PostgreSQL's psql.exe doesn't validate password

Question

I have an issue with my PostgreSQL - the psql.exe ignores anything I write as password for it.

What I do so far:

I run a simple (Powershell) script to start Postgre:

Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\pg95\bin\pg_ctl.exe" `
  'start -D "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\data\pg95"''

With that running, I can now access the database with something like this:

& "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\pg95\bin\psql.exe" `
  --dbname=$databaseName --host=$dbHost --username=$userName -c $sqlString

But most unfourtunately the terminal does not prompt me for a password!

This is odd, since psql.exe --help gives the line:

..
-W, --password: force password prompt (should happen automatically)

But it does not. When I try applying -W it prompts me, but ignores what I write, and lets me access the database.

So the solution could be, that %appdata%\Postgresql\pgpass.conf set the password, but it's empty. Another solution is the environmental variable PGPASSWORD is set, but I can't see it set anywhere. I tried Get-ChildItem Env: in Powershell, and set in cmd, but neither have it set.

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Answer 1

Shortest, but most helpful answer I've ever seen, @abelisto.

My pg_hba.conf, located under c:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\data\pg95\ said:

# TYPE  DATABASE        USER            CIDR-ADDRESS            METHOD

# IPv4 local & remote connections:
host    all             all             127.0.0.1/32            trust
host    all             all             0.0.0.0/0               md5
# IPv6 local connections:
host    all             all             ::1/128                 trust

From Abelisto's link trust is defined as:

Allow the connection unconditionally. This method allows anyone that can connect to the PostgreSQL database server to login as any PostgreSQL user they wish, without the need for a password or any other authentication.

Switching them to md5 gave a better result:

Require the client to supply a double-MD5-hashed password for authentication.