the server command line.

(Description quoted from the official PostgreSQL documentation.)

How to apply a change

Set it in postgresql.conf (or with ALTER SYSTEM) and reload with SELECT pg_reload_conf(); or pg_ctl reload — no restart needed.

Inspect the current value and source with SHOW wal_receiver_status_interval; or SELECT name, setting, unit, context, source FROM pg_settings WHERE name = 'wal_receiver_status_interval';.

Tuning guidance

Lower it for more frequent feedback (tighter lag visibility and hot_standby_feedback response); raise it to reduce reply traffic. Must be below wal_sender_timeout.

Reference

PostgreSQL documentation — wal_receiver_status_interval.