---
title: "All Your GUCs in a Row: data_checksums"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-data-checksums-w5hyxxpgp
source_url: https://postgr.es/p/9lc
type: article
source: "Planet PostgreSQL"
published: 2026-06-05T01:04:24.409Z
updated: 2026-06-05T01:04:47.585Z
tags: ["database", "postgresql"]
reading_time: 4
upvotes: 0
comments: 0
language: en
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# All Your GUCs in a Row: data_checksums

**[Planet PostgreSQL](https://daily.dev/sources/planet-postgresql)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

PostgreSQL's data_checksums GUC has a thirteen-year history culminating in PostgreSQL 18 enabling checksums by default. When on, every data page carries a checksum verified on each read, protecting against silent corruption from bit rot or failing disks. Originally an initdb-only decision, PostgreSQL 12 added pg_checksums for offline enable/disable, and PostgreSQL 19 will allow online toggling via a background worker. Practical advice: check your existing clusters with SHOW data_checksums, enable if off using pg_checksums --enable during a maintenance window, and be aware that pg_upgrade requires source and target clusters to match on checksum settings.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://postgr.es/p/9lc>

## Similar posts on daily.dev

- [Postgres 18 New Default for Data Checksums and...](https://daily.dev/posts/postgres-18-new-default-for-data-checksums-and--mk3onhcn2) · Crunchy Data · 46 upvotes · 1 comments
- [Looking Forward to Postgres 19: Checksums For All](https://daily.dev/posts/looking-forward-to-postgres-19-checksums-for-all-whx7zshxw) · Planet PostgreSQL · 4 upvotes · 1 comments
- [Waiting for PostgreSQL 19 – Online enabling and disabling of data checksums – select \* from depesz;](https://daily.dev/posts/waiting-for-postgresql-19-online-enabling-and-disabling-of-data-checksums-select-from-depesz--szah7uise) · depesz · 4 upvotes · 0 comments

---

Tags: [#database](https://daily.dev/tags/database), [#postgresql](https://daily.dev/tags/postgresql)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-data-checksums-w5hyxxpgp)