How to set application_name for psql command line utility?

If you are using psql command line utility and wonder how you can set application_name…

If you try to set application_name using psql variable, it doesn’t work …

$ psql -d postgres -U elephas --variable=application_name=elephas_backup 
postgres=# show application_name ;
application_name
------------------
psql
(1 row)

Option-1:

psql -U elephas -d 'dbname=postgres application_name=elephas_backup' 
postgres=# show application_name ;
 application_name
------------------
 elephas_backup
(1 row)

Option-2:

You can export PGAPPNAME variable before making a connection ..

$export PGAPPNAME=myapp
$ psql -d postgres
Type "help" for help.

postgres=# show application_name ;
 application_name
------------------
 myapp
(1 row)

Hopefully, it will help you to track down psql connections coming from various places.