1---
2title: Configure Idle Connection Timeouts
3impact: HIGH
4impactDescription: Reclaim 30-50% of connection slots from idle clients
5tags: connections, timeout, idle, resource-management
6---
7 
8## Configure Idle Connection Timeouts
9 
10Idle connections waste resources. Configure timeouts to automatically reclaim them.
11 
12**Incorrect (connections held indefinitely):**
13 
14```sql
15-- No timeout configured
16show idle_in_transaction_session_timeout;  -- 0 (disabled)
17 
18-- Connections stay open forever, even when idle
19select pid, state, state_change, query
20from pg_stat_activity
21where state = 'idle in transaction';
22-- Shows transactions idle for hours, holding locks
23```
24 
25**Correct (automatic cleanup of idle connections):**
26 
27```sql
28-- Terminate connections idle in transaction after 30 seconds
29alter system set idle_in_transaction_session_timeout = '30s';
30 
31-- Terminate completely idle connections after 10 minutes
32alter system set idle_session_timeout = '10min';
33 
34-- Reload configuration
35select pg_reload_conf();
36```
37 
38For pooled connections, configure at the pooler level:
39 
40```ini
41# pgbouncer.ini
42server_idle_timeout = 60
43client_idle_timeout = 300
44```
45 
46Reference: [Connection Timeouts](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/runtime-config-client.html#GUC-IDLE-IN-TRANSACTION-SESSION-TIMEOUT)
47