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Questions tagged [psql]

Primary interactive shell for PostgreSQL. NOT a synonym for PostgreSQL.

psql is a terminal-based client to PostgreSQL, that's packaged with the software. It lets you edit queries interactively, issue them to PostgreSQL, and see the results. You can read and write to / from files and use it for scripting.

Additionally, psql provides a set of meta-commands and other shell-like features to facilitate writing scripts and automating a wide range of tasks.

Questions with this tag should probably be tagged , too.
But only questions dealing with the command-line interface should be tagged .

Questions referring to the procedural language "psql" for the Firebird database should be tagged with

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PostgreSQL "DESCRIBE TABLE"

How do you perform the equivalent of Oracle's DESCRIBE TABLE in PostgreSQL with psql command?
Mr. Muskrat
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How to exit from PostgreSQL command line utility: psql

What command or short key can I use to exit the PostgreSQL command line utility psql?
App Work
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How to switch databases in psql?

In MySQL, I used use database_name; What's the psql equivalent?
Blankman
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psql: FATAL: database "" does not exist

I'm using the PostgreSql app for mac (http://postgresapp.com/). I've used it in the past on other machines but it's giving me some trouble when installing on my macbook. I've installed the application and I ran: psql -h localhost It returns: psql:…
Ryan Rich
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Run a PostgreSQL .sql file using command line arguments

I have some .sql files with thousands of INSERT statements in them and need to run these inserts on my PostgreSQL database in order to add them to a table. The files are that large that it is impossible to open them and copy the INSERT statements…
CSharpened
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How do I specify a password to 'psql' non-interactively?

I am trying to automate database creation process with a shell script and one thing I've hit a road block with passing a password to psql. Here is a bit of code from the shell script: psql -U $DB_USER -h localhost -c"$DB_RECREATE_SQL" How do I pass…
Alex N.
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List tables in a PostgreSQL schema

When I do a \dt in psql I only get a listing of tables in the current schema (public by default). How can I get a list of all tables in all schemas or a particular schema?
Nyxynyx
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Alternate output format for psql showing one column per line with column name

I am using PostgreSQL 8.4 on Ubuntu. I have a table with columns c1 through cN. The columns are wide enough that selecting all columns causes a row of query results to wrap multiple times. Consequently, the output is hard to read. When the query…
user100464
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psql - save results of command to a file

I'm using psql's \dt to list all tables in a database and I need to save the results. What is the syntax to export the results of a psql command to a file?
pstanton
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Postgresql: Scripting psql execution with password

How can I call psql so that it doesn't prompt for a password? This is what I have: psql -Umyuser < myscript.sql However, I couldn't find the argument that passes the password, and so psql always prompts for it.
Axel Fontaine
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Using psql how do I list extensions installed in a database?

How do I list all extensions that are already installed in a database or schema from psql? See also Finding a list of available extensions that PostgreSQL ships with
ARV
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Correct way to install psql without full Postgres on macOS?

Official page do not mention such case. But many users need only psql without a local database (I have it on AWS). Brew do not have psql.
Vitaly Zdanevich
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How to select a schema in postgres when using psql?

I have a postgres database with multiple schemas. When I connect to the database from a shell with psql and I run \dt it uses the default connection schema which is public. Is there a flag I can specify or how can I change the schema?
mehany
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How to alter a column's data type in a PostgreSQL table?

Entering the following command into a PostgreSQL interactive terminal results in an error: ALTER TABLE tbl_name ALTER COLUMN col_name varchar (11); What is the correct command to alter the data type of a column?
tree em
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Library not loaded: /usr/local/opt/readline/lib/libreadline.6.2.dylib

I just installed posgresql with homebrew and when I go on to type the command psql I get the following error: dyld: Library not loaded: /usr/local/opt/readline/lib/libreadline.6.2.dylib Referenced from: /usr/local/bin/psql Reason: image not…
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