如何在 Mac OS X 上启动 PostgreSQL 服务器？

Question

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.

Answer 1

The Homebrew package manager includes launchctl plists to start automatically. For more information run brew info postgres .

Start manually:

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

Stop manually:

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

Start automatically:

"To have launchd start postgresql now and restart at login:"

brew services start postgresql

---

What is the result of pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres -l /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log start ?

What is the result of pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres status ?

Are there any error messages in the server.log?

Make sure tcp localhost connections are enabled in pg_hba.conf:

# IPv4 local connections:
host    all             all             127.0.0.1/32            trust

Check the listen_addresses and port in postgresql.conf:

egrep 'listen|port' /usr/local/var/postgres/postgresql.conf

#listen_addresses = 'localhost'     # what IP address(es) to listen on;
#port = 5432                # (change requires restart)

---

Cleaning up

Postgres was most likely installed via Homebrew , Fink , MacPorts or the EnterpriseDB installer.

Check the output of the following commands to determine which package manager it was installed with:

brew && brew list|grep postgres
fink && fink list|grep postgres
port && port installed|grep postgres

Answer 2

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

Answer 3

I had almost the exact same issue, and you cited the initdb command as being the fix. This was also the solution for me, but I didn't see that anyone posted it here, so for those who are looking for it:

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

Answer 4

If your computer was abruptly restarted

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

Answer 5

Another approach is using lunchy gem (a wrapper for launchctl):

brew install postgresql
initdb /usr/local/var/postgres -E utf8
gem install lunchy

To start postgres:

lunchy start postgres

To stop postgres:

lunchy stop postgres

For further info refer to: " How to Install PostgreSQL on a Mac With Homebrew and Lunchy "

Answer 6

Here my 2 cents: I made an alias for postgres pg_ctl and put it in .bash_profile(my postgresql version is 9.2.4, and database path is /Library/PostgreSQL/9.2/data).

alias postgres.server="sudo -u postgres pg_ctl -D /Library/PostgreSQL/9.2/data"

Launch new terminal.

And then? You can start/stop your postgresql server with this:

postgres.server start
postgres.server stop

Answer 7

The cleanest way by far to start/stop/restart postgres 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 postgres and the second line will start it. No need to specify any data directories etc. since everything is in that file.

Answer 8

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 Postgres and "pg-stop" to shut it down.

Answer 9

For test purposes, i think PostgreSQL App is the best option!

Run an App, and the server is up and running. Close the App, and the server goes down.

http://postgresapp.com/

Answer 10

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 .

Answer 11

when you install postgresql using homebrew:

brew install postgres

at the end of the output you will see this methods to start 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 alias into your .profile for convenience.

Answer 12

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

Initialize a new postgres 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

Answer 13

I have same problem and perform all updates from first post. But after check log file:

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

I see true cause:

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

After change permission on this directory

chmod 0700 /usr/local/var/postgres

postgres server has start.

Everytime check log file.

Answer 14

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

Answer 15

这个答案的变化： https ： //stackoverflow.com/a/13103603/2394728

initdb `brew --prefix`/var/postgres/data -E utf8`` &&  pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres/data -l logfile start

Answer 16

PostgreSQL is integrated in Server.app available through the App Store in Mountain Lion. That means that it is already configured, and you only need to launch it, and then create users and databases.

Tip : Do not start with defining $PGDATA and so on, take file locations as is.

You would have this file: /Library/Server/PostgreSQL/Config/org.postgresql.postgres.plist

To start:

sudo serveradmin start postgres

Process started with arguments:

/Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/bin/postgres_real -D /Library/Server/PostgreSQL/Data -c listen_addresses=127.0.0.1,::1 -c log_connections=on -c log_directory=/Library/Logs/PostgreSQL -c log_filename=PostgreSQL.log -c log_line_prefix=%t -c log_lock_waits=on -c log_statement=ddl -c logging_collector=on -c unix_socket_directory=/private/var/pgsql_socket -c unix_socket_group=_postgres -c unix_socket_permissions=0770

You can sudo:

sudo -u _postgres psql template1

Or connect:

psql -h localhost -U _postgres postgres

You can find the data directory, version, running status and so forth with

sudo serveradmin fullstatus postgres  

Answer 17

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

Answer 18

   # 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 postgres server
    $ postgres -D /usr/local/var/postgres

    # create your database
    $ createdb mydb


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

Answer 19

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

brew services restart postgresql

And this sometimes might not work, in that case below two commands should definitely work

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

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

Answer 20

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

Answer 21

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

Answer 22

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

Answer 23

$ brew upgrade postgres

fixed it for me.

That, of course, will upgrade your postgres 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.

Answer 24

none of the above 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 not allowing connections.

Answer 25

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

Answer 26

docker run --name some-postgres -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword -d postgres

https://hub.docker.com/_/postgres

Answer 27

If you installed Postgres using 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

Answer 28

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.

Answer 29

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

https://github.com/jimbojsb/launchrocket

This site has nice instructions on installation: http://macappstore.org/launchrocket/

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

Answer 30

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 Brew: https://brew.sh/

Answer 31

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

From: https://superuser.com/questions/879640/error-while-trying-to-start-postgres-installed-via-homebrew-operation-not-permi/898585

This solved it for me.

Answer 32

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

There is option, that you will have postgres.pid filled with some PID. But if your restart your machine, and before postgress will be back again, some other process will take that PID. If that will happen, both pg_ctl status and brew service asked about postgres status, will tell you that it is UP. Just ps aux | grep and check if it is really postgress

Answer 33

that worked for me (macOS 10.13) 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/

Answer 34

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 .

Answer 35

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 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/

Answer 36

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/ 

Answer 37

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