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Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows
6+ messages / 4 participants
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* Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows
@ 2026-02-04 06:43 David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 12:32 ` Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Andrew Dunstan <[email protected]>
  0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread

From: David G. Johnston @ 2026-02-04 06:43 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]>

On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, PG Bug reporting form <[email protected]>
wrote:

> The following bug has been logged on the website:
>
> Bug reference:      19392
> Logged by:          Jeff Laing
> Email address:      [email protected]
> PostgreSQL version: 18.1
> Operating system:   Windows 11
> Description:
>
> After struggling with it for a while, I’ve come to the conclusion that
> PG_UPGRADE is not functional on Windows.


This is a very hard to accept premise and this bug report doesn’t support
it.


>
> This results in command-lines that look like:
>
>         "C:/postgresql16/bin/pg_ctl" -w -l
> "C:/postgresql18/data/pg_upgrade_output.d/20260204T130353.043/log/pg_
> upgrade_server.log"
> -D "C:/postgresql16/data" -o "-p 5432 -b " start >>
> "C:/postgresql18/data/pg_upgrade_output.d/20260204T130353.043/log/pg_
> upgrade_server_start.log"
> 2>&1
>
> connection to server at "localhost" (::1), port 5432 failed: fe_sendauth:
> no
> password supplied
> could not connect to source postmaster started with the command:
> "C:/postgresql16/bin/pg_ctl" -w -l
> "C:/postgresql18/data/pg_upgrade_output.d/20260204T130353.043/log/pg_
> upgrade_server.log"
> -D "C:/postgresql16/data" -o "-p 5432 -b " start
> Failure, exiting
>
> Note the quoting around the -o, -p and -b arguments.
> There should perhaps be TWO double-quotes after -o or it should not be
> present.
> There should not be a double-quote after -b


Showing the log files generated by the startup attempts would be helpful.
Your guess here regarding how the “-o” argument’s value behaves is
incorrect, the quotes are precisely where the documentation says they
should be.  They should result in something like: “…/postgres -p 5432 -b”
as a subprocess of the pg_ctl command which is valid.


> The problem appears as far back as the 16 sources.
>
>
It seems even more unlikely that if this were the underlying cause it would
have gone undetected for two full releases.

We will need a reproducing bug report with the commands issued and logs
generated.

David J.


^ permalink  raw  reply  [nested|flat] 6+ messages in thread

* Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows
  2026-02-04 06:43 Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
@ 2026-02-04 12:32 ` Andrew Dunstan <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 21:53   ` RE: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Jeff Laing <[email protected]>
  0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread

From: Andrew Dunstan @ 2026-02-04 12:32 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: David G. Johnston <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]>


On 2026-02-04 We 1:43 AM, David G. Johnston wrote:
> On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, PG Bug reporting form 
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>     The following bug has been logged on the website:
>
>     Bug reference:      19392
>     Logged by:          Jeff Laing
>     Email address: [email protected]
>     PostgreSQL version: 18.1
>     Operating system:   Windows 11
>     Description:
>
>     After struggling with it for a while, I’ve come to the conclusion that
>     PG_UPGRADE is not functional on Windows.
>
>
> This is a very hard to accept premise and this bug report doesn’t 
> support it.
>
>

pg_upgrade is tested on Windows all the time, both in the buildfarm and 
in CI, so the statement that it is not functional doesn't add up.


cheers


andrew



--
Andrew Dunstan
EDB:https://www.enterprisedb.com


^ permalink  raw  reply  [nested|flat] 6+ messages in thread

* RE: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows
  2026-02-04 06:43 Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 12:32 ` Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Andrew Dunstan <[email protected]>
@ 2026-02-04 21:53   ` Jeff Laing <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 23:38     ` Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
  0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread

From: Jeff Laing @ 2026-02-04 21:53 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; +Cc: David G. Johnston <[email protected]>; Andrew Dunstan <[email protected]>

Mea culpa, I apologise to the list for misreading the source code.

My problem stemmed from pg_upgrade needing to have the superuser password available via PGPASS (or PGPASSWORD).  It's not clear why it included the word "postmaster" in the error message which sent me off down a rathole of "it has no idea what it's doing, perhaps its connecting to the wrong instance, etc..."

>>> port 5432 failed: fe_sendauth: no password supplied could not connect to source postmaster started with the command

I do think that having it check for not having a password and actually announcing that up front would be an improvement, rather than doing the compatibility checks, etc and waiting until it tries to startup before failing cryptically.

Nevertheless, I have successfully upgraded my V16 to V18 using pg_upgrade on Windows 11.

I can't see how I close the ticket, but it can certainly be closed as PEBKAC

Jeff

From: Andrew Dunstan <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, 4 February 2026 11:33 PM
To: David G. Johnston <[email protected]>; Jeff Laing <[email protected]>; [email protected]
Subject: Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows



On 2026-02-04 We 1:43 AM, David G. Johnston wrote:
On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, PG Bug reporting form <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
The following bug has been logged on the website:

Bug reference:      19392
Logged by:          Jeff Laing
Email address:      [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
PostgreSQL version: 18.1
Operating system:   Windows 11
Description:

After struggling with it for a while, I've come to the conclusion that
PG_UPGRADE is not functional on Windows.

This is a very hard to accept premise and this bug report doesn't support it.





pg_upgrade is tested on Windows all the time, both in the buildfarm and in CI, so the statement that it is not functional doesn't add up.



cheers



andrew





--

Andrew Dunstan

EDB: https://www.enterprisedb.com<https://www.enterprisedb.com/;


^ permalink  raw  reply  [nested|flat] 6+ messages in thread

* Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows
  2026-02-04 06:43 Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 12:32 ` Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Andrew Dunstan <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 21:53   ` RE: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Jeff Laing <[email protected]>
@ 2026-02-04 23:38     ` David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
  2026-02-05 02:57       ` RE: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Jeff Laing <[email protected]>
  0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread

From: David G. Johnston @ 2026-02-04 23:38 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: Jeff Laing <[email protected]>; +Cc: PostgreSQL Bug List <[email protected]>; Andrew Dunstan <[email protected]>

On Wed, Feb 4, 2026, 13:53 Jeff Laing <[email protected]> wrote:

> .  It’s not clear why it included the word “postmaster” in the error
> message which sent me off down a rathole of “it has no idea what it’s
> doing, perhaps its connecting to the wrong instance, etc…”
>
>
>
Postmaster is the name of the executable that is the server program.

We also don't have a formal bug tracker, so nothing exists to close.

David J.


^ permalink  raw  reply  [nested|flat] 6+ messages in thread

* RE: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows
  2026-02-04 06:43 Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 12:32 ` Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Andrew Dunstan <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 21:53   ` RE: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Jeff Laing <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 23:38     ` Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
@ 2026-02-05 02:57       ` Jeff Laing <[email protected]>
  2026-02-05 04:23         ` Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Tom Lane <[email protected]>
  0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread

From: Jeff Laing @ 2026-02-05 02:57 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: David G. Johnston <[email protected]>; +Cc: PostgreSQL Bug List <[email protected]>

>> From: David G. Johnston [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
>> Sent: Thursday, 5 February 2026 10:39 AM
>>
>> Postmaster is the name of the executable that is the server program.

Perhaps on Unix, but I don’t think it is on Windows?

C:> netstat -abo
…
  TCP    0.0.0.0:5432           SPNX-1Z2SRV3:0         LISTENING       39060
[postgres.exe]
…

I can see that the “directory structure” has mentions of “postmaster”

[13:50:24.50 C:\postgresql18]
C:> dir/s/b postmaster*
C:\postgresql18\data\postmaster.opts
C:\postgresql18\data\postmaster.pid
C:\postgresql18\include\server\postmaster
C:\postgresql18\include\server\postmaster\postmaster.h

… but on windows, that’s not visible in the pathname of the executable.

[13:52:20.45 C:\postgresql18]
C:> dir/s/b postgres.exe
C:\postgresql18\bin\postgres.exe

Again, only an issue because in a past life, “postmaster” was a different user-id used by a completely different application, so it’s not critical, it’s just misled and sent me down the wrong blind alley.


^ permalink  raw  reply  [nested|flat] 6+ messages in thread

* Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows
  2026-02-04 06:43 Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 12:32 ` Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Andrew Dunstan <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 21:53   ` RE: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Jeff Laing <[email protected]>
  2026-02-04 23:38     ` Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
  2026-02-05 02:57       ` RE: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows Jeff Laing <[email protected]>
@ 2026-02-05 04:23         ` Tom Lane <[email protected]>
  0 siblings, 0 replies; 6+ messages in thread

From: Tom Lane @ 2026-02-05 04:23 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: Jeff Laing <[email protected]>; +Cc: David G. Johnston <[email protected]>; PostgreSQL Bug List <[email protected]>

Jeff Laing <[email protected]> writes:
> From: David G. Johnston [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
>> Postmaster is the name of the executable that is the server program.

> Perhaps on Unix, but I don’t think it is on Windows?

There hasn't been a "postmaster" executable on Unix either for a few
years now.  But we still use that terminology for the server's topmost
process.  See

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/connect-estab.html

			regards, tom lane






^ permalink  raw  reply  [nested|flat] 6+ messages in thread


end of thread, other threads:[~2026-02-05 04:23 UTC | newest]

Thread overview: 6+ messages (download: mbox.gz follow: Atom feed)
-- links below jump to the message on this page --
2026-02-04 06:43 Re: BUG #19392: PG_UPGRADE is non-functional on Windows David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
2026-02-04 12:32 ` Andrew Dunstan <[email protected]>
2026-02-04 21:53   ` Jeff Laing <[email protected]>
2026-02-04 23:38     ` David G. Johnston <[email protected]>
2026-02-05 02:57       ` Jeff Laing <[email protected]>
2026-02-05 04:23         ` Tom Lane <[email protected]>

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