pg_ctl:tldr:747ce

This command is used to initialize a PostgreSQL database cluster.

• pg_ctl is the command-line utility for controlling various aspects of a PostgreSQL database cluster.
• -D specifies the data directory to be used for the cluster.
• ${data_directory} is a placeholder for the actual path of the data directory. You need to replace it with the appropriate directory path.
• init is the action to be performed, which initializes the database cluster.

When you run this command, PostgreSQL initializes a new database cluster in the specified data directory. The database cluster includes system tables, metadata, and other necessary files for the functioning of a PostgreSQL database server. You typically run this command once when setting up a new PostgreSQL instance.