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@NickMcSweeney
Last active December 8, 2025 16:43
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Getting postgresql running on Arch Linux

Setup Postgresql

run postgresql with systemctl

Install postgres

latest

sudo pacman -S postgresql

specific version

find version & build from source

Check version

postgres --version

Confirm psql is not running

sudo systemctl status postgresql --> should not be running

Login as the postgres user

Note: always do this any time you are doing any type of admin work on psql

sudo su - postgres

Initialize data directory

Note: default db for psql is /var/lib/postgres/data

initdb --locale en_US.UTF-8 -D /var/lib/postgres/data

Logout of postgres user

exit

Confirm psql is still not running

sudo systemctl status postgresql --> should not be running

Start psql

sudo systemctl start postgresql

Confirm psql is running

sudo systemctl status postgresql --> should be active

Create user

Log into postgres

sudo su - postgres

Create a new user

Note: user can be called anything however if you create a PostgreSQL user with the same name as your Linux username, it allows you to access the PostgreSQL database shell without having to specify a user to login (which makes it quite convenient).

createuser --interactive

  • Enter name of role to add: MY_LINUX_USERNAME
  • Shall the new role be a superuser?: y

Logout of postgres user

exit

Restart psql

sudo systemctl restart postgresql

Confirm psql is running

Note: can see that it was restarted by looking at the timestamp on the Active field

sudo systemctl status postgresql

@cold-winds
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Thank you so much!

@acandael
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Great manual to setup Postgresql. Thanks!

@f16z
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f16z commented Oct 2, 2025

Exactly what I needed

@Youssef-codin
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very useful much appreciated

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