CODEWITHSUNDEEP
macospostgresqlhomebrew
Ramy
Ramy

Reputation: 21261

How can I start PostgreSQL server on Mac OS X?

Final update:

I had forgotten to run the initdb command.

By running this command

ps auxwww | grep postgres

I see that postgres is not running

> ps auxwww | grep postgres
remcat          1789   0.0  0.0  2434892    480 s000  R+   11:28PM   0:00.00 grep postgres

This raises the question:

How do I start the PostgreSQL server?

Update:

> pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres -l /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log start
server starting
sh: /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log: No such file or directory

Update 2:

The touch was not successful, so I did this instead:

> mkdir /usr/local/var/postgres
> vi /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log
> ls /usr/local/var/postgres/
server.log

But when I try to start the Ruby on Rails server, I still see this:

Is the server running on host "localhost" and accepting TCP/IP connections on port 5432?

Update 3:

> pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres status
pg_ctl: no server running

Update 4:

I found that there wasn't any pg_hba.conf file (only file pg_hba.conf.sample), so I modified the sample and renamed it (to remover the .sample). Here are the contents:

 # IPv4 local connections:
 host    all             all             127.0.0.1/32           trust
 # IPv6 local connections:
 host    all             all             ::1/128                trust

But I don't understand this:

> pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres -l /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log start
server starting
> pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres status
pg_ctl: no server running

Also:

sudo find / -name postgresql.conf
find: /dev/fd/3: Not a directory
find: /dev/fd/4: Not a directory

Update 5:

sudo pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres -l /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log start
Password:
pg_ctl: cannot be run as root
Please log in (using, e.g., "su") as the (unprivileged) user that will own the server process.

Update 6:

This seems odd:

> egrep 'listen|port' /usr/local/var/postgres/postgresql.conf
egrep: /usr/local/var/postgres/postgresql.conf: No such file or directory

Though, I did do this:

>sudo find / -name "*postgresql.conf*"
find: /dev/fd/3: Not a directory
find: /dev/fd/4: Not a directory
/usr/local/Cellar/postgresql/9.0.4/share/postgresql/postgresql.conf.sample
/usr/share/postgresql/postgresql.conf.sample

So I did this:

egrep 'listen|port' /usr/local/Cellar/postgresql/9.0.4/share/postgresql/postgresql.conf.sample
#listen_addresses = 'localhost'        # what IP address(es) to listen on;
#port = 5432                # (change requires restart)
                # supported by the operating system:
                #   %r = remote host and port

So I tried this:

> cp /usr/local/Cellar/postgresql/9.0.4/share/postgresql/postgresql.conf.sample /usr/local/Cellar/postgresql/9.0.4/share/postgresql/postgresql.conf
> cp /usr/share/postgresql/postgresql.conf.sample /usr/share/postgresql/postgresql.conf

I am still getting the same "Is the server running?" message.

Upvotes: 1194

Views: 1300182

Answers (30)

DINA TAKLIT
DINA TAKLIT

Reputation: 8388

  • install postgresql using brew: brew install postgresql, you can specify the version using "@" sign: brew install postgresql@14
  • start postgresql: brew services start postgresql or specific version brew services start postgresql@14
  • stop postgresql: brew services stop postgresql

Upvotes: 9

Harshad Panmand
Harshad Panmand

Reputation: 633

Here the user that is executing the command is not a Postgres user. Because of that most people face Permission denied problem

> ./pg_ctl -D /Library/PostgreSQL/<version>/data start 
  pg_ctl: could not open PID file "/Library/PostgreSQL/<version>/data/postmaster.pid": Permission denied

You have to switch to Postgres user and then need to execute the command

sudo -u postgres ./pg_ctl start -D /Library/PostgreSQL/<version>/data/ 
sudo -u postgres ./pg_ctl stop -D /Library/PostgreSQL/<version>/data/
sudo -u postgres ./pg_ctl reload -D /Library/PostgreSQL/<version>/data/

Upvotes: 0

Kevin Amiranoff
Kevin Amiranoff

Reputation: 14468

having installed Postgres with homebrew that is what I do to start postgres and keep it in foreground to see the logs:

/opt/homebrew/opt/postgresql/bin/postgres -D /opt/homebrew/var/postgres

Upvotes: 3

baby maneesha Sunkara
baby maneesha Sunkara

Reputation: 89

If you didn't install the Postgres server with Homebrew or installed using .dmg file, try this:

$ sudo su postgres
bash-3.2$ /Library/PostgreSQL/13/bin/pg_ctl -D /Library/PostgreSQL/13/data/ stop

Upvotes: 2

z atef
z atef

Reputation: 7669

# Remove old database files (if there was any)
$ rm -rf /usr/local/var/postgres

# Install the binary
$ brew install postgresql

# init it
$ initdb /usr/local/var/postgres

# Start the PostgreSQL server
$ postgres -D /usr/local/var/postgres

# Create your database
$ createdb mydb

# Access the database
$ psql mydb
psql (9.0.1)
Type "help" for help.

Upvotes: 16

rafaelportela
rafaelportela

Reputation: 306

If your computer was abruptly restarted

You may want to start PG server but it was not.

First, you have to delete the file /usr/local/var/postgres/postmaster.pid Then you can restart the service using one of the many other mentioned methods depending on your install.

You can verify this by looking at the logs of Postgres to see what might be going on: tail -f /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log

For specific version:-

 tail -f /usr/local/var/postgres@[VERSION_NUM]/server.log

Eg:

 tail -f /usr/local/var/postgres@11/server.log

Upvotes: 130

Paul S
Paul S

Reputation: 11

After doing brew services restart postgresql.

It works best to: brew services stop postgresql brew postgresql-upgrade-database brew services start postgresql

Then type: psql

it now runs this was after the error: psql: error: could not connect to server: No such file or directory Is the server running locally and accepting connections on Unix domain socket "/tmp/.s.PGSQL.5432"?

The upgrade may be optional depending on the other dependencies your running.

Which means that rather than Restart using brew for in on mac os, Stop completely postgres and then start postgres and connect to your psql databaseName.

Hope this was useful.

Upvotes: 2

sn0rk
sn0rk

Reputation: 113

Here is an easy and always forking solution (mac os):

(WARNING: IT WILL DELETE ALL YOUR DATABASES)

  1. Stop the postgres service:

    brew services stop postgres

  2. Delete all files in "postgres" directory:

    rm -rf /usr/local/var/postgres/*

  3. Initialize the new database system:

    initdb /usr/local/var/postgres -E utf8

  4. Start postgres:

    pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres -l server.log start

Upvotes: -1

user1735921
user1735921

Reputation: 1379

Sometimes it's just the version which you are missing, and you are scratching your head unnecessarily.

If you are using a specific version of PostgreSQL, for example, PostgreSQL 10, then simply do

brew services start postgresql@10

brew services stop postgresql@10

The normal brew services start postgresql won't work without a version if you have installed it for a specific version from Homebrew.

Upvotes: 14

Scott Phillips
Scott Phillips

Reputation: 177

There are two primary components to PostgreSQL: the database server and a client.

There is an included client via the CLI, or like me, you might be used to tools like phpMyAdmin, so it requires a separate GUI client.

For example, on macOS: install Postgres.app which is ~65 MB from: https://postgresapp.com/

Then follow these instructions:

  • install and initialise the server with the button on the right.
  • update your $PATH using terminal: sudo mkdir -p /etc/paths.d && echo /Applications/Postgres.app/Contents/Versions/latest/bin | sudo tee /etc/paths.d/postgresapp
  • and finally, install the pgAdmin GUI which is about ~100 MB from: https://www.pgadmin.org/download/pgadmin-4-macos/

Upvotes: 0

Tazeem
Tazeem

Reputation: 11

I was facing the same problem. I tried all of these solutions, but none worked.

I finally managed to get it working by changing the PostgreSQL HOST in Django settings from localhost to 127.0.0.1.

Upvotes: 0

J_F4C
J_F4C

Reputation: 1

If you didn't install it with Homebrew and directly from the Mac package, this worked for me for PostgreSQL 12 when using all the default locations, variables, etc.

$ sudo su postgres
bash-3.2$ /Library/PostgreSQL/12/bin/pg_ctl -D /Library/PostgreSQL/12/data/ stop

Upvotes: 7

Raj Verma
Raj Verma

Reputation: 1172

Homebrew is the way!!

To start the service:

brew services start postgresql

To list it:

brew services list | grep postgres

To stop the service:

brew services stop postgresql

Upvotes: 4

Dmitry Evgrafoov
Dmitry Evgrafoov

Reputation: 13

This worked for me (macOS v10.13 (High Sierra)):

sudo -u postgres /Library/PostgreSQL/9.6/bin/pg_ctl start -D /Library/PostgreSQL/9.6/data

Or first

cd /Library/PostgreSQL/9.6/bin/

Upvotes: 5

hithacker
hithacker

Reputation: 151

If you installed PostgreSQL using the EnterpriseDB installer, then what Kenial suggested is the way to go:

sudo -u postgres pg_ctl -D /Library/PostgreSQL/{version}/data start
sudo -u postgres pg_ctl -D /Library/PostgreSQL/{version}/data stop

Upvotes: 3

shanu khera
shanu khera

Reputation: 158

If you have installed using Homebrew, the below command should be enough.

brew services restart postgresql

This sometimes might not work. In that case, the below two commands should definitely work:

rm /usr/local/var/postgres/postmaster.pid

pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres start

Upvotes: 14

Adam Piotrowski
Adam Piotrowski

Reputation: 704

There is some edge case that maybe will be helpful for someone:

There is an option that you will have postgres.pid filled with some PID. If you restart your machine, and before PostgreSQL will be back again, some other process will take that PID.

If that will happen, both the pg_ctl status and brew service are asked about the PostgreSQL status, will tell you that it is up.

Just do ps aux | grep <yourPID> and check if it is really PostgreSQL.

Upvotes: 0

Fr4nc3sc0NL
Fr4nc3sc0NL

Reputation: 575

For completeness sake: Check whether you're inside a Tmux or Screen instance. Starting won't work from there.

From: Error while trying to start PostgreSQL installed via Homebrew: “Operation not permitted”

This solved it for me.

Upvotes: 0

Punnerud
Punnerud

Reputation: 8021

This worked for me every time, inspired by Craig Ringer:

brew install proctools
sudo pkill -u postgres

proctools includes pkill. If you don't have Homebrew: https://brew.sh/

Upvotes: 1

Steve
Steve

Reputation: 886

For MacPorts, just use the load/unload command and the port name of the running server:

sudo port load postgresql96-server
- or -
sudo port unload postgresql96-server

so you don't have to remember where the /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.macports.postgresql96.plist file is located.

Upvotes: 2

Swedendrift
Swedendrift

Reputation: 11

None of the previous answers fixed the issue for me, despite getting the same error messages.

I was able to get my instance back up and running by deleting the existing postmaster.pid file which was locked and was not allowing connections.

Upvotes: 2

thedanotto
thedanotto

Reputation: 7307

$ brew upgrade postgres

fixed it for me.

That, of course, will upgrade your PostgreSQL version and update/install any dependencies.

Warning: Do this knowing that your PostgreSQL version will likely change. For me, that wasn't a big deal.

Upvotes: 1

theUtherSide
theUtherSide

Reputation: 3476

For Mac OS X, I really like LaunchRocket for this and other background services I used in development.

This site has nice instructions on installation.

This gives you a nice screen in your System Preferences that allows you to launch, reboot, root, and launch at login.

Upvotes: 0

Roosh
Roosh

Reputation: 1024

I had the same problem and performed all updates from the first post. But after checking the log file,

/usr/local/var/postgres/server.log

I see the true cause:

FATAL:  data directory "/usr/local/var/postgres" has group or world access
DETAIL:  Permissions should be u=rwx (0700).

After changing permissions on this directory,

chmod 0700 /usr/local/var/postgres

the PostgreSQL server started.

Check the log file every time.

Upvotes: 8

Markus Amalthea Magnuson
Markus Amalthea Magnuson

Reputation: 8731

The cleanest way by far to start/stop/restart PostgreSQL if you have installed it through brew is to simply unload and/or load the launchd configuration file that comes with the installation:

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/homebrew.mxcl.postgresql.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/homebrew.mxcl.postgresql.plist

The first line will stop PostgreSQL and the second line will start it. There isn't any need to specify any data directories, etc. since everything is in that file.

Upvotes: 33

k107
k107

Reputation: 16440

For a quick disposable test database, you can run the server in the foreground.

Initialize a new PostgreSQL database in a new directory:

mkdir db
initdb db -E utf8
createdb public

Start the server in the foreground (Ctrl + C to stop the server):

postgres -d db

In another shell session, connect to the server

psql -d public

Upvotes: 7

malopezcruz
malopezcruz

Reputation: 601

If you want to manually start and stop PostgreSQL (installed via Homebrew), the easiest way is:

brew services start postgresql

and

brew services stop postgresql

If you have a specific version, make sure to suffix the version. For example:

brew services start postgresql@10

Upvotes: 522

WhiteDragon
WhiteDragon

Reputation: 479

When you install PostgreSQL using Homebrew,

brew install postgres

at the end of the output, you will see this methods to start the server:

To have launchd start postgresql at login:
    ln -sfv /usr/local/opt/postgresql/*.plist ~/Library/LaunchAgents
Then to load postgresql now:
    launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/homebrew.mxcl.postgresql.plist
Or, if you don't want/need launchctl, you can just run:
    postgres -D /usr/local/var/postgres

I think this is the best way.

You can add an alias into your .profile file for convenience.

Upvotes: 10

Melnosta
Melnosta

Reputation: 11

For development purposes, one of the simplest ways is to install Postgres.app from the official site. It can be started/stopped from Applications folder or using the following commands in terminal:

# Start
open -a Postgres

# Stop
killall Postgres
killall postgres

Upvotes: 5

Todd
Todd

Reputation: 145

To start the PostgreSQL server:

pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres -l /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log start

To end the PostgreSQL server:

pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres stop -s -m fast

You can also create an alias via CLI to make it easier:

alias pg-start='pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres -l /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log start'
alias pg-stop='pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres stop -s -m fast'

With these you can just type "pg-start" to start PostgreSQL and "pg-stop" to shut it down.

Upvotes: 29

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