pg_resetwal

resets write-ahead log and control information

TLDR

Reset WAL (dry run)

$ pg_resetwal -n [data_dir]

Reset WAL

$ pg_resetwal [data_dir]

Force reset

$ pg_resetwal -f [data_dir]

SYNOPSIS

pg_resetwal [options] [-D] datadir

DESCRIPTION

pg_resetwal resets write-ahead log and control information. Last resort recovery when WAL is corrupted. May cause data loss. Server must be stopped.

PARAMETERS

-D, --pgdata dir

Data directory.

-n, --dry-run

Show what would be done.

-f, --force

Force reset.

-e, --epoch epoch

Set next transaction ID epoch.

-x, --next-transaction-id xid

Set next transaction ID.

-o, --next-oid oid

Set next OID.

-m, --multixact-ids mxid,mxid

Set next and oldest multitransaction ID.

-O, --multixact-offset mxoff

Set next multitransaction offset.

-c, --commit-timestamp-ids xid,xid

Set oldest and newest transaction IDs for commit timestamps.

-u, --oldest-transaction-id xid

Set oldest unfrozen transaction ID.

-l, --next-wal-file walfile

Force minimum WAL starting location.

--wal-segsize size

Set WAL segment size in megabytes.

INSTALL

sudo dnf install postgresql17

sudo apk add postgresql17

sudo zypper install postgresql17

CAVEATS

Use only as a last resort when WAL is corrupted or pg_controldata shows inconsistencies. May cause data loss and transaction integrity issues. The PostgreSQL server must be stopped before running.