How to install PostgreSQL on macOS using Homebrew

03 Dec 2018 in Homebrew on Homebrew, macOS, Postgresql

This post provides a step-by-step guide with a list of commands on how to install PostgreSQL on macOS using Homebrew.

• What is PostgreSQL?
• What is Homebrew?
• Quick Commands
• Brew Commands
• Summary

This post provides a step-by-step guide with a list of commands on how to install PostgreSQL on macOS using Homebrew. PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system with an emphasis on extensibility and standards compliance.

What is PostgreSQL?

“PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system (ORDBMS) with an emphasis on extensibility and standards compliance. It can handle workloads ranging from small single-machine applications to large Internet-facing applications (or for data warehousing) with many concurrent users. PostgreSQL is ACID-compliant and transactional. PostgreSQL has updatable views and materialized views, triggers, foreign keys; supports functions and stored procedures, and other expandability.” ~ Wikipedia

What is Homebrew?

Homebrew is a free and open-source software package management system that simplifies the installation of software on Apple’s macOS operating system. It is known as the missing package manager for macOS.

Quick Commands

The following is the single command required to install PostgreSQL on macOS using Homebrew.

$ brew install postgresql 

Brew Commands

This section provides a quick set of commands on how to install PostgreSQL on macOS using Homebrew. It is assumed that Homebrew is already installed. If not, please follow this link.

$ brew update                 # Fetch latest version of homebrew and formula.
$ brew search postgresql      # Searches all known formulae for a partial or exact match.
$ brew info postgresql        # Displays information about the given formulae.
$ brew install postgresql     # Install the given formulae.
$ brew cleanup                # Remove any older versions from the cellar.

Summary

Congratulations! You have successfully installed PostgreSQL on macOS making use of Homebrew. Follow me on any of the different social media platforms and feel free to leave comments.