Follow through this guide to learn how to install PostgreSQL 13 on Debian 11. PostgreSQL is a fully featured object-relational database management system. It supports a large part of the SQL standard and is designed to be extensible by users in many aspects.
Some of the features are: ACID transactions, foreign keys, views, sequences, subqueries, triggers, user-defined types and functions, outer joins, multiversion concurrency control. Graphical user interfaces and bindings for many programming languages are available as well.
PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system that uses and extends the SQL language combined with many features that safely store and scale the most complicated data workloads.
Table of Contents
Installing PostgreSQL 13 on Debian 11
As of this writing, PostgreSQL 13 is the current major PostgreSQL release.
Fortunately, the default Debian 11 main repositories provides PostgreSQL packages.
apt-cache policy postgresqlpostgresql:
Installed: (none)
Candidate: 13+225
Version table:
13+225 500
500 http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye/main amd64 PackagesThis makes it easy to install PostgreSQL 13.x on Debian 11.
Install PostgreSQL 13
To install PostgreSQL 13, run the command below;
apt install postgresql postgresql-contribRunning PostgreSQL
When installation is done, PostgreSQL is set to run and start on system boot. Confirm by checking the service.
systemctl status [email protected]
● [email protected] - PostgreSQL Cluster 13-main
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/[email protected]; enabled-runtime; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Mon 2021-08-30 20:17:45 EAT; 1min 25s ago
Main PID: 3588 (postgres)
Tasks: 7 (limit: 1133)
Memory: 17.4M
CPU: 199ms
CGroup: /system.slice/system-postgresql.slice/[email protected]
├─3588 /usr/lib/postgresql/13/bin/postgres -D /var/lib/postgresql/13/main -c config_file=/etc/postgresql/13/main/postgresql.conf
├─3590 postgres: 13/main: checkpointer
├─3591 postgres: 13/main: background writer
├─3592 postgres: 13/main: walwriter
├─3593 postgres: 13/main: autovacuum launcher
├─3594 postgres: 13/main: stats collector
└─3595 postgres: 13/main: logical replication launcher
Aug 30 20:17:42 debian11 systemd[1]: Starting PostgreSQL Cluster 13-main...
Aug 30 20:17:45 debian11 systemd[1]: Started PostgreSQL Cluster 13-main.
Installing Other Versions of PostgreSQL on Debian 11
If you want to install other versions of PostgreSQL on Debian 11, you need to add the PostgreSQL apt repository;
echo "deb http://apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt $(lsb_release -cs)-pgdg main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgdg.listcurl -sL https://www.postgresql.org/media/keys/ACCC4CF8.asc | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/pgdg.asc >/dev/null apt updateInstall PostgreSQL 12 on Debian 11
apt install postgresql-12 postgresql-contrib-12Install PostgreSQL 11 on Debian 11
apt install postgresql-11 postgresql-contrib-11Verifying Version of Installed PostgreSQL on command line
You can find the version of install PostgreSQL on command line using the command below;
/usr/lib/postgresql/13/bin/postgres -VSample command output;
postgres (PostgreSQL) 13.3 (Debian 13.3-1)Similarly, you can use the command;
sudo -Hiu postgres psql -c "SELECT version();"Sample output;
version
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PostgreSQL 13.3 (Debian 13.3-1) on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Debian 10.2.1-6) 10.2.1 20210110, 64-bit
(1 row)Logging into PostgreSQL
By default, postgres user is created upon the installation of PostgreSQL.
id postgresuid=107(postgres) gid=115(postgres) groups=115(postgres),114(ssl-cert)The home directory for the user is set to /var/lib/postgresql.
getent passwd postgrespostgres:x:107:115:PostgreSQL administrator,,,:/var/lib/postgresql:/bin/bashHence, to login to PostgreSQL, first switch to postgres user using the command;
sudo -Hiu postgresOnce you are logged in, you can then run the psql command to get to PostgreSQL shell. psql is a PostgreSQL interactive terminal command that enables you to type in queries interactively, issue them to PostgreSQL, and see the query results.
psqlThis changes the prompt as;
psql (13.3 (Debian 13.3-1))
Type "help" for help.
postgres=#Type help to see various command usage.
helpYou are using psql, the command-line interface to PostgreSQL.
Type: \copyright for distribution terms
\h for help with SQL commands
\? for help with psql commands
\g or terminate with semicolon to execute query
\q to quit
postgres=#\h
Available help:
ABORT ALTER TEXT SEARCH TEMPLATE CREATE PUBLICATION DROP FUNCTION IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA
ALTER AGGREGATE ALTER TRIGGER CREATE ROLE DROP GROUP INSERT
ALTER COLLATION ALTER TYPE CREATE RULE DROP INDEX LISTEN
ALTER CONVERSION ALTER USER CREATE SCHEMA DROP LANGUAGE LOAD
ALTER DATABASE ALTER USER MAPPING CREATE SEQUENCE DROP MATERIALIZED VIEW LOCK
ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES ALTER VIEW CREATE SERVER DROP OPERATOR MOVE
ALTER DOMAIN ANALYZE CREATE STATISTICS DROP OPERATOR CLASS NOTIFY
ALTER EVENT TRIGGER BEGIN CREATE SUBSCRIPTION DROP OPERATOR FAMILY PREPARE
ALTER EXTENSION CALL CREATE TABLE DROP OWNED PREPARE TRANSACTION
ALTER FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER CHECKPOINT CREATE TABLE AS DROP POLICY REASSIGN OWNED
ALTER FOREIGN TABLE CLOSE CREATE TABLESPACE DROP PROCEDURE REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW
ALTER FUNCTION CLUSTER CREATE TEXT SEARCH CONFIGURATION DROP PUBLICATION REINDEX
ALTER GROUP COMMENT CREATE TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY DROP ROLE RELEASE SAVEPOINT
ALTER INDEX COMMIT CREATE TEXT SEARCH PARSER DROP ROUTINE RESET
ALTER LANGUAGE COMMIT PREPARED CREATE TEXT SEARCH TEMPLATE DROP RULE REVOKE
ALTER LARGE OBJECT COPY CREATE TRANSFORM DROP SCHEMA ROLLBACK
ALTER MATERIALIZED VIEW CREATE ACCESS METHOD CREATE TRIGGER DROP SEQUENCE ROLLBACK PREPARED
ALTER OPERATOR CREATE AGGREGATE CREATE TYPE DROP SERVER ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT
ALTER OPERATOR CLASS CREATE CAST CREATE USER DROP STATISTICS SAVEPOINT
ALTER OPERATOR FAMILY CREATE COLLATION CREATE USER MAPPING DROP SUBSCRIPTION SECURITY LABEL
ALTER POLICY CREATE CONVERSION CREATE VIEW DROP TABLE SELECT
ALTER PROCEDURE CREATE DATABASE DEALLOCATE DROP TABLESPACE SELECT INTO
ALTER PUBLICATION CREATE DOMAIN DECLARE DROP TEXT SEARCH CONFIGURATION SET
ALTER ROLE CREATE EVENT TRIGGER DELETE DROP TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY SET CONSTRAINTS
ALTER ROUTINE CREATE EXTENSION DISCARD DROP TEXT SEARCH PARSER SET ROLE
ALTER RULE CREATE FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER DO DROP TEXT SEARCH TEMPLATE SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION
ALTER SCHEMA CREATE FOREIGN TABLE DROP ACCESS METHOD DROP TRANSFORM SET TRANSACTION
ALTER SEQUENCE CREATE FUNCTION DROP AGGREGATE DROP TRIGGER SHOW
ALTER SERVER CREATE GROUP DROP CAST DROP TYPE START TRANSACTION
ALTER STATISTICS CREATE INDEX DROP COLLATION DROP USER TABLE
ALTER SUBSCRIPTION CREATE LANGUAGE DROP CONVERSION DROP USER MAPPING TRUNCATE
ALTER SYSTEM CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW DROP DATABASE DROP VIEW UNLISTEN
ALTER TABLE CREATE OPERATOR DROP DOMAIN END UPDATE
ALTER TABLESPACE CREATE OPERATOR CLASS DROP EVENT TRIGGER EXECUTE VACUUM
ALTER TEXT SEARCH CONFIGURATION CREATE OPERATOR FAMILY DROP EXTENSION EXPLAIN VALUES
ALTER TEXT SEARCH DICTIONARY CREATE POLICY DROP FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER FETCH WITH
ALTER TEXT SEARCH PARSER CREATE PROCEDURE DROP FOREIGN TABLE GRANT
postgres=#
Getting Started with PostgreSQL
You can now get started with PostgreSQL.
Check Getting Started with PostgreSQL on the documentation page to learn more about PostgreSQL.
