postgresql

Wow, it had been a long time since I last started Postgres on my Mac computer (a MacBook Pro, to be specific), and it took almost almost 20 minutes to remember how to do it. So, to keep that from happening again, here's a quick tip on how to start Postgres (Postgresql) on a Mac OS X computer.

With Postgresql (or Postgres, as I call it) you can execute commands from a file like this:

\i your_file_name_here

I just did that to run a subset of the restore commands from a backup file that I created, and it worked just fine. In my case I put the file in my current working directory, but I'll guess that you can also supply a path to the file and it will work from there as well.

"Postgres show tables" FAQ: How do I list all the tables in my current Postgresql database?

Once you're logged into a Postgresql database using the psql client, issue this command at the psql prompt to show all the tables in your Postgres database:

\dt

This will list all of the tables in the current database.

"Postgres login" FAQ: How do I log into a Postgres database from the command line?

To log into a Postgres database from the command line, use the psql command. Let's take a look at a few psql command line options you can use.

Postgres login commands

If you are logged into the same computer that Postgres is running on you can use the following psql login command, specifying the database (mydb) and username (myuser):

Here's a quick tabular list of Postgres commands related to listing information about a Postgres database. (Technically these are "psql commands", because you issue these commands from the psql command line program.)

These Postgres commands help you answer questions like "What tables are in this postgres database?", or "What databases do I have within Postgres?" (a handy question when it comes time for spring cleaning), and other questions. Other popular psql commands are related to permissions, indexes, views, and sequences.