ClickHouse/docs/en/operations/server-configuration-parameters/settings.md

slug	sidebar_position	sidebar_label	description
/en/operations/server-configuration-parameters/settings	57	Global Server Settings	This section contains descriptions of server settings that cannot be changed at the session or query level.

Global Server Settings

This section contains descriptions of server settings that cannot be changed at the session or query level.

These settings are stored in the config.xml file on the ClickHouse server.

Other settings are described in the “Settings” section.

Before studying the settings, read the Configuration files section and note the use of substitutions (the incl and optional attributes).

allow_use_jemalloc_memory

Allows to use jemalloc memory.

Type: Bool

Default: 1

asynchronous_heavy_metrics_update_period_s

Period in seconds for updating asynchronous metrics.

Type: UInt32

Default: 120

asynchronous_metrics_update_period_s

Period in seconds for updating asynchronous metrics.

Type: UInt32

Default: 1

background_buffer_flush_schedule_pool_size

The maximum number of threads that will be used for performing flush operations for Buffer-engine tables in the background.

Type: UInt64

Default: 16

background_common_pool_size

The maximum number of threads that will be used for performing a variety of operations (mostly garbage collection) for *MergeTree-engine tables in a background.

Type: UInt64

Default: 8

background_distributed_schedule_pool_size

The maximum number of threads that will be used for executing distributed sends.

Type: UInt64

Default: 16

background_fetches_pool_size

The maximum number of threads that will be used for fetching data parts from another replica for *MergeTree-engine tables in a background.

Type: UInt64

Default: 8

background_merges_mutations_concurrency_ratio

Sets a ratio between the number of threads and the number of background merges and mutations that can be executed concurrently. For example, if the ratio equals to 2 and background_pool_size is set to 16 then ClickHouse can execute 32 background merges concurrently. This is possible, because background operations could be suspended and postponed. This is needed to give small merges more execution priority. You can only increase this ratio at runtime. To lower it you have to restart the server. The same as for background_pool_size setting background_merges_mutations_concurrency_ratio could be applied from the default profile for backward compatibility.

Type: Float

Default: 2

background_merges_mutations_scheduling_policy

The policy on how to perform a scheduling for background merges and mutations. Possible values are: round_robin and shortest_task_first.

background_merges_mutations_scheduling_policy

Algorithm used to select next merge or mutation to be executed by background thread pool. Policy may be changed at runtime without server restart. Could be applied from the default profile for backward compatibility.

Possible values:

• "round_robin" — Every concurrent merge and mutation is executed in round-robin order to ensure starvation-free operation. Smaller merges are completed faster than bigger ones just because they have fewer blocks to merge.
• "shortest_task_first" — Always execute smaller merge or mutation. Merges and mutations are assigned priorities based on their resulting size. Merges with smaller sizes are strictly preferred over bigger ones. This policy ensures the fastest possible merge of small parts but can lead to indefinite starvation of big merges in partitions heavily overloaded by INSERTs.

Type: String

Default: round_robin

background_message_broker_schedule_pool_size

The maximum number of threads that will be used for executing background operations for message streaming.

Type: UInt64

Default: 16

background_move_pool_size

The maximum number of threads that will be used for moving data parts to another disk or volume for *MergeTree-engine tables in a background.

Type: UInt64

Default: 8

background_pool_size

Sets the number of threads performing background merges and mutations for tables with MergeTree engines. You can only increase the number of threads at runtime. To lower the number of threads you have to restart the server. By adjusting this setting, you manage CPU and disk load. Smaller pool size utilizes less CPU and disk resources, but background processes advance slower which might eventually impact query performance.

Before changing it, please also take a look at related MergeTree settings, such as number_of_free_entries_in_pool_to_lower_max_size_of_merge and number_of_free_entries_in_pool_to_execute_mutation.

Type: UInt64

Default: 16

background_schedule_pool_size

The maximum number of threads that will be used for constantly executing some lightweight periodic operations for replicated tables, Kafka streaming, and DNS cache updates.

Type: UInt64

Default: 128

backup_threads

The maximum number of threads to execute BACKUP requests.

Type: UInt64

Default: 16

backups_io_thread_pool_queue_size

The maximum number of jobs that can be scheduled on the Backups IO Thread pool. It is recommended to keep this queue unlimited (0) due to the current S3 backup logic.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

cache_size_to_ram_max_ratio

Set cache size to RAM max ratio. Allows lowering the cache size on low-memory systems.

Type: Double

Default: 0.5

concurrent_threads_soft_limit_num

The maximum number of query processing threads, excluding threads for retrieving data from remote servers, allowed to run all queries. This is not a hard limit. In case if the limit is reached the query will still get at least one thread to run. Query can upscale to desired number of threads during execution if more threads become available.

Zero means Unlimited.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

concurrent_threads_soft_limit_ratio_to_cores

Same as concurrent_threads_soft_limit_num, but with ratio to cores.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

default_database

Default database name.

Type: String

Default: default

disable_internal_dns_cache

Disables the internal DNS cache. Recommended for operating ClickHouse in systems with frequently changing infrastructure such as Kubernetes.

Type: Bool

Default: 0

dns_cache_update_period

Internal DNS cache update period in seconds.

Type: Int32

Default: 15

dns_max_consecutive_failures

Max consecutive resolving failures before dropping a host from ClickHouse DNS cache

Type: UInt32

Default: 1024

index_mark_cache_policy

Index mark cache policy name.

Type: String

Default: SLRU

index_mark_cache_size

Size of cache for index marks. Zero means disabled.

:::note This setting can be modified at runtime and will take effect immediately. :::

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

index_mark_cache_size_ratio

The size of the protected queue in the index mark cache relative to the cache's total size.

Type: Double

Default: 0.5

index_uncompressed_cache_policy

Index uncompressed cache policy name.

Type: String

Default: SLRU

index_uncompressed_cache_size

Size of cache for uncompressed blocks of MergeTree indices. Zero means disabled.

:::note This setting can be modified at runtime and will take effect immediately. :::

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

index_uncompressed_cache_size_ratio

The size of the protected queue in the index uncompressed cache relative to the cache's total size.

Type: Double

Default: 0.5

io_thread_pool_queue_size

Queue size for IO thread pool. Zero means unlimited.

Type: UInt64

Default: 10000

mark_cache_policy

Mark cache policy name.

Type: String

Default: SLRU

mark_cache_size

Size of cache for marks (index of MergeTree family of tables).

:::note This setting can be modified at runtime and will take effect immediately. :::

Type: UInt64

Default: 5368709120

mark_cache_size_ratio

The size of the protected queue in the mark cache relative to the cache's total size.

Type: Double

Default: 0.5

max_backup_bandwidth_for_server

The maximum read speed in bytes per second for all backups on server. Zero means unlimited.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_backups_io_thread_pool_free_size

If the number of idle threads in the Backups IO Thread pool exceeds max_backup_io_thread_pool_free_size, ClickHouse will release resources occupied by idling threads and decrease the pool size. Threads can be created again if necessary.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_backups_io_thread_pool_size

The maximum number of threads that would be used for IO operations for BACKUP queries

Type: UInt64

Default: 1000

max_concurrent_queries

Limit on total number of concurrently executed queries. Zero means Unlimited. Note that limits on insert and select queries, and on the maximum number of queries for users must also be considered. See also max_concurrent_insert_queries, max_concurrent_select_queries, max_concurrent_queries_for_all_users. Zero means unlimited.

:::note This setting can be modified at runtime and will take effect immediately. Queries that are already running will remain unchanged. :::

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_concurrent_insert_queries

Limit on total number of concurrent insert queries. Zero means Unlimited.

:::note This setting can be modified at runtime and will take effect immediately. Queries that are already running will remain unchanged. :::

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_concurrent_select_queries

Limit on total number of concurrently select queries. Zero means Unlimited.

:::note This setting can be modified at runtime and will take effect immediately. Queries that are already running will remain unchanged. :::

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_connections

Max server connections.

Type: Int32

Default: 1024

max_io_thread_pool_free_size

Max free size for IO thread pool.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_io_thread_pool_size

The maximum number of threads that would be used for IO operations

Type: UInt64

Default: 100

max_local_read_bandwidth_for_server

The maximum speed of local reads in bytes per second. Zero means unlimited.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_local_write_bandwidth_for_server

The maximum speed of local writes in bytes per second. Zero means unlimited.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_partition_size_to_drop

Restriction on dropping partitions.

If the size of a MergeTree table exceeds max_partition_size_to_drop (in bytes), you can’t drop a partition using a DROP PARTITION query. This setting does not require a restart of the Clickhouse server to apply. Another way to disable the restriction is to create the <clickhouse-path>/flags/force_drop_table file. Default value: 50 GB. The value 0 means that you can drop partitions without any restrictions.

:::note This limitation does not restrict drop table and truncate table, see max_table_size_to_drop :::

max_remote_read_network_bandwidth_for_server

The maximum speed of data exchange over the network in bytes per second for read. Zero means unlimited.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_remote_write_network_bandwidth_for_server

The maximum speed of data exchange over the network in bytes per second for write. Zero means unlimited.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_server_memory_usage

Limit on total memory usage. Zero means Unlimited.

The default max_server_memory_usage value is calculated as memory_amount * max_server_memory_usage_to_ram_ratio.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_server_memory_usage_to_ram_ratio

Same as max_server_memory_usage but in a ratio to physical RAM. Allows lowering the memory usage on low-memory systems. Zero means unlimited.

On hosts with low RAM and swap, you possibly need setting max_server_memory_usage_to_ram_ratio larger than 1.

Type: Double

Default: 0.9

max_table_size_to_drop

Restriction on deleting tables.

If the size of a MergeTree table exceeds max_table_size_to_drop (in bytes), you can’t delete it using a DROP query or TRUNCATE query.

This setting does not require a restart of the Clickhouse server to apply. Another way to disable the restriction is to create the <clickhouse-path>/flags/force_drop_table file.

Default value: 50 GB. The value 0 means that you can delete all tables without any restrictions. Example

<max_table_size_to_drop>0</max_table_size_to_drop>

max_temporary_data_on_disk_size

The maximum amount of storage that could be used for external aggregation, joins or sorting. Queries that exceed this limit will fail with an exception. Zero means unlimited.

Also see max_temporary_data_on_disk_size_for_user and max_temporary_data_on_disk_size_for_query.

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

max_thread_pool_free_size

If the number of idle threads in the Global Thread pool is greater than max_thread_pool_free_size, then ClickHouse releases resources occupied by some threads and the pool size is decreased. Threads can be created again if necessary.

Type: UInt64

Default: 1000

max_thread_pool_size

The maximum number of threads that could be allocated from the OS and used for query execution and background operations.

Type: UInt64

Default: 10000

mmap_cache_size

Sets the cache size (in bytes) for mapped files. This setting allows avoiding frequent open/close calls (which are very expensive due to consequent page faults), and to reuse mappings from several threads and queries. The setting value is the number of mapped regions (usually equal to the number of mapped files). The amount of data in mapped files can be monitored in the tables system.metrics and system.metric_log with the MMappedFiles and MMappedFileBytes metrics. Also, in system.asynchronous_metrics and system.asynchronous_metrics_log by the MMapCacheCells metric, and in system.events, system.processes, system.query_log, system.query_thread_log, system.query_views_log by the CreatedReadBufferMMap, CreatedReadBufferMMapFailed, MMappedFileCacheHits, MMappedFileCacheMisses events.

Note that the amount of data in mapped files does not consume memory directly and is not accounted for in query or server memory usage — because this memory can be discarded similar to the OS page cache. The cache is dropped (the files are closed) automatically on the removal of old parts in tables of the MergeTree family, also it can be dropped manually by the SYSTEM DROP MMAP CACHE query.

:::note This setting can be modified at runtime and will take effect immediately. :::

Type: UInt64

Default: 1000

restore_threads

The maximum number of threads to execute RESTORE requests.

Type: UInt64

Default: 16

show_addresses_in_stack_traces

If it is set true will show addresses in stack traces

Type: Bool

Default: 1

shutdown_wait_unfinished_queries

If set true ClickHouse will wait for running queries finish before shutdown.

Type: Bool

Default: 0

temporary_data_in_cache

With this option, temporary data will be stored in the cache for the particular disk. In this section, you should specify the disk name with the type cache. In that case, the cache and temporary data will share the same space, and the disk cache can be evicted to create temporary data.

:::note Only one option can be used to configure temporary data storage: tmp_path ,tmp_policy, temporary_data_in_cache. :::

Example

Both the cache for local_disk, and temporary data will be stored in /tiny_local_cache on the filesystem, managed by tiny_local_cache.

<clickhouse>
    <storage_configuration>
        <disks>
            <local_disk>
                <type>local</type>
                <path>/local_disk/</path>
            </local_disk>

            <!-- highlight-start -->
            <tiny_local_cache>
                <type>cache</type>
                <disk>local_disk</disk>
                <path>/tiny_local_cache/</path>
                <max_size_rows>10M</max_size_rows>
                <max_file_segment_size>1M</max_file_segment_size>
                <cache_on_write_operations>1</cache_on_write_operations>
                <do_not_evict_index_and_mark_files>0</do_not_evict_index_and_mark_files>
            </tiny_local_cache>
            <!-- highlight-end -->
        </disks>
    </storage_configuration>

    <!-- highlight-start -->
    <temporary_data_in_cache>tiny_local_cache</temporary_data_in_cache>
    <!-- highlight-end -->
</clickhouse>

Type: String

Default:

thread_pool_queue_size

TThe maximum number of jobs that can be scheduled on the Global Thread pool. Increasing queue size leads to larger memory usage. It is recommended to keep this value equal to max_thread_pool_size. Zero means unlimited.

Type: UInt64

Default: 10000

tmp_policy

Policy for storage with temporary data. Also see the MergeTree Table Engine documentation.

:::note

• Only one option can be used to configure temporary data storage: tmp_path ,tmp_policy, temporary_data_in_cache.
• move_factor, keep_free_space_bytes,max_data_part_size_bytes and are ignored.
• Policy should have exactly one volume with local disks. :::

Example

When /disk1 is full, temporary data will be stored on /disk2.

<clickhouse>
    <storage_configuration>
        <disks>
            <disk1>
                <path>/disk1/</path>
            </disk1>
            <disk2>
                <path>/disk2/</path>
            </disk2>
        </disks>

        <policies>
            <!-- highlight-start -->
            <tmp_two_disks>
                <volumes>
                    <main>
                        <disk>disk1</disk>
                        <disk>disk2</disk>
                    </main>
                </volumes>
            </tmp_two_disks>
            <!-- highlight-end -->
        </policies>
    </storage_configuration>

    <!-- highlight-start -->
    <tmp_policy>tmp_two_disks</tmp_policy>
    <!-- highlight-end -->
</clickhouse>

Type: String

Default:

uncompressed_cache_policy

Uncompressed cache policy name.

Type: String

Default: SLRU

uncompressed_cache_size

Cache size (in bytes) for uncompressed data used by table engines from the MergeTree family. Zero means disabled.

There is one shared cache for the server. Memory is allocated on demand. The cache is used if the option use_uncompressed_cache is enabled.

The uncompressed cache is advantageous for very short queries in individual cases.

:::note This setting can be modified at runtime and will take effect immediately. :::

Type: UInt64

Default: 0

uncompressed_cache_size_ratio

The size of the protected queue in the uncompressed cache relative to the cache's total size.

Type: Double

Default: 0.5

builtin_dictionaries_reload_interval

The interval in seconds before reloading built-in dictionaries.

ClickHouse reloads built-in dictionaries every x seconds. This makes it possible to edit dictionaries “on the fly” without restarting the server.

Default value: 3600.

Example

<builtin_dictionaries_reload_interval>3600</builtin_dictionaries_reload_interval>

compression

Data compression settings for MergeTree-engine tables.

:::note Don’t use it if you have just started using ClickHouse. :::

Configuration template:

<compression>
    <case>
      <min_part_size>...</min_part_size>
      <min_part_size_ratio>...</min_part_size_ratio>
      <method>...</method>
      <level>...</level>
    </case>
    ...
</compression>

<case> fields:

• min_part_size – The minimum size of a data part.
• min_part_size_ratio – The ratio of the data part size to the table size.
• method – Compression method. Acceptable values: lz4, lz4hc, zstd,deflate_qpl.
• level – Compression level. See Codecs.

You can configure multiple <case> sections.

Actions when conditions are met:

• If a data part matches a condition set, ClickHouse uses the specified compression method.
• If a data part matches multiple condition sets, ClickHouse uses the first matched condition set.

If no conditions met for a data part, ClickHouse uses the lz4 compression.

Example

<compression incl="clickhouse_compression">
    <case>
        <min_part_size>10000000000</min_part_size>
        <min_part_size_ratio>0.01</min_part_size_ratio>
        <method>zstd</method>
        <level>1</level>
    </case>
</compression>

encryption

Configures a command to obtain a key to be used by encryption codecs. Key (or keys) should be written in environment variables or set in the configuration file.

Keys can be hex or string with a length equal to 16 bytes.

Example

Loading from config:

<encryption_codecs>
    <aes_128_gcm_siv>
        <key>1234567812345678</key>
    </aes_128_gcm_siv>
</encryption_codecs>

:::note Storing keys in the configuration file is not recommended. It isn't secure. You can move the keys into a separate config file on a secure disk and put a symlink to that config file to config.d/ folder. :::

Loading from config, when the key is in hex:

<encryption_codecs>
    <aes_128_gcm_siv>
        <key_hex>00112233445566778899aabbccddeeff</key_hex>
    </aes_128_gcm_siv>
</encryption_codecs>

Loading key from the environment variable:

<encryption_codecs>
    <aes_128_gcm_siv>
        <key_hex from_env="ENVVAR"></key_hex>
    </aes_128_gcm_siv>
</encryption_codecs>

Here current_key_id sets the current key for encryption, and all specified keys can be used for decryption.

Each of these methods can be applied for multiple keys:

<encryption_codecs>
    <aes_128_gcm_siv>
        <key_hex id="0">00112233445566778899aabbccddeeff</key_hex>
        <key_hex id="1" from_env="ENVVAR"></key_hex>
        <current_key_id>1</current_key_id>
    </aes_128_gcm_siv>
</encryption_codecs>

Here current_key_id shows current key for encryption.

Also, users can add nonce that must be 12 bytes long (by default encryption and decryption processes use nonce that consists of zero bytes):

<encryption_codecs>
    <aes_128_gcm_siv>
        <nonce>012345678910</nonce>
    </aes_128_gcm_siv>
</encryption_codecs>

Or it can be set in hex:

<encryption_codecs>
    <aes_128_gcm_siv>
        <nonce_hex>abcdefabcdef</nonce_hex>
    </aes_128_gcm_siv>
</encryption_codecs>

Everything mentioned above can be applied for aes_256_gcm_siv (but the key must be 32 bytes long).

custom_settings_prefixes

List of prefixes for custom settings. The prefixes must be separated with commas.

Example

<custom_settings_prefixes>custom_</custom_settings_prefixes>

See Also

• Custom settings

core_dump

Configures soft limit for core dump file size.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.

Default value: 1073741824 (1 GB).

:::note Hard limit is configured via system tools :::

Example

<core_dump>
    <size_limit>1073741824</size_limit>
</core_dump>

database_atomic_delay_before_drop_table_sec

Sets the delay before remove table data in seconds. If the query has SYNC modifier, this setting is ignored.

Default value: 480 (8 minute).

database_catalog_unused_dir_hide_timeout_sec

Parameter of a task that cleans up garbage from store/ directory. If some subdirectory is not used by clickhouse-server and this directory was not modified for last database_catalog_unused_dir_hide_timeout_sec seconds, the task will "hide" this directory by removing all access rights. It also works for directories that clickhouse-server does not expect to see inside store/. Zero means "immediately".

Default value: 3600 (1 hour).

database_catalog_unused_dir_rm_timeout_sec

Parameter of a task that cleans up garbage from store/ directory. If some subdirectory is not used by clickhouse-server and it was previously "hidden" (see database_catalog_unused_dir_hide_timeout_sec) and this directory was not modified for last database_catalog_unused_dir_rm_timeout_sec seconds, the task will remove this directory. It also works for directories that clickhouse-server does not expect to see inside store/. Zero means "never".

Default value: 2592000 (30 days).

database_catalog_unused_dir_cleanup_period_sec

Parameter of a task that cleans up garbage from store/ directory. Sets scheduling period of the task. Zero means "never".

Default value: 86400 (1 day).

default_profile

Default settings profile.

Settings profiles are located in the file specified in the parameter user_config.

Example

<default_profile>default</default_profile>

default_replica_path

The path to the table in ZooKeeper.

Example

<default_replica_path>/clickhouse/tables/{uuid}/{shard}</default_replica_path>

default_replica_name

The replica name in ZooKeeper.

Example

<default_replica_name>{replica}</default_replica_name>

dictionaries_config

The path to the config file for dictionaries.

Path:

• Specify the absolute path or the path relative to the server config file.
• The path can contain wildcards * and ?.

See also “Dictionaries”.

Example

<dictionaries_config>*_dictionary.xml</dictionaries_config>

user_defined_executable_functions_config

The path to the config file for executable user defined functions.

Path:

• Specify the absolute path or the path relative to the server config file.
• The path can contain wildcards * and ?.

See also “Executable User Defined Functions.”.

Example

<user_defined_executable_functions_config>*_function.xml</user_defined_executable_functions_config>

dictionaries_lazy_load

Lazy loading of dictionaries.

If true, then each dictionary is created on first use. If dictionary creation failed, the function that was using the dictionary throws an exception.

If false, all dictionaries are created when the server starts, if the dictionary or dictionaries are created too long or are created with errors, then the server boots without of these dictionaries and continues to try to create these dictionaries.

The default is true.

Example

<dictionaries_lazy_load>true</dictionaries_lazy_load>

format_schema_path

The path to the directory with the schemes for the input data, such as schemas for the CapnProto format.

Example

  <!-- Directory containing schema files for various input formats. -->
  <format_schema_path>format_schemas/</format_schema_path>

graphite

Sending data to Graphite.

Settings:

• host – The Graphite server.
• port – The port on the Graphite server.
• interval – The interval for sending, in seconds.
• timeout – The timeout for sending data, in seconds.
• root_path – Prefix for keys.
• metrics – Sending data from the system.metrics table.
• events – Sending deltas data accumulated for the time period from the system.events table.
• events_cumulative – Sending cumulative data from the system.events table.
• asynchronous_metrics – Sending data from the system.asynchronous_metrics table.

You can configure multiple <graphite> clauses. For instance, you can use this for sending different data at different intervals.

Example

<graphite>
    <host>localhost</host>
    <port>42000</port>
    <timeout>0.1</timeout>
    <interval>60</interval>
    <root_path>one_min</root_path>
    <metrics>true</metrics>
    <events>true</events>
    <events_cumulative>false</events_cumulative>
    <asynchronous_metrics>true</asynchronous_metrics>
</graphite>

graphite_rollup

Settings for thinning data for Graphite.

For more details, see GraphiteMergeTree.

Example

<graphite_rollup_example>
    <default>
        <function>max</function>
        <retention>
            <age>0</age>
            <precision>60</precision>
        </retention>
        <retention>
            <age>3600</age>
            <precision>300</precision>
        </retention>
        <retention>
            <age>86400</age>
            <precision>3600</precision>
        </retention>
    </default>
</graphite_rollup_example>

http_port/https_port

The port for connecting to the server over HTTP(s).

If https_port is specified, openSSL must be configured.

If http_port is specified, the OpenSSL configuration is ignored even if it is set.

Example

<https_port>9999</https_port>

http_server_default_response

The page that is shown by default when you access the ClickHouse HTTP(s) server. The default value is “Ok.” (with a line feed at the end)

Example

Opens https://tabix.io/ when accessing http://localhost: http_port.

<http_server_default_response>
  <![CDATA[<html ng-app="SMI2"><head><base href="http://ui.tabix.io/"></head><body><div ui-view="" class="content-ui"></div><script src="http://loader.tabix.io/master.js"></script></body></html>]]>
</http_server_default_response>

hsts_max_age

Expired time for HSTS in seconds. The default value is 0 means clickhouse disabled HSTS. If you set a positive number, the HSTS will be enabled and the max-age is the number you set.

Example

<hsts_max_age>600000</hsts_max_age>

include_from

The path to the file with substitutions.

For more information, see the section “Configuration files”.

Example

<include_from>/etc/metrica.xml</include_from>

interserver_listen_host

Restriction on hosts that can exchange data between ClickHouse servers. If Keeper is used, the same restriction will be applied to the communication between different Keeper instances. The default value equals to listen_host setting.

Examples:

<interserver_listen_host>::ffff:a00:1</interserver_listen_host>
<interserver_listen_host>10.0.0.1</interserver_listen_host>

interserver_http_port

Port for exchanging data between ClickHouse servers.

Example

<interserver_http_port>9009</interserver_http_port>

interserver_http_host

The hostname that can be used by other servers to access this server.

If omitted, it is defined in the same way as the hostname -f command.

Useful for breaking away from a specific network interface.

Example

<interserver_http_host>example.clickhouse.com</interserver_http_host>

interserver_https_port

Port for exchanging data between ClickHouse servers over HTTPS.

Example

<interserver_https_port>9010</interserver_https_port>

interserver_https_host

Similar to interserver_http_host, except that this hostname can be used by other servers to access this server over HTTPS.

Example

<interserver_https_host>example.clickhouse.com</interserver_https_host>

interserver_http_credentials

A username and a password used to connect to other servers during replication. Also the server authenticates other replicas using these credentials. So, interserver_http_credentials must be the same for all replicas in a cluster.

By default, if interserver_http_credentials section is omitted, authentication is not used during replication.

:::note interserver_http_credentials settings do not relate to a ClickHouse client credentials configuration. :::

:::note These credentials are common for replication via HTTP and HTTPS. :::

The section contains the following parameters:

• user — Username.
• password — Password.
• allow_empty — If true, then other replicas are allowed to connect without authentication even if credentials are set. If false, then connections without authentication are refused. Default value: false.
• old — Contains old user and password used during credential rotation. Several old sections can be specified.

Credentials Rotation

ClickHouse supports dynamic interserver credentials rotation without stopping all replicas at the same time to update their configuration. Credentials can be changed in several steps.

To enable authentication, set interserver_http_credentials.allow_empty to true and add credentials. This allows connections with authentication and without it.

<interserver_http_credentials>
    <user>admin</user>
    <password>111</password>
    <allow_empty>true</allow_empty>
</interserver_http_credentials>

After configuring all replicas set allow_empty to false or remove this setting. It makes authentication with new credentials mandatory.

To change existing credentials, move the username and the password to interserver_http_credentials.old section and update user and password with new values. At this point the server uses new credentials to connect to other replicas and accepts connections with either new or old credentials.

<interserver_http_credentials>
    <user>admin</user>
    <password>222</password>
    <old>
        <user>admin</user>
        <password>111</password>
    </old>
    <old>
        <user>temp</user>
        <password>000</password>
    </old>
</interserver_http_credentials>

When new credentials are applied to all replicas, old credentials may be removed.

keep_alive_timeout

The number of seconds that ClickHouse waits for incoming requests before closing the connection. Defaults to 10 seconds.

Example

<keep_alive_timeout>10</keep_alive_timeout>

listen_host

Restriction on hosts that requests can come from. If you want the server to answer all of them, specify ::.

Examples:

<listen_host>::1</listen_host>
<listen_host>127.0.0.1</listen_host>

listen_backlog

Backlog (queue size of pending connections) of the listen socket.

Default value: 4096 (as in linux 5.4+).

Usually this value does not need to be changed, since:

• default value is large enough,
• and for accepting client's connections server has separate thread.

So even if you have TcpExtListenOverflows (from nstat) non zero and this counter grows for ClickHouse server it does not mean that this value need to be increased, since:

• usually if 4096 is not enough it shows some internal ClickHouse scaling issue, so it is better to report an issue.
• and it does not mean that the server can handle more connections later (and even if it could, by that moment clients may be gone or disconnected).

Examples:

<listen_backlog>4096</listen_backlog>

logger

Logging settings.

Keys:

• level – Logging level. Acceptable values: trace, debug, information, warning, error.
• log – The log file. Contains all the entries according to level.
• errorlog – Error log file.
• size – Size of the file. Applies to log and errorlog. Once the file reaches size, ClickHouse archives and renames it, and creates a new log file in its place.
• count – The number of archived log files that ClickHouse stores.
• console – Send log and errorlog to the console instead of file. To enable, set to 1 or true.
• stream_compress – Compress log and errorlog with lz4 stream compression. To enable, set to 1 or true.

Both log and error log file names (only file names, not directories) support date and time format specifiers.

Format specifiers Using the following format specifiers, you can define a pattern for the resulting file name. “Example” column shows possible results for 2023-07-06 18:32:07.

Specifier	Description	Example
%%	Literal %	%
%n	New-line character
%t	Horizontal tab character
%Y	Year as a decimal number, e.g. 2017	2023
%y	Last 2 digits of year as a decimal number (range [00,99])	23
%C	First 2 digits of year as a decimal number (range [00,99])	20
%G	Four-digit ISO 8601 week-based year, i.e. the year that contains the specified week. Normally useful only with %V	2023
%g	Last 2 digits of ISO 8601 week-based year, i.e. the year that contains the specified week.	23
%b	Abbreviated month name, e.g. Oct (locale dependent)	Jul
%h	Synonym of %b	Jul
%B	Full month name, e.g. October (locale dependent)	July
%m	Month as a decimal number (range [01,12])	07
%U	Week of the year as a decimal number (Sunday is the first day of the week) (range [00,53])	27
%W	Week of the year as a decimal number (Monday is the first day of the week) (range [00,53])	27
%V	ISO 8601 week number (range [01,53])	27
%j	Day of the year as a decimal number (range [001,366])	187
%d	Day of the month as a zero-padded decimal number (range [01,31]). Single digit is preceded by zero.	06
%e	Day of the month as a space-padded decimal number (range [1,31]). Single digit is preceded by a space.	6
%a	Abbreviated weekday name, e.g. Fri (locale dependent)	Thu
%A	Full weekday name, e.g. Friday (locale dependent)	Thursday
%w	Weekday as a integer number with Sunday as 0 (range [0-6])	4
%u	Weekday as a decimal number, where Monday is 1 (ISO 8601 format) (range [1-7])	4
%H	Hour as a decimal number, 24 hour clock (range [00-23])	18
%I	Hour as a decimal number, 12 hour clock (range [01,12])	06
%M	Minute as a decimal number (range [00,59])	32
%S	Second as a decimal number (range [00,60])	07
%c	Standard date and time string, e.g. Sun Oct 17 04:41:13 2010 (locale dependent)	Thu Jul 6 18:32:07 2023
%x	Localized date representation (locale dependent)	07/06/23
%X	Localized time representation, e.g. 18:40:20 or 6:40:20 PM (locale dependent)	18:32:07
%D	Short MM/DD/YY date, equivalent to %m/%d/%y	07/06/23
%F	Short YYYY-MM-DD date, equivalent to %Y-%m-%d	2023-07-06
%r	Localized 12-hour clock time (locale dependent)	06:32:07 PM
%R	Equivalent to "%H:%M"	18:32
%T	Equivalent to "%H:%M:%S" (the ISO 8601 time format)	18:32:07
%p	Localized a.m. or p.m. designation (locale dependent)	PM
%z	Offset from UTC in the ISO 8601 format (e.g. -0430), or no characters if the time zone information is not available	+0800
%Z	Locale-dependent time zone name or abbreviation, or no characters if the time zone information is not available	Z AWST

Example

<logger>
    <level>trace</level>
    <log>/var/log/clickhouse-server/clickhouse-server-%F-%T.log</log>
    <errorlog>/var/log/clickhouse-server/clickhouse-server-%F-%T.err.log</errorlog>
    <size>1000M</size>
    <count>10</count>
    <stream_compress>true</stream_compress>
</logger>

Writing to the console can be configured. Config example:

<logger>
    <level>information</level>
    <console>1</console>
</logger>

Writing to the syslog is also supported. Config example:

<logger>
    <use_syslog>1</use_syslog>
    <syslog>
        <address>syslog.remote:10514</address>
        <hostname>myhost.local</hostname>
        <facility>LOG_LOCAL6</facility>
        <format>syslog</format>
    </syslog>
</logger>

Keys for syslog:

• use_syslog — Required setting if you want to write to the syslog.
• address — The host[:port] of syslogd. If omitted, the local daemon is used.
• hostname — Optional. The name of the host that logs are sent from.
• facility — The syslog facility keyword in uppercase letters with the “LOG_” prefix: (LOG_USER, LOG_DAEMON, LOG_LOCAL3, and so on). Default value: LOG_USER if address is specified, LOG_DAEMON otherwise.
• format – Message format. Possible values: bsd and syslog.

send_crash_reports

Settings for opt-in sending crash reports to the ClickHouse core developers team via Sentry. Enabling it, especially in pre-production environments, is highly appreciated.

The server will need access to the public Internet via IPv4 (at the time of writing IPv6 is not supported by Sentry) for this feature to be functioning properly.

Keys:

• enabled – Boolean flag to enable the feature, false by default. Set to true to allow sending crash reports.
• endpoint – You can override the Sentry endpoint URL for sending crash reports. It can be either a separate Sentry account or your self-hosted Sentry instance. Use the Sentry DSN syntax.
• anonymize - Avoid attaching the server hostname to the crash report.
• http_proxy - Configure HTTP proxy for sending crash reports.
• debug - Sets the Sentry client into debug mode.
• tmp_path - Filesystem path for temporary crash report state.
• environment - An arbitrary name of an environment in which the ClickHouse server is running. It will be mentioned in each crash report. The default value is test or prod depending on the version of ClickHouse.

Recommended way to use

<send_crash_reports>
    <enabled>true</enabled>
</send_crash_reports>

macros

Parameter substitutions for replicated tables.

Can be omitted if replicated tables are not used.

For more information, see the section Creating replicated tables.

Example

<macros incl="macros" optional="true" />

max_open_files

The maximum number of open files.

By default: maximum.

We recommend using this option in macOS since the getrlimit() function returns an incorrect value.

Example

<max_open_files>262144</max_open_files>

max_table_size_to_drop

Restriction on deleting tables.

If the size of a MergeTree table exceeds max_table_size_to_drop (in bytes), you can’t delete it using a DROP query or TRUNCATE query.

This setting does not require a restart of the Clickhouse server to apply. Another way to disable the restriction is to create the <clickhouse-path>/flags/force_drop_table file.

Default value: 50 GB.

The value 0 means that you can delete all tables without any restrictions.

Example

<max_table_size_to_drop>0</max_table_size_to_drop>

max_partition_size_to_drop

Restriction on dropping partitions.

If the size of a MergeTree table exceeds max_partition_size_to_drop (in bytes), you can’t drop a partition using a DROP PARTITION query.

This setting does not require a restart of the Clickhouse server to apply. Another way to disable the restriction is to create the <clickhouse-path>/flags/force_drop_table file.

Default value: 50 GB.

The value 0 means that you can drop partitions without any restrictions.

:::note This limitation does not restrict drop table and truncate table, see max_table_size_to_drop :::

Example

<max_partition_size_to_drop>0</max_partition_size_to_drop>

max_thread_pool_size

ClickHouse uses threads from the Global Thread pool to process queries. If there is no idle thread to process a query, then a new thread is created in the pool. max_thread_pool_size limits the maximum number of threads in the pool.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.

Default value: 10000.

Example

<max_thread_pool_size>12000</max_thread_pool_size>

max_thread_pool_free_size

If the number of idle threads in the Global Thread pool is greater than max_thread_pool_free_size, then ClickHouse releases resources occupied by some threads and the pool size is decreased. Threads can be created again if necessary.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.

Default value: 1000.

Example

<max_thread_pool_free_size>1200</max_thread_pool_free_size>

thread_pool_queue_size

The maximum number of jobs that can be scheduled on the Global Thread pool. Increasing queue size leads to larger memory usage. It is recommended to keep this value equal to max_thread_pool_size.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.
• 0 — No limit.

Default value: 10000.

Example

<thread_pool_queue_size>12000</thread_pool_queue_size>

max_io_thread_pool_size

ClickHouse uses threads from the IO Thread pool to do some IO operations (e.g. to interact with S3). max_io_thread_pool_size limits the maximum number of threads in the pool.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.

Default value: 100.

max_io_thread_pool_free_size

If the number of idle threads in the IO Thread pool exceeds max_io_thread_pool_free_size, ClickHouse will release resources occupied by idling threads and decrease the pool size. Threads can be created again if necessary.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.

Default value: 0.

io_thread_pool_queue_size

The maximum number of jobs that can be scheduled on the IO Thread pool.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.
• 0 — No limit.

Default value: 10000.

max_backups_io_thread_pool_size

ClickHouse uses threads from the Backups IO Thread pool to do S3 backup IO operations. max_backups_io_thread_pool_size limits the maximum number of threads in the pool.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.

Default value: 1000.

max_backups_io_thread_pool_free_size

If the number of idle threads in the Backups IO Thread pool exceeds max_backup_io_thread_pool_free_size, ClickHouse will release resources occupied by idling threads and decrease the pool size. Threads can be created again if necessary.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.
• Zero.

Default value: 0.

backups_io_thread_pool_queue_size

The maximum number of jobs that can be scheduled on the Backups IO Thread pool. It is recommended to keep this queue unlimited due to the current S3 backup logic.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.
• 0 — No limit.

Default value: 0.

background_pool_size

Sets the number of threads performing background merges and mutations for tables with MergeTree engines. This setting is also could be applied at server startup from the default profile configuration for backward compatibility at the ClickHouse server start. You can only increase the number of threads at runtime. To lower the number of threads you have to restart the server. By adjusting this setting, you manage CPU and disk load. Smaller pool size utilizes less CPU and disk resources, but background processes advance slower which might eventually impact query performance.

Before changing it, please also take a look at related MergeTree settings, such as number_of_free_entries_in_pool_to_lower_max_size_of_merge and number_of_free_entries_in_pool_to_execute_mutation.

Possible values:

• Any positive integer.

Default value: 16.

Example

<background_pool_size>16</background_pool_size>

background_merges_mutations_concurrency_ratio

Sets a ratio between the number of threads and the number of background merges and mutations that can be executed concurrently. For example, if the ratio equals to 2 and background_pool_size is set to 16 then ClickHouse can execute 32 background merges concurrently. This is possible, because background operations could be suspended and postponed. This is needed to give small merges more execution priority. You can only increase this ratio at runtime. To lower it you have to restart the server. The same as for background_pool_size setting background_merges_mutations_concurrency_ratio could be applied from the default profile for backward compatibility.

Possible values:

• Any positive integer.

Default value: 2.

Example

<background_merges_mutations_concurrency_ratio>3</background_merges_mutations_concurrency_ratio>

merges_mutations_memory_usage_soft_limit

Sets the limit on how much RAM is allowed to use for performing merge and mutation operations. Zero means unlimited. If ClickHouse reaches this limit, it won't schedule any new background merge or mutation operations but will continue to execute already scheduled tasks.

Possible values:

• Any positive integer.

Example

<merges_mutations_memory_usage_soft_limit>0</merges_mutations_memory_usage_soft_limit>

merges_mutations_memory_usage_to_ram_ratio

The default merges_mutations_memory_usage_soft_limit value is calculated as memory_amount * merges_mutations_memory_usage_to_ram_ratio.

Default value: 0.5.

See also

• max_memory_usage
• merges_mutations_memory_usage_soft_limit

merge_tree

Fine tuning for tables in the MergeTree.

For more information, see the MergeTreeSettings.h header file.

Example

<merge_tree>
    <max_suspicious_broken_parts>5</max_suspicious_broken_parts>
</merge_tree>

metric_log

It is enabled by default. If it`s not, you can do this manually.

Enabling

To manually turn on metrics history collection system.metric_log, create /etc/clickhouse-server/config.d/metric_log.xml with the following content:

<clickhouse>
    <metric_log>
        <database>system</database>
        <table>metric_log</table>
        <flush_interval_milliseconds>7500</flush_interval_milliseconds>
        <collect_interval_milliseconds>1000</collect_interval_milliseconds>
        <max_size_rows>1048576</max_size_rows>
        <reserved_size_rows>8192</reserved_size_rows>
        <buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>524288</buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>
        <flush_on_crash>false</flush_on_crash>
    </metric_log>
</clickhouse>

Disabling

To disable metric_log setting, you should create the following file /etc/clickhouse-server/config.d/disable_metric_log.xml with the following content:

<clickhouse>
<metric_log remove="1" />
</clickhouse>

replicated_merge_tree

Fine tuning for tables in the ReplicatedMergeTree.

This setting has a higher priority.

For more information, see the MergeTreeSettings.h header file.

Example

<replicated_merge_tree>
    <max_suspicious_broken_parts>5</max_suspicious_broken_parts>
</replicated_merge_tree>

openSSL

SSL client/server configuration.

Support for SSL is provided by the libpoco library. The available configuration options are explained in SSLManager.h. Default values can be found in SSLManager.cpp.

Keys for server/client settings:

• privateKeyFile – The path to the file with the secret key of the PEM certificate. The file may contain a key and certificate at the same time.
• certificateFile – The path to the client/server certificate file in PEM format. You can omit it if privateKeyFile contains the certificate.
• caConfig (default: none) – The path to the file or directory that contains trusted CA certificates. If this points to a file, it must be in PEM format and can contain several CA certificates. If this points to a directory, it must contain one .pem file per CA certificate. The filenames are looked up by the CA subject name hash value. Details can be found in the man page of SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations.
• verificationMode (default: relaxed) – The method for checking the node’s certificates. Details are in the description of the Context class. Possible values: none, relaxed, strict, once.
• verificationDepth (default: 9) – The maximum length of the verification chain. Verification will fail if the certificate chain length exceeds the set value.
• loadDefaultCAFile (default: true) – Wether built-in CA certificates for OpenSSL will be used. ClickHouse assumes that builtin CA certificates are in the file /etc/ssl/cert.pem (resp. the directory /etc/ssl/certs) or in file (resp. directory) specified by the environment variable SSL_CERT_FILE (resp. SSL_CERT_DIR).
• cipherList (default: ALL:!ADH:!LOW:!EXP:!MD5:!3DES:@STRENGTH) - Supported OpenSSL encryptions.
• cacheSessions (default: false) – Enables or disables caching sessions. Must be used in combination with sessionIdContext. Acceptable values: true, false.
• sessionIdContext (default: ${application.name}) – A unique set of random characters that the server appends to each generated identifier. The length of the string must not exceed SSL_MAX_SSL_SESSION_ID_LENGTH. This parameter is always recommended since it helps avoid problems both if the server caches the session and if the client requested caching. Default value: ${application.name}.
• sessionCacheSize (default: 1024*20) – The maximum number of sessions that the server caches. A value of 0 means unlimited sessions.
• sessionTimeout (default: 2h) – Time for caching the session on the server.
• extendedVerification (default: false) – If enabled, verify that the certificate CN or SAN matches the peer hostname.
• requireTLSv1 (default: false) – Require a TLSv1 connection. Acceptable values: true, false.
• requireTLSv1_1 (default: false) – Require a TLSv1.1 connection. Acceptable values: true, false.
• requireTLSv1_2 (default: false) – Require a TLSv1.2 connection. Acceptable values: true, false.
• fips (default: false) – Activates OpenSSL FIPS mode. Supported if the library’s OpenSSL version supports FIPS.
• privateKeyPassphraseHandler (default: KeyConsoleHandler)– Class (PrivateKeyPassphraseHandler subclass) that requests the passphrase for accessing the private key. For example: <privateKeyPassphraseHandler>, <name>KeyFileHandler</name>, <options><password>test</password></options>, </privateKeyPassphraseHandler>.
• invalidCertificateHandler (default: RejectCertificateHandler) – Class (a subclass of CertificateHandler) for verifying invalid certificates. For example: <invalidCertificateHandler> <name>RejectCertificateHandler</name> </invalidCertificateHandler> .
• disableProtocols (default: "") – Protocols that are not allowed to use.
• preferServerCiphers (default: false) – Preferred server ciphers on the client.

Example of settings:

<openSSL>
    <server>
        <!-- openssl req -subj "/CN=localhost" -new -newkey rsa:2048 -days 365 -nodes -x509 -keyout /etc/clickhouse-server/server.key -out /etc/clickhouse-server/server.crt -->
        <certificateFile>/etc/clickhouse-server/server.crt</certificateFile>
        <privateKeyFile>/etc/clickhouse-server/server.key</privateKeyFile>
        <!-- openssl dhparam -out /etc/clickhouse-server/dhparam.pem 4096 -->
        <dhParamsFile>/etc/clickhouse-server/dhparam.pem</dhParamsFile>
        <verificationMode>none</verificationMode>
        <loadDefaultCAFile>true</loadDefaultCAFile>
        <cacheSessions>true</cacheSessions>
        <disableProtocols>sslv2,sslv3</disableProtocols>
        <preferServerCiphers>true</preferServerCiphers>
    </server>
    <client>
        <loadDefaultCAFile>true</loadDefaultCAFile>
        <cacheSessions>true</cacheSessions>
        <disableProtocols>sslv2,sslv3</disableProtocols>
        <preferServerCiphers>true</preferServerCiphers>
        <!-- Use for self-signed: <verificationMode>none</verificationMode> -->
        <invalidCertificateHandler>
            <!-- Use for self-signed: <name>AcceptCertificateHandler</name> -->
            <name>RejectCertificateHandler</name>
        </invalidCertificateHandler>
    </client>
</openSSL>

part_log

Logging events that are associated with MergeTree. For instance, adding or merging data. You can use the log to simulate merge algorithms and compare their characteristics. You can visualize the merge process.

Queries are logged in the system.part_log table, not in a separate file. You can configure the name of this table in the table parameter (see below).

Use the following parameters to configure logging:

• database – Name of the database.
• table – Name of the system table.
• partition_by — Custom partitioning key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• order_by - Custom sorting key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• engine - MergeTree Engine Definition for a system table. Can't be used if partition_by or order_by defined.
• flush_interval_milliseconds – Interval for flushing data from the buffer in memory to the table.
• max_size_rows – Maximal size in lines for the logs. When non-flushed logs amount reaches max_size, logs dumped to the disk. Default: 1048576.
• reserved_size_rows – Pre-allocated memory size in lines for the logs. Default: 8192.
• buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold – Lines amount threshold, reaching it launches flushing logs to the disk in background. Default: max_size_rows / 2.
• flush_on_crash - Indication whether logs should be dumped to the disk in case of a crash. Default: false.
• storage_policy – Name of storage policy to use for the table (optional)
• settings - Additional parameters that control the behavior of the MergeTree (optional).

Example

<part_log>
    <database>system</database>
    <table>part_log</table>
    <partition_by>toMonday(event_date)</partition_by>
    <flush_interval_milliseconds>7500</flush_interval_milliseconds>
    <max_size_rows>1048576</max_size_rows>
    <reserved_size_rows>8192</reserved_size_rows>
    <buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>524288</buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>
    <flush_on_crash>false</flush_on_crash>
</part_log>

path

The path to the directory containing data.

:::note The trailing slash is mandatory. :::

Example

<path>/var/lib/clickhouse/</path>

Prometheus

Exposing metrics data for scraping from Prometheus.

Settings:

• endpoint – HTTP endpoint for scraping metrics by prometheus server. Start from ‘/’.
• port – Port for endpoint.
• metrics – Flag that sets to expose metrics from the system.metrics table.
• events – Flag that sets to expose metrics from the system.events table.
• asynchronous_metrics – Flag that sets to expose current metrics values from the system.asynchronous_metrics table.

Example

<clickhouse>
    <listen_host>0.0.0.0</listen_host>
    <http_port>8123</http_port>
    <tcp_port>9000</tcp_port>
    <!-- highlight-start -->
    <prometheus>
        <endpoint>/metrics</endpoint>
        <port>9363</port>
        <metrics>true</metrics>
        <events>true</events>
        <asynchronous_metrics>true</asynchronous_metrics>
    </prometheus>
    <!-- highlight-end -->
</clickhouse>

Check (replace 127.0.0.1 with the IP addr or hostname of your ClickHouse server):

curl 127.0.0.1:9363/metrics

query_log

Setting for logging queries received with the log_queries=1 setting.

Queries are logged in the system.query_log table, not in a separate file. You can change the name of the table in the table parameter (see below).

Use the following parameters to configure logging:

• database – Name of the database.
• table – Name of the system table the queries will be logged in.
• partition_by — Custom partitioning key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• order_by - Custom sorting key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• engine - MergeTree Engine Definition for a system table. Can't be used if partition_by or order_by defined.
• flush_interval_milliseconds – Interval for flushing data from the buffer in memory to the table.
• max_size_rows – Maximal size in lines for the logs. When non-flushed logs amount reaches max_size, logs dumped to the disk. Default: 1048576.
• reserved_size_rows – Pre-allocated memory size in lines for the logs. Default: 8192.
• buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold – Lines amount threshold, reaching it launches flushing logs to the disk in background. Default: max_size_rows / 2.
• flush_on_crash - Indication whether logs should be dumped to the disk in case of a crash. Default: false.
• storage_policy – Name of storage policy to use for the table (optional)
• settings - Additional parameters that control the behavior of the MergeTree (optional).

If the table does not exist, ClickHouse will create it. If the structure of the query log changed when the ClickHouse server was updated, the table with the old structure is renamed, and a new table is created automatically.

Example

<query_log>
    <database>system</database>
    <table>query_log</table>
    <engine>Engine = MergeTree PARTITION BY event_date ORDER BY event_time TTL event_date + INTERVAL 30 day</engine>
    <flush_interval_milliseconds>7500</flush_interval_milliseconds>
    <max_size_rows>1048576</max_size_rows>
    <reserved_size_rows>8192</reserved_size_rows>
    <buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>524288</buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>
    <flush_on_crash>false</flush_on_crash>
</query_log>

query_cache

Query cache configuration.

The following settings are available:

• max_size_in_bytes: The maximum cache size in bytes. 0 means the query cache is disabled. Default value: 1073741824 (1 GiB).
• max_entries: The maximum number of SELECT query results stored in the cache. Default value: 1024.
• max_entry_size_in_bytes: The maximum size in bytes SELECT query results may have to be saved in the cache. Default value: 1048576 (1 MiB).
• max_entry_size_in_rows: The maximum number of rows SELECT query results may have to be saved in the cache. Default value: 30000000 (30 mil).

Changed settings take effect immediately.

:::note Data for the query cache is allocated in DRAM. If memory is scarce, make sure to set a small value for max_size_in_bytes or disable the query cache altogether. :::

Example

<query_cache>
    <max_size_in_bytes>1073741824</max_size_in_bytes>
    <max_entries>1024</max_entries>
    <max_entry_size_in_bytes>1048576</max_entry_size_in_bytes>
    <max_entry_size_in_rows>30000000</max_entry_size_in_rows>
</query_cache>

query_thread_log

Setting for logging threads of queries received with the log_query_threads=1 setting.

Queries are logged in the system.query_thread_log table, not in a separate file. You can change the name of the table in the table parameter (see below).

Use the following parameters to configure logging:

• database – Name of the database.
• table – Name of the system table the queries will be logged in.
• partition_by — Custom partitioning key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• order_by - Custom sorting key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• engine - MergeTree Engine Definition for a system table. Can't be used if partition_by or order_by defined.
• flush_interval_milliseconds – Interval for flushing data from the buffer in memory to the table.
• max_size_rows – Maximal size in lines for the logs. When non-flushed logs amount reaches max_size_rows, logs dumped to the disk. Default: 1048576.
• reserved_size_rows – Pre-allocated memory size in lines for the logs. Default: 8192.
• buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold – Lines amount threshold, reaching it launches flushing logs to the disk in background. Default: max_size_rows / 2.
• flush_on_crash - Indication whether logs should be dumped to the disk in case of a crash. Default: false.
• storage_policy – Name of storage policy to use for the table (optional)
• settings - Additional parameters that control the behavior of the MergeTree (optional).

If the table does not exist, ClickHouse will create it. If the structure of the query thread log changed when the ClickHouse server was updated, the table with the old structure is renamed, and a new table is created automatically.

Example

<query_thread_log>
    <database>system</database>
    <table>query_thread_log</table>
    <partition_by>toMonday(event_date)</partition_by>
    <flush_interval_milliseconds>7500</flush_interval_milliseconds>
    <max_size_rows>1048576</max_size_rows>
    <reserved_size_rows>8192</reserved_size_rows>
    <buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>524288</buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>  
    <flush_on_crash>false</flush_on_crash>
</query_thread_log>

query_views_log

Setting for logging views (live, materialized etc) dependant of queries received with the log_query_views=1 setting.

Queries are logged in the system.query_views_log table, not in a separate file. You can change the name of the table in the table parameter (see below).

Use the following parameters to configure logging:

• database – Name of the database.
• table – Name of the system table the queries will be logged in.
• partition_by — Custom partitioning key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• order_by - Custom sorting key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• engine - MergeTree Engine Definition for a system table. Can't be used if partition_by or order_by defined.
• flush_interval_milliseconds – Interval for flushing data from the buffer in memory to the table.
• max_size_rows – Maximal size in lines for the logs. When non-flushed logs amount reaches max_size, logs dumped to the disk. Default: 1048576.
• reserved_size_rows – Pre-allocated memory size in lines for the logs. Default: 8192.
• buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold – Lines amount threshold, reaching it launches flushing logs to the disk in background. Default: max_size_rows / 2.
• flush_on_crash - Indication whether logs should be dumped to the disk in case of a crash. Default: false.
• storage_policy – Name of storage policy to use for the table (optional)
• settings - Additional parameters that control the behavior of the MergeTree (optional).

If the table does not exist, ClickHouse will create it. If the structure of the query views log changed when the ClickHouse server was updated, the table with the old structure is renamed, and a new table is created automatically.

Example

<query_views_log>
    <database>system</database>
    <table>query_views_log</table>
    <partition_by>toYYYYMM(event_date)</partition_by>
    <flush_interval_milliseconds>7500</flush_interval_milliseconds>
    <max_size_rows>1048576</max_size_rows>
    <reserved_size_rows>8192</reserved_size_rows>
    <buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>524288</buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>
    <flush_on_crash>false</flush_on_crash>
</query_views_log>

text_log

Settings for the text_log system table for logging text messages.

Parameters:

• level — Maximum Message Level (by default Trace) which will be stored in a table.
• database — Database name.
• table — Table name.
• partition_by — Custom partitioning key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• order_by - Custom sorting key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• engine - MergeTree Engine Definition for a system table. Can't be used if partition_by or order_by defined.
• flush_interval_milliseconds — Interval for flushing data from the buffer in memory to the table.
• max_size_rows – Maximal size in lines for the logs. When non-flushed logs amount reaches max_size, logs dumped to the disk. Default: 1048576.
• reserved_size_rows – Pre-allocated memory size in lines for the logs. Default: 8192.
• buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold – Lines amount threshold, reaching it launches flushing logs to the disk in background. Default: max_size_rows / 2.
• flush_on_crash - Indication whether logs should be dumped to the disk in case of a crash. Default: false.
• storage_policy – Name of storage policy to use for the table (optional)
• settings - Additional parameters that control the behavior of the MergeTree (optional).

Example

<clickhouse>
    <text_log>
        <level>notice</level>
        <database>system</database>
        <table>text_log</table>
        <flush_interval_milliseconds>7500</flush_interval_milliseconds>
        <max_size_rows>1048576</max_size_rows>
        <reserved_size_rows>8192</reserved_size_rows>
        <buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>524288</buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>
        <flush_on_crash>false</flush_on_crash>
        <!-- <partition_by>event_date</partition_by> -->
        <engine>Engine = MergeTree PARTITION BY event_date ORDER BY event_time TTL event_date + INTERVAL 30 day</engine>
    </text_log>
</clickhouse>

trace_log

Settings for the trace_log system table operation.

Parameters:

• database — Database for storing a table.
• table — Table name.
• partition_by — Custom partitioning key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• order_by - Custom sorting key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• engine - MergeTree Engine Definition for a system table. Can't be used if partition_by or order_by defined.
• flush_interval_milliseconds — Interval for flushing data from the buffer in memory to the table.
• max_size_rows – Maximal size in lines for the logs. When non-flushed logs amount reaches max_size, logs dumped to the disk. Default: 1048576.
• reserved_size_rows – Pre-allocated memory size in lines for the logs. Default: 8192.
• buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold – Lines amount threshold, reaching it launches flushing logs to the disk in background. Default: max_size_rows / 2.
• storage_policy – Name of storage policy to use for the table (optional)
• settings - Additional parameters that control the behavior of the MergeTree (optional).

The default server configuration file config.xml contains the following settings section:

<trace_log>
    <database>system</database>
    <table>trace_log</table>
    <partition_by>toYYYYMM(event_date)</partition_by>
    <flush_interval_milliseconds>7500</flush_interval_milliseconds>
    <max_size_rows>1048576</max_size_rows>
    <reserved_size_rows>8192</reserved_size_rows>
    <buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>524288</buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>
    <flush_on_crash>false</flush_on_crash>
</trace_log>

asynchronous_insert_log

Settings for the asynchronous_insert_log system table for logging async inserts.

Parameters:

• database — Database name.
• table — Table name.
• partition_by — Custom partitioning key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• engine - MergeTree Engine Definition for a system table. Can't be used if partition_by defined.
• flush_interval_milliseconds — Interval for flushing data from the buffer in memory to the table.
• max_size_rows – Maximal size in lines for the logs. When non-flushed logs amount reaches max_size, logs dumped to the disk. Default: 1048576.
• reserved_size_rows – Pre-allocated memory size in lines for the logs. Default: 8192.
• buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold – Lines amount threshold, reaching it launches flushing logs to the disk in background. Default: max_size_rows / 2.
• flush_on_crash - Indication whether logs should be dumped to the disk in case of a crash. Default: false.
• storage_policy – Name of storage policy to use for the table (optional)

Example

<clickhouse>
    <asynchronous_insert_log>
        <database>system</database>
        <table>asynchronous_insert_log</table>
        <flush_interval_milliseconds>7500</flush_interval_milliseconds>
        <partition_by>toYYYYMM(event_date)</partition_by>
        <max_size_rows>1048576</max_size_rows>
        <reserved_size_rows>8192</reserved_size_rows>
        <buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>524288</buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>
        <flush_on_crash>false</flush_on_crash>
        <!-- <engine>Engine = MergeTree PARTITION BY event_date ORDER BY event_time TTL event_date + INTERVAL 30 day</engine> -->
    </asynchronous_insert_log>
</clickhouse>

crash_log

Settings for the crash_log system table operation.

Parameters:

• database — Database for storing a table.
• table — Table name.
• partition_by — Custom partitioning key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• order_by - Custom sorting key for a system table. Can't be used if engine defined.
• engine - MergeTree Engine Definition for a system table. Can't be used if partition_by or order_by defined.
• flush_interval_milliseconds — Interval for flushing data from the buffer in memory to the table.
• max_size_rows – Maximal size in lines for the logs. When non-flushed logs amount reaches max_size, logs dumped to the disk. Default: 1048576.
• reserved_size_rows – Pre-allocated memory size in lines for the logs. Default: 8192.
• buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold – Lines amount threshold, reaching it launches flushing logs to the disk in background. Default: max_size_rows / 2.
• flush_on_crash - Indication whether logs should be dumped to the disk in case of a crash. Default: false.
• storage_policy – Name of storage policy to use for the table (optional)
• settings - Additional parameters that control the behavior of the MergeTree (optional).

The default server configuration file config.xml contains the following settings section:

<crash_log>
    <database>system</database>
    <table>crash_log</table>
    <partition_by>toYYYYMM(event_date)</partition_by>
    <flush_interval_milliseconds>7500</flush_interval_milliseconds>
    <max_size_rows>1024</max_size_rows>
    <reserved_size_rows>1024</reserved_size_rows>
    <buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>512</buffer_size_rows_flush_threshold>
    <flush_on_crash>false</flush_on_crash>
</crash_log>

query_masking_rules

Regexp-based rules, which will be applied to queries as well as all log messages before storing them in server logs, system.query_log, system.text_log, system.processes tables, and in logs sent to the client. That allows preventing sensitive data leakage from SQL queries (like names, emails, personal identifiers or credit card numbers) to logs.

Example

<query_masking_rules>
    <rule>
        <name>hide SSN</name>
        <regexp>(^|\D)\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}($|\D)</regexp>
        <replace>000-00-0000</replace>
    </rule>
</query_masking_rules>

Config fields:

• name - name for the rule (optional)
• regexp - RE2 compatible regular expression (mandatory)
• replace - substitution string for sensitive data (optional, by default - six asterisks)

The masking rules are applied to the whole query (to prevent leaks of sensitive data from malformed / non-parseable queries).

system.events table have counter QueryMaskingRulesMatch which have an overall number of query masking rules matches.

For distributed queries each server have to be configured separately, otherwise, subqueries passed to other nodes will be stored without masking.

remote_servers

Configuration of clusters used by the Distributed table engine and by the cluster table function.

Example

<remote_servers incl="clickhouse_remote_servers" />

For the value of the incl attribute, see the section “Configuration files”.

See Also

• skip_unavailable_shards

timezone

The server’s time zone.

Specified as an IANA identifier for the UTC timezone or geographic location (for example, Africa/Abidjan).

The time zone is necessary for conversions between String and DateTime formats when DateTime fields are output to text format (printed on the screen or in a file), and when getting DateTime from a string. Besides, the time zone is used in functions that work with the time and date if they didn’t receive the time zone in the input parameters.

Example

<timezone>Asia/Istanbul</timezone>

See also

• session_timezone

tcp_port

Port for communicating with clients over the TCP protocol.

Example

<tcp_port>9000</tcp_port>

tcp_port_secure

TCP port for secure communication with clients. Use it with OpenSSL settings.

Possible values

Positive integer.

Default value

<tcp_port_secure>9440</tcp_port_secure>

mysql_port

Port for communicating with clients over MySQL protocol.

Possible values

Positive integer to specify the port number to listen to or empty value to disable.

Example

<mysql_port>9004</mysql_port>

postgresql_port

Port for communicating with clients over PostgreSQL protocol.

Possible values

Positive integer to specify the port number to listen to or empty value to disable.

Example

<postgresql_port>9005</postgresql_port>

tmp_path

Path on the local filesystem to store temporary data for processing large queries.

:::note

• Only one option can be used to configure temporary data storage: tmp_path ,tmp_policy, temporary_data_in_cache.
• The trailing slash is mandatory. :::

Example

<tmp_path>/var/lib/clickhouse/tmp/</tmp_path>

user_files_path

The directory with user files. Used in the table function file().

Example

<user_files_path>/var/lib/clickhouse/user_files/</user_files_path>

user_scripts_path

The directory with user scripts files. Used for Executable user defined functions Executable User Defined Functions.

Example

<user_scripts_path>/var/lib/clickhouse/user_scripts/</user_scripts_path>

user_defined_path

The directory with user defined files. Used for SQL user defined functions SQL User Defined Functions.

Example

<user_defined_path>/var/lib/clickhouse/user_defined/</user_defined_path>

users_config

Path to the file that contains:

• User configurations.
• Access rights.
• Settings profiles.
• Quota settings.

Example

<users_config>users.xml</users_config>

zookeeper

Contains settings that allow ClickHouse to interact with a ZooKeeper cluster.

ClickHouse uses ZooKeeper for storing metadata of replicas when using replicated tables. If replicated tables are not used, this section of parameters can be omitted.

This section contains the following parameters:

• node — ZooKeeper endpoint. You can set multiple endpoints.

  For example:

    <node index="1">
        <host>example_host</host>
        <port>2181</port>
    </node>

  The `index` attribute specifies the node order when trying to connect to the ZooKeeper cluster.

• session_timeout_ms — Maximum timeout for the client session in milliseconds.
• operation_timeout_ms — Maximum timeout for one operation in milliseconds.
• root — The znode that is used as the root for znodes used by the ClickHouse server. Optional.
• fallback_session_lifetime.min - If the first zookeeper host resolved by zookeeper_load_balancing strategy is unavailable, limit the lifetime of a zookeeper session to the fallback node. This is done for load-balancing purposes to avoid excessive load on one of zookeeper hosts. This setting sets the minimal duration of the fallback session. Set in seconds. Optional. Default is 3 hours.
• fallback_session_lifetime.max - If the first zookeeper host resolved by zookeeper_load_balancing strategy is unavailable, limit the lifetime of a zookeeper session to the fallback node. This is done for load-balancing purposes to avoid excessive load on one of zookeeper hosts. This setting sets the maximum duration of the fallback session. Set in seconds. Optional. Default is 6 hours.
• identity — User and password, that can be required by ZooKeeper to give access to requested znodes. Optional.
• zookeeper_load_balancing - Specifies the algorithm of ZooKeeper node selection.
  • random - randomly selects one of ZooKeeper nodes.
  • in_order - selects the first ZooKeeper node, if it's not available then the second, and so on.
  • nearest_hostname - selects a ZooKeeper node with a hostname that is most similar to the server’s hostname.
  • first_or_random - selects the first ZooKeeper node, if it's not available then randomly selects one of remaining ZooKeeper nodes.
  • round_robin - selects the first ZooKeeper node, if reconnection happens selects the next.

Example configuration

<zookeeper>
    <node>
        <host>example1</host>
        <port>2181</port>
    </node>
    <node>
        <host>example2</host>
        <port>2181</port>
    </node>
    <session_timeout_ms>30000</session_timeout_ms>
    <operation_timeout_ms>10000</operation_timeout_ms>
    <!-- Optional. Chroot suffix. Should exist. -->
    <root>/path/to/zookeeper/node</root>
    <!-- Optional. Zookeeper digest ACL string. -->
    <identity>user:password</identity>
    <!--<zookeeper_load_balancing>random / in_order / nearest_hostname / first_or_random / round_robin</zookeeper_load_balancing>-->
    <zookeeper_load_balancing>random</zookeeper_load_balancing>
</zookeeper>

See Also

• Replication
• ZooKeeper Programmer’s Guide
• Optional secured communication between ClickHouse and Zookeeper

use_minimalistic_part_header_in_zookeeper

Storage method for data part headers in ZooKeeper.

This setting only applies to the MergeTree family. It can be specified:

• Globally in the merge_tree section of the config.xml file.

  ClickHouse uses the setting for all the tables on the server. You can change the setting at any time. Existing tables change their behaviour when the setting changes.

• For each table.

  When creating a table, specify the corresponding engine setting. The behaviour of an existing table with this setting does not change, even if the global setting changes.

Possible values

• 0 — Functionality is turned off.
• 1 — Functionality is turned on.

If use_minimalistic_part_header_in_zookeeper = 1, then replicated tables store the headers of the data parts compactly using a single znode. If the table contains many columns, this storage method significantly reduces the volume of the data stored in Zookeeper.

:::note After applying use_minimalistic_part_header_in_zookeeper = 1, you can’t downgrade the ClickHouse server to a version that does not support this setting. Be careful when upgrading ClickHouse on servers in a cluster. Don’t upgrade all the servers at once. It is safer to test new versions of ClickHouse in a test environment, or on just a few servers of a cluster.

Data part headers already stored with this setting can't be restored to their previous (non-compact) representation. :::

Default value: 0.

distributed_ddl

Manage executing distributed ddl queries (CREATE, DROP, ALTER, RENAME) on cluster. Works only if ZooKeeper is enabled.

The configurable settings within <distributed_ddl> include:

• path: the path in Keeper for the task_queue for DDL queries
• profile: the profile used to execute the DDL queries
• pool_size: how many ON CLUSTER queries can be run simultaneously
• max_tasks_in_queue: the maximum number of tasks that can be in the queue. Default is 1,000
• task_max_lifetime: delete node if its age is greater than this value. Default is 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 (a week in seconds)
• cleanup_delay_period: cleaning starts after new node event is received if the last cleaning wasn't made sooner than cleanup_delay_period seconds ago. Default is 60 seconds

Example

<distributed_ddl>
    <!-- Path in ZooKeeper to queue with DDL queries -->
    <path>/clickhouse/task_queue/ddl</path>

    <!-- Settings from this profile will be used to execute DDL queries -->
    <profile>default</profile>

    <!-- Controls how much ON CLUSTER queries can be run simultaneously. -->
    <pool_size>1</pool_size>

    <!--
         Cleanup settings (active tasks will not be removed)
    -->

    <!-- Controls task TTL (default 1 week) -->
    <task_max_lifetime>604800</task_max_lifetime>

    <!-- Controls how often cleanup should be performed (in seconds) -->
    <cleanup_delay_period>60</cleanup_delay_period>

    <!-- Controls how many tasks could be in the queue -->
    <max_tasks_in_queue>1000</max_tasks_in_queue>
</distributed_ddl>

access_control_path

Path to a folder where a ClickHouse server stores user and role configurations created by SQL commands.

Default value: /var/lib/clickhouse/access/.

See also

• Access Control and Account Management

user_directories

Section of the configuration file that contains settings:

• Path to configuration file with predefined users.
• Path to folder where users created by SQL commands are stored.
• ZooKeeper node path where users created by SQL commands are stored and replicated (experimental).

If this section is specified, the path from users_config and access_control_path won't be used.

The user_directories section can contain any number of items, the order of the items means their precedence (the higher the item the higher the precedence).

Examples

<user_directories>
    <users_xml>
        <path>/etc/clickhouse-server/users.xml</path>
    </users_xml>
    <local_directory>
        <path>/var/lib/clickhouse/access/</path>
    </local_directory>
</user_directories>

Users, roles, row policies, quotas, and profiles can be also stored in ZooKeeper:

<user_directories>
    <users_xml>
        <path>/etc/clickhouse-server/users.xml</path>
    </users_xml>
    <replicated>
        <zookeeper_path>/clickhouse/access/</zookeeper_path>
    </replicated>
</user_directories>

You can also define sections memory — means storing information only in memory, without writing to disk, and ldap — means storing information on an LDAP server.

To add an LDAP server as a remote user directory of users that are not defined locally, define a single ldap section with a following parameters:

• server — one of LDAP server names defined in ldap_servers config section. This parameter is mandatory and cannot be empty.
• roles — section with a list of locally defined roles that will be assigned to each user retrieved from the LDAP server. If no roles are specified, user will not be able to perform any actions after authentication. If any of the listed roles is not defined locally at the time of authentication, the authentication attempt will fail as if the provided password was incorrect.

Example

<ldap>
    <server>my_ldap_server</server>
        <roles>
            <my_local_role1 />
            <my_local_role2 />
        </roles>
</ldap>

total_memory_profiler_step

Sets the memory size (in bytes) for a stack trace at every peak allocation step. The data is stored in the system.trace_log system table with query_id equal to an empty string.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.

Default value: 4194304.

total_memory_tracker_sample_probability

Allows to collect random allocations and deallocations and writes them in the system.trace_log system table with trace_type equal to a MemorySample with the specified probability. The probability is for every allocation or deallocations, regardless of the size of the allocation. Note that sampling happens only when the amount of untracked memory exceeds the untracked memory limit (default value is 4 MiB). It can be lowered if total_memory_profiler_step is lowered. You can set total_memory_profiler_step equal to 1 for extra fine-grained sampling.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.
• 0 — Writing of random allocations and deallocations in the system.trace_log system table is disabled.

Default value: 0.

compiled_expression_cache_size

Sets the cache size (in bytes) for compiled expressions.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.

Default value: 134217728.

compiled_expression_cache_elements_size

Sets the cache size (in elements) for compiled expressions.

Possible values:

• Positive integer.

Default value: 10000.

display_secrets_in_show_and_select

Enables or disables showing secrets in SHOW and SELECT queries for tables, databases, table functions, and dictionaries.

User wishing to see secrets must also have format_display_secrets_in_show_and_select format setting turned on and a displaySecretsInShowAndSelect privilege.

Possible values:

• 0 — Disabled.
• 1 — Enabled.

Default value: 0.