Pg-archivecleanup Must Specify Oldest Kept Wal File Official

Deleting WALs that a standby hasn't yet replayed will break replication. Ensure the oldest_kept_wal_file is safely behind all replicas' flush positions.

A hypothetical default (e.g., keep the latest 10 files) would be because:

# CORRECT CONFIGURATION archive_cleanup_command = 'pg_archivecleanup /var/lib/postgresql/archive %r'

By understanding the role of pg_archivecleanup —deleting archived WAL files older than a specified segment—you can easily resolve the error by providing the correct WAL filename. More importantly, you can prevent it by implementing robust scripting practices: validating arguments, using dry-run options, and integrating cleanup with backup and replication policies. pg-archivecleanup must specify oldest kept wal file

#!/bin/bash ARCHIVE_DIR="/var/lib/pgsql/archive" OLDEST_KEPT="$1"

Below is a production-ready script that safely uses pg_archivecleanup without the dreaded error.

Write-Ahead Logging is a protocol ensuring data integrity. Every change to the database is first written to a WAL file (a log of operations) before being applied to the data files. In the event of a crash, PostgreSQL replays the WAL to restore consistency. Deleting WALs that a standby hasn't yet replayed

Check that the expected file remains:

recovery_end_command = 'pg_archivecleanup /mnt/archive %r'

ls /var/lib/pgsql/archive/ | grep 000000010000001A000000E1 More importantly, you can prevent it by implementing

However, pg_archivecleanup does not work on "auto-pilot." It requires a reference point—a specific file that acts as the anchor. It will look at the archive directory, identify the sequence of files, and delete everything older than the specified file, leaving the specified file and everything newer untouched.

which fails silently in cron unless error handling is implemented. Consequently, archives grow unbounded, causing disk full errors.