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