Re: [PATCH] doc: Fix pg_combinebackup's description of --sync-method

Hi Fujii,

Thanks! Glad the --sync-method fix looks good.

You're right about the libpq note. pg_combinebackup doesn't connect to a
server; it only reads local backup directories. In meson its dependencies
are just [frontend_code] (pg_basebackup, which does use libpq, lists libpq
explicitly), it links no -lpq, and no source file includes libpq-fe.h or
calls any PQ function. So the libpq environment variables don't apply to
it, and the note looks like it was copied from pg_basebackup. (The Makefile
still adds -I$(libpq_srcdir) to CPPFLAGS, which also appears to be
vestigial, but that's a separate build nit.)

The attached patch removes that paragraph; the PG_COLOR note below is
unaffected, and the docs still build. It applies to master, REL_18 and
REL_17.

Regards,
Sai Pranav

On Thu, Nov 5, 2026 at 5:33 AM Fujii Masao <masao(dot)fujii(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:

> On Thu, Nov 5, 2026 at 2:43 AM Raja Sai pranav <rajasaipranav0(at)gmail(dot)com>
> wrote:
> > The --sync-method entry on the pg_combinebackup reference page was
> copied from pg_basebackup and still says "When the plain format is used"
> twice
>
> Thanks for the report and patch! LGTM. Barring any objections, I'll commit
> it.
>
> BTW, I also wonder if the following description in the Environment section
> was
> copied from elsewhere and is incorrect. AFAIK, pg_combinebackup neither
> uses
> nor links against libpq. Should we remove it? Or am I missing something?
>
> This utility, like most other PostgreSQL utilities, uses the
> environment
> variables supported by libpq (see Section 32.14).
>
> Regards,
>
> --
> Fujii Masao
>