Install PostgreSQL 9.2 on OS X Mountain Lion
The PostgreSQL database keeps getting better with each release. With 9.2 now at beta2, it's a great time to jump in and get up to speed.
Prerequisites
This guide assumes the following:
- OS X Mountain Lion
- The latest XCode
- XCode Command Line Tools
- The latest MacPorts
Installation
Make sure MacPorts is up to date, then install the postgresql92-server port:
$ sudo port -v selfupdate
$ sudo port -v install postgresql92-serverSetup the Initial Database
Once the server has been installed, you will need to create the initial database:
$ sudo mkdir -p /opt/local/var/db/postgresql92/defaultdb
$ sudo chown postgres:postgres /opt/local/var/db/postgresql92/defaultdb
$ sudo su postgres -c '/opt/local/lib/postgresql92/bin/initdb -D /opt/local/var/db/postgresql92/defaultdb'Starting the Server
Once the initial database has been created, you can start the server.
To run the server manually, execute the following command:
$ sudo su postgres -c '/opt/local/lib/postgresql92/bin/postgres -D /opt/local/var/db/postgresql92/defaultdb'If you want the server to automatically start at boot time, execute the following command:
$ sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.macports.postgresql92-server.plistSetup your PATH
The executable files for PostgreSQL are in a non-standard location, so you you'll want to update your PATH to make things easier. Most likely, you'll want to edit your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc (or similar) profile, though you can set apply the changes for all users system-wide by editing /etc/profile.
Make sure you set the new path before /usr/bin to ensure that you are using the latest versions and not the default apple-supplied tools:
export PATH=/opt/local/lib/postgresql92/bin:$PATHYou can verify this works by running which psql and you should see /opt/local/lib/postgresql92/bin/psql as the output.
Create a New User
You will be setup with a postgres user by default, but it is good practice to create a different user account.
To make things easy, create a new database user to match your OS X username:
$ createuser --superuser <my username> -U postgresYou should now be able to create a new database:
$ createdb my_appDo please consider setting a password for your newly-created user ;)
Configuring a Rails Application
To setup your Rails application with PostgreSQL, you will need to do the following:
- Add the
pggem to yourGemfileand run thebundlecommand Gist - Configure your
database.ymlto use PostgreSQL: Gist
Even if you have set the min_messages option, you may still see console output like the following:
WARNING: there is already a transaction in progressEdit the file /opt/local/var/db/postgresql92/defaultdb/postgresql.conf and set the following:
client_min_messages = errorEverything should now be running smoothly.
Written by Phil Cohen
Related protips
16 Responses
Macports in 2012? Really? And I thought everyone switched to homebrew back in 2011.
@rwz, yep, really. MacPorts works, well and reliably. It also supports a lot of functionality which I use that homebrew doesn't support (activating/deactivating multiple versions for testing libraries, for example). Homebrew is great, and I recommend it often for many folks, but I need a better reason than "everyone else is doing it" to make the move myself.
Thanks for the input!
Thanks bro! You saved my day.
@jfsagasti I'm glad you found it useful, thanks!
A handy command is
sudo port select --set postgresql postgresql92
That way you you can type 'psql' instead of 'psql92', and so on for the other CLI tools.
@apsoto, very nice addition, thank you!
@phlipper afaik brew also allows to use different versions of a package, after all it's a git wrapper. It may not be intuitive, but there's a way to get to all branches and commits in a package repo.
Still it's a shame macports and homebrew don't work together.
@ellmo sure it's technically possible, but have you seen this done in practice? I don't think this would account for related dependencies. Can you link to some documentation on how to do this?
Once brew is as easy as port activate name @version I'll definitely take a closer look.
NIce post thanks for the help!!
@chrisdilbert I'm glad you found it useful, thanks!
Or you can try this: http://postgresapp.com
this post saved my day. thanks.
As written, your initdb command sets the default encoding to SQL-ANSI. To set the default as UTF8, you need to do this, instead:
sudo su postgres -c '/opt/local/lib/postgresql92/bin/initdb -E UTF8 -D /opt/local/var/db/postgresql92/defaultdb'
Note: The above command is supposed to be on one line. Also, the order of the parameters is important. The encoding must come before the location of the database files. This is also true for postgreSQL93, which is what I actually installed.
I have a serious question I can't seem to find an answer to. Everywhere I go people just use "port (command input)" but on the website they say to do "sudo port (command input)" I haven't been able to execute any port commands without doing sudo first. Are you doing sudo before everything and assuming we do that or do you have a special configuration for it?
@to-mos, FWIW I've generally used sudo when working with the port command.
Generally, you can just do a port command by itself when you're doing something that reads - like "port list active". But you probably want /opt to be owned by your admin user, so any command that modifies it would need to be run with sudo. People don't always put sudo in front of every command when writing because it's like saying "Simon says" every time. And some people log in as the admin user, or set up ports with /opt owned by a non-admin user so sudo isn't required to modify it.
Also, instead of the long launchctl command, you can just do
sudo port load postgresql93-server
which does the same thing.
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