postgresql-cli

psql — PostgreSQL Interactive Terminal

psql is PostgreSQL's feature-rich interactive terminal. It lets you write and execute queries, inspect database objects, import/export data, script batch operations, and customize output formatting — all from the command line.

Prerequisites

Before using psql, verify it is installed and available:

# Check if psql is installed
psql --version

# If not found, install PostgreSQL client tools:

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install libpq
brew link --force libpq

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install postgresql-client

# CentOS / RHEL
sudo yum install postgresql

# Alpine
apk add postgresql-client

# Windows — install PostgreSQL via the official installer or use WSL

psql ships as part of the postgresql-client package. The server (postgresql) is not required — you only need the client to connect to a remote PostgreSQL instance.

Quick Reference

Connecting

# 1. CLI flags
psql -h host -p port -U user -d dbname

# 2. Connection URI
# WARNING: Password in URI is visible in shell history and process listings.
#          Prefer ~/.pgpass for production use (see method 4 below).
psql "postgresql://user:YOUR_PASSWORD@host:port/dbname"

# 3. Environment variables (no flags needed)
export PGHOST=localhost
export PGPORT=5432
export PGDATABASE=mydb
export PGUSER=postgres
# WARNING: PGPASSWORD is visible in process listings (e.g