Re: Howto tell pg_ctl to use a non-default directory for config files

In PostgreSQL, the configuration files do not have to live inside the data directory. You can place them elsewhere and tell PostgreSQL where to find them.

# Set postgresql.conf outside the data directory
hba_file = '/usr/local/etc/postgres/pg_hba.conf’

# pg_hba.conf
For Patroni or pg_auto_failover
Use scram-sha-256

local all all peer
host all all 127.0.0.1/32 scram-sha-256
host all all ::1/128 scram-sha-256

Then start
postgres -D /var/db/postgres/data \
-c config_file=/usr/local/etc/postgres/postgresql.conf

> On Jun 4, 2026, at 1:02 PM, Tom Lane <tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us> wrote:
>
> Michael Grimm <trashcan(at)ellael(dot)org> writes:
>> Question:
>> Is there a way to tell PostgreSQL to look for config files in e.g. /usr/local/etc/postgres, where normally all config files reside in FreeBSD? [2]
>
> Typically you would say "pg_ctl -D /usr/local/etc/postgres" to point
> it at the config file. Then you would need the config file to include
> data_directory and perhaps other settings pointing to wherever the
> actual data files are. See
>
> https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/runtime-config-file-locations.html
>
> regards, tom lane
>
>