psql Installation

1. Go to the official PostgreSQL download page → www.postgresql.org/download/windows/

2. Click "Download the installer"

3. Launch the downloaded .exe file

4. Follow the installation steps:

   • Installation Directory: Choose default or your preferred path.
   • Components: Ensure Command Line Tools is selected (this includes psql).
   • Data Directory: Leave it default or choose another path.
   • Password: Set a password for the PostgreSQL superuser (generally ostgres).
   • Port: Keep default (5432).
   • Locale: Use default.

5. Add psql to PATH

   1. Go to Environment Variables

   2. Add this (default Path) or the path which you specified during installation

      C:\\Program Files\\PostgreSQL\\<version>\\bin
      

6. Open Terminal and Test

   1. Check if pqsl installed properly

      psql --version
      

   2. Connect to PostgreSQL using psql

      It will prompt for the password (enter the one you set during installation).

      psql -U postgres
      

      • Output

Some psql Commands

• To list databases: \\l
• To connect to a DB: \\c dbname
• To list tables: \\dt
• To exit: \\q

Create DB

1. Go to https://console.neon.tech & create a DB
2. Get the connection

postgresql://your username:your password@ep-empty-hat-a178qeav-pooler.ap-southeast-1.aws.neon.tech/neondb?sslmode=require

Connecting Remote Neon DB to psql

1. Connection String with Parameters

   Use this format when you want full control using named parameters:

   psql "host=ep-empty-hat-a178qeav-pooler.ap-southeast-1.aws.neon.tech dbname=neondb user=neondb_owner password=<your_password> sslmode=require"
   

   Replace <your_password> with your actual password.

   • host=... → Your Neon cluster endpoint
   • dbname=neondb → The name of your Neon database
   • user=neondb_owner → Your Neon database user
   • password=... → The password from your connection string
   • sslmode=require → Neon requires SSL for connections