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Lesson 2 of 10
5 min read
PostgreSQL

Installing PostgreSQL & Basic Setup

Install Postgres locally or with Docker and create your first database

Install PostgreSQL

You can install Postgres directly on your machine or run it via Docker. Docker is great for keeping environments consistent across teams.

Option 1: Local Install

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install postgresql@16
brew services start postgresql@16

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install postgresql

Option 2: Docker

docker run --name postgres \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  -d postgres:16

Create a Database & User

# Open psql
psql postgres

-- Create a user and database
CREATE USER app_user WITH PASSWORD 'secret';
CREATE DATABASE app_db OWNER app_user;

-- Grant privileges
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE app_db TO app_user;

Connection String

Most tools use a URL connection string:

postgresql://app_user:secret@localhost:5432/app_db

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