I try to use 'primary' and 'replica'; but depending on who I'm talking to I find myself slipping back to the Master/Slave terminology. And to the OP, replicati

I try to use 'primary' and 'replica'; but depending on who I'm talking to I find myself slipping back to the Master/Slave terminology. And to the OP, replication is a complex process fraught with security risks. Take about 10 minutes thinking about just roles and authentication in the context of your proposed syntax and what you would need to set up ahead of time to make it work. The current method of starting with a pg_basebackup on the replica is nearly as simple. Even if it does require that you do some minor configuration on the master. It's not nearly open heart surgery.