How to install PostgreSQL on Mac, Windows and Ubuntu

Pratap SharmaJuly 4th, 20204 mins read

Introduction

psql is the standard command-line interface for interacting with a PostgreSQL. This article will explain how to install psql(Postgres) on various platforms.

Before you begin

Before you begin, make sure that you don't already have psql installed. If you've ever installed Postgres earlier, you likely already have psql installed.

psql --version

Output:

psql (PostgreSQL) 12.3

Install Postgres on macOS using Homebrew

Firstly, we need to install the Brew Package Manager. You can ignore this if you already have Brew Package Manager installed.

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)"

Secondly, you'll have to update brew. To update brew run the following command from your command lines and then the last comman brew install postgresql will install psql:

brew doctor
brew update
brew install postgresql

Install Postgres on Ubuntu

Install on Ubuntu using the apt package manager:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install postgresql-client

Note: This installs the psql client only and not the PostgreSQL database.

Install Postgres on Windows

I recommend using the installer from PostgreSQL.org.

Last step: Connect to your PostgreSQL server Let's confirm that psql is successfully installed:

psql --version

Output:

psql (PostgreSQL) 12.3

To connect to the PostgreSQL server, we need the following connection params:

Hostname
Port
Username
Password
Database name

There are mainly two ways to use these params.

First Option:

psql -h [HOST_NAME] -p [PORT] -U [USER_NAME] -W -d [DATABASE_NAME]

Once you run the above command, the prompt will ask you for your password. (Which was specified with the -W flag.)

Second Option:

psql postgres://[USER_NAME]:[PASSWORD]@[HOST_NAME]:[PORT]/[DATABASE_NAME]?sslmode=require

Conclusion

I hope this article helped you to install psql client in your system. If it does please share so that others will also find it useful.