postgresql-service error checking wtf

Package: postgresql

When I first configure operating-system with postgresql-service with default config file, then run

guix system reconfigure config.scm,

then configure operating-system with postgresql-service with custom config file, then run

guix system reconfigure config.scm,

I get:

---

initdb: directory "/var/lib/postgresql/data" exists but is not empty

If you want to create a new database system, either remove or empty

the directory "/var/lib/postgresql/data" or run initdb

with an argument other than "/var/lib/postgresql/data".

making '/gnu/store/byn534fg4agm0vv9szl5kkfl19n080b2-system' the current system...

Installation finished. No error reported.

----

Postgresql doesn't run and the error message still references the default config file.

reassign 22619 guix

Danny Milosavljevic wrote:

There's no postgresql package on debbugs.gnu.org, so your report

went to the help-debbugs mailing list.

From the rest of your report, I'm guessing this should have been

assigned to guix, so I did that.

Danny Milosavljevic <dannym@scratchpost.org> skribis:

I’m not familiar with PostgreSQL, but perhaps you just need to do what

the message above says?

I’ve tested ‘postgresql-service’ in a pristine system with ‘guix system

vm’ and it starts without any such message. So I guess there’s stale

data in /var/lib/postgresql/data on your system?

I don’t see any references to a config file in what you pasted.

HTH,

Ludo’.

Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> skribis:

Indeed, thanks Glenn!

Ludo’.

tags 22619 moreinfo

Hi,

I've found out some more details. The message

is not an error for the entire service. It's initdb refusing to clobber the existing database (which has been created by the postgresql-service instance with no #:config-file argument) and helpful in preventing data loss.

The actual problem only arises because guix reconfigure doesn't deem a change in service arguments as reason to restart (or reconfigure) a service.

I.e. before, my config was:

(postgresql-service )

Then I did guix reconfigure ...

Afterwards, I changed the config to:

(postgresql-service #:config-file ...)

Then I did giux reconfigure # this erroneously doesn't reload the postgres service!!

In the postgres-service definition in guix/gnu/services/databases.scm , there's a %default-postgres-config . That's what I meant.

At all times, the default config file was printed in the log - which was because the postgres service never actually was reconfigured.

It was left over from the first unsuccessful launch because bug# 22618 hadn't been fixed at the time.

Thanks,

Danny

Danny Milosavljevic <dannym@scratchpost.org> skribis:

Yes, this is a known limitation: http://bugs.gnu.org/22039.

Currently, for services that are safe to be restarted, the solution is

to explicitly stop them beforehand, in which case the new service gets

started by ‘guix system reconfigure’:

# herd stop postgresql

# guix system reconfigure new-config.scm

I’m closing this bug. Let me know if anything else is amiss.

Thanks,

Ludo’.