As a new Postgres user, I did not understand how to make use of Postgres on Ubuntu. So I'm just going to chime in and help out other newbies who perhaps cannot figure out how to work with Postgres on Linux. If you're using Windows, steps should be similar.
Before you get to using PgAdmin, a bit of configuration is required. Most will happen in your terminal at first.
Open a terminal using Ctrl + Alt + T if you're on a PC. Or just pres ALT + F1 and begin typing Terminal.
Let's start with the basics first and make sure you have proper
installation.
1. Installing Postgres Latest
1.1 update the system software packages
sudo apt update
1.2 install latest version of PostgreSQL from default Ubuntu repositories
sudo apt install postgresql
the installer will create a new PostgreSQL collection of databases
that will be managed by a single server instance
Default data directory : /var/lib/postgresql/your-version/main
Configurations files : /etc/postgresql/your-version/main
2. Checking if Postgres Service is Installed
2.1 Check if Postgres is Active
sudo systemctl is-active postgresql
You should see : active
2.2 Check if Postgres is enabled
sudo systemctl is-enabled postgresql
You should see : enabled
2.3 Check Postgres Service status
sudo systemctl status postgresql
You should see : active (exited) marked in green
2.4 Check if Postgres is ready to accept connections
sudo pg_isready
You should see : /var/run/postgresql:5432 - accepting connections
3. Configuring Postgres Authentication
3.1 Opening the pg_hba.conf as SUPERUSER
sudo code --user-data-dir=~/root /etc/postgresql/13/main/pg_hba.conf
I'm using visual studio code so for me code is vsc codename. If you're using vim or sublime just replace code with your text editor name.
3.2 Configuring pg_hba.conf
Notes: you shouldn't need to change anything here, just make sure your
configuration files matches the following lines :
host all all 127.0.0.1/32 md5
# IPv6 local connections:
host all all ::1/128 md5
Hit save and close.
3.3 Restart Postgres Service
sudo systemctl restart postgresql
4. Create NEW Server
For me, this is where all my confusion was. Before you use PgAdmin,
you need to create a server in your terminal, then you can connect and
manager it with PgAdmin just like you would with PhpMyAdmin. It's
actually easier.
4.1 Access the PostgreSQL database shell
sudo su - postgres
psql
You will then see this : postgres=#
4.2 Creating new server and user
postgres=# create user bob with superuser password 'admin';
That's how you create new user and server in Postgres. Let's move on to PgAdmin.
5. Installing pgAdmin4
5.1 Add public key for the repository
curl https://www.pgadmin.org/static/packages_pgadmin_org.pub | sudo apt-key add
Notes : if you don't have curl your Ubuntu will give you the command to install it
5.2 create the repository configuration file
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb https://ftp.postgresql.org/pub/pgadmin/pgadmin4/apt/$(lsb_release -cs) pgadmin4 main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgadmin4.list && apt update'
5.3 install pgAdmin4
sudo apt update
sudo apt install pgadmin4
5.4 run the web setup script installed with the pgadmin4 binary package
sudo /usr/pgadmin4/bin/setup-web.sh
It will asks you for your email address and password. This email and
password is required to login to the PgAdmin4 web interface
6. Accessing pgAdmin4 Web Interface
6.1 Open your favorite browser
type in the address of the PgAdmin web interface. It usually looks like this
http://127.0.0.1/pgadmin4
Note : After installation the web setup script will tell you exactly
where to access the web interface.
When you see the login screen, enter the email and password you've chosen during the web setup script.
6.2 Adding New Server Connection
6.2.1 Click on Add New Server
6.2.2 Under General tab enter a name for your server. ANY name you would like, it doesn't matter. You could enter PgServer1 or whatever. Don't change anything else.
6.2.3 Switch to Connection Tab
Hostname/ Address : localhost
Port : 5432
Maintenance database : postgres (always)
Username : **bob** (the username youve chosen at 4.2)
Password : admin (or any password you chose at 4.2)
Hit Save.
Voila! You should be connected successfully. If not, just open terminal and create a new user like we did at 4.2
Notes : to create databases is very easy just right click on your
servername
create > databases
Useful Resources & Tutorials
PostgreSQL Fundamentals : Queries and the likes
PostgreSQL & JSON : useful for dealing with JS apps
PostgreSQL & Nodejs : Create realtime apps with nodejs and socket.io
More PostgreSQL Nodejs
UPDATE 2023
While following my own tutorial I ran into certificate issues at step 5 when I tried to create the repository file. The full error I was getting was this.
I want to post the solution that worked for me here.
