This guide will walk you through the steps used to install PostgreSQL 12 on Ubuntu Linux system. PostgreSQL is one of the most widely adopted object-relational database management system based on POSTGRES 4.2. PostgreSQL 12 has been released for general use, fit for Production and all Development use cases.

For CentOS 7/8: How To Install PostgreSQL 12 on CentOS 7 / CentOS 8

For Fedora: Installing PostgreSQL 12 on Fedora

Debian: Install PostgreSQL 12 on Debian

If you want to see all the new features and improvements in PostgreSQL 12, visit the PostgreSQL 12 release notes page so check the major enhancements in PostgreSQL 12. Without much wait, let’s buckle to the installation of PostgreSQL 12 on Ubuntu Linux system.

Step 1: Update system

It is recommended to update your current system packages if it is a new server instance. 

sudo apt update && sudo apt -y install vim bash-completion wget

A reboot is necessary after an upgrade.

sudo apt -y upgrade
[ -f /var/run/reboot-required ] && sudo reboot -f

Step 2: Add PostgreSQL 12 repository

We need to import GPG key and add PostgreSQL 12 repository into our Ubuntu machine. Run the following commands to accomplish this.

curl -fsSL https://www.postgresql.org/media/keys/ACCC4CF8.asc|sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/postgresql.gpg

After importing GPG key, add repository contents to your Ubuntu system: 

echo "deb http://apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt/ `lsb_release -cs`-pgdg main" |sudo tee  /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgdg.list

The repository added contains many different packages including third party addons. They include:

  • postgresql-client
  • postgresql
  • libpq-dev
  • postgresql-server-dev
  • pgadmin packages

Step 3: Install PostgreSQL 12 on Ubuntu

Now the repository has been added successfully, update the package list and install PostgreSQL 12 server and client packages on your Ubuntu Linux system.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install postgresql-12 postgresql-client-12

A successful installation prints a message that is similar to one shared in the next screenshot.

install postgresql 12 ubuntu 01

The PostgreSQL service is started and set to come up after every system reboot.

$ systemctl status postgresql.service
● postgresql.service - PostgreSQL RDBMS
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/postgresql.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (exited) since Thu 2023-11-23 13:05:28 UTC; 23s ago
   Main PID: 3604 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
        CPU: 2ms

Nov 23 13:05:28 jammy systemd[1]: Starting PostgreSQL RDBMS...
Nov 23 13:05:28 jammy systemd[1]: Finished PostgreSQL RDBMS.

$ systemctl status [email protected]
● [email protected] - PostgreSQL Cluster 12-main
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/[email protected]; enabled-runtime; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Thu 2023-11-23 13:05:34 UTC; 36s ago
    Process: 4652 ExecStart=/usr/bin/pg_ctlcluster --skip-systemctl-redirect 12-main start (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
   Main PID: 4657 (postgres)
      Tasks: 7 (limit: 4524)
     Memory: 18.1M
        CPU: 357ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/system-postgresql.slice/[email protected]
             ├─4657 /usr/lib/postgresql/12/bin/postgres -D /var/lib/postgresql/12/main -c config_file=/etc/postgresql/12/main/postgresql.conf
             ├─4659 "postgres: 12/main: checkpointer   " "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "">
             ├─4660 "postgres: 12/main: background writer   " "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" >
             ├─4661 "postgres: 12/main: walwriter   " "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "">
             ├─4662 "postgres: 12/main: autovacuum launcher   " "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ">
             ├─4663 "postgres: 12/main: stats collector   " "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "">
             └─4664 "postgres: 12/main: logical replication launcher   " "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ">

Nov 23 13:05:32 jammy systemd[1]: Starting PostgreSQL Cluster 12-main...
Nov 23 13:05:34 jammy systemd[1]: Started PostgreSQL Cluster 12-main.

$ systemctl is-enabled postgresql
enabled

Step 4: Test PostgreSQL Connection

During installation, a postgres user is created automatically. This user has full superadmin access to your entire PostgreSQL instance. Before you switch to this account, your logged in system user should have sudo privileges.

sudo su - postgres

Let’s reset this user password to a strong Password we can remember.

psql -c "alter user postgres with password 'StrongAdminPassw0rd'"

Start PostgreSQL prompt by using the command:

$ psql

Get connection details like below.

$ psql
psql (12.17 (Ubuntu 12.17-1.pgdg22.04+1))
Type "help" for help.

postgres=# \conninfo
You are connected to database "postgres" as user "postgres" via socket in "/var/run/postgresql" at port "5432".

Let’s create a test database and user to see if it’s working.

postgres=# CREATE DATABASE mytestdb;
CREATE DATABASE
postgres=# CREATE USER mytestuser WITH ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'MyStr0ngP@SS';
CREATE ROLE
postgres=# GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE mytestdb to mytestuser;
GRANT

List created databases:

postgres=# \l
                               List of databases
   Name    |  Owner   | Encoding | Collate |  Ctype  |    Access privileges    
-----------+----------+----------+---------+---------+-------------------------
 mytestdb  | postgres | UTF8     | C.UTF-8 | C.UTF-8 | =Tc/postgres           +
           |          |          |         |         | postgres=CTc/postgres  +
           |          |          |         |         | mytestuser=CTc/postgres
 postgres  | postgres | UTF8     | C.UTF-8 | C.UTF-8 | 
 template0 | postgres | UTF8     | C.UTF-8 | C.UTF-8 | =c/postgres            +
           |          |          |         |         | postgres=CTc/postgres
 template1 | postgres | UTF8     | C.UTF-8 | C.UTF-8 | =c/postgres            +
           |          |          |         |         | postgres=CTc/postgres
(4 rows)

Connect to database:

postgres-# \c mytestdb
You are now connected to database "mytestdb" as user "postgres".

Other PostgreSQL utilities installed such as createuser and createdb can be used to create database and users.

postgres@ubuntu:~$ createuser myuser --password
Password:
postgres@ubuntu:~$ createdb mydb -O myuser
postgres@ubuntu:~$ psql -l

We can create and connect to a database on PostgreSQL server.

Step 5: Configure remote Connection (Optional)

Installation of PostgreSQL 12 on Ubuntu only accepts connections from localhost. In ideal production environments, you’ll have a central database server and remote clients connecting to it – But of course within a private network (LAN).

To enable remote connections, edit PostgreSQL configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/postgresql/12/main/postgresql.conf

Uncomment line 59 and change the Listen address to accept connections within your networks.

# Listen on all interfaces
listen_addresses = '*'

# Listen on specified private IP address
listen_addresses = '192.168.10.11'

After the change, restart postgresql service.

sudo systemctl restart postgresql

Confirm Listening addresses.

$ sudo netstat  -tunelp | grep 5432
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:5432            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      111        112837     11143/postgres      
tcp6       0      0 :::5432                 :::*                    LISTEN      111        112838     11143/postgres

Step 6: Install pgAdmin4 Management Tool

If you want to manage your PostgreSQL database server from a web interface, then install pgAdmin4.

Enjoy using PostgreSQL 12 on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04|18.04|16.04 Linux system.

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