Set up PostgreSQL database

Rell requires PostgreSQL 16.3. The IDE can work without it but can't run a node. A console or a remote postchain app can run without a database.

The default database configuration for Rell is:

• database: postchain
• user: postchain
• password: postchain

Install

Mac

1. Install Homebrew: Homebrew installation guide

2. Install PostgreSQL:

   brew install postgresql@16
   brew services start postgresql@16
   createuser -s postgres

3. Prepare the PostgreSQL database:

   psql -U postgres -c "CREATE DATABASE postchain WITH TEMPLATE = template0 LC_COLLATE = 'C.UTF-8' LC_CTYPE = 'C.UTF-8' ENCODING 'UTF-8';" -c "CREATE ROLE postchain LOGIN ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'postchain'; GRANT ALL ON DATABASE postchain TO postchain;"
   note

   If you get an error saying peer authentication failed, you must change the authentication method from peer to md5. You can change it in the pg_hba.conf file of your psql database.

Linux

1. Install PostgreSQL:

   sudo apt install postgresql-16

2. Prepare the PostgreSQL database:

   sudo -u postgres psql -c "CREATE DATABASE postchain WITH TEMPLATE = template0 LC_COLLATE = 'C.UTF-8' LC_CTYPE = 'C.UTF-8' ENCODING 'UTF-8';" -c "CREATE ROLE postchain LOGIN ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'postchain'; GRANT ALL ON DATABASE postchain TO postchain;"

Docker

1. Install Docker: Docker installation guide

2. Prepare the PostgreSQL database:

   docker run --name postgres -e POSTGRES_USER=postchain -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postchain -p 5432:5432 -d postgres:16.3-alpine3.20
   note

   We use the Alpine version of PostgreSQL because it provides the correct collation settings by default. This can be explicitly set using the environment variable:

   POSTGRES_INITDB_ARGS="--lc-collate=C.UTF-8 --lc-ctype=C.UTF-8 --encoding=UTF-8"

Windows

1. Download the PostgreSQL installer from the official website.

2. Install the executable and add the PostgreSQL folder containing the binaries to your environment variables. Open the Command Prompt (CMD) and run the following command, ensuring that you set the path to your binaries correctly and replace the <version> placeholder with the actual version number:

   setx POSTGRESQL "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\<version>\bin"

3. Reopen the Command Prompt (CMD) to update the environment variables. Prepare the PostgreSQL database by running the following two commands sequentially:

   psql -U postgres -c "CREATE DATABASE postchain WITH TEMPLATE = template0 LC_COLLATE = 'en_US.UTF-8' LC_CTYPE = 'en_US.UTF-8' ENCODING 'UTF-8';"
   psql -U postgres -c "CREATE ROLE postchain LOGIN ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'postchain'; GRANT ALL ON DATABASE postchain TO postchain;"
   note

   Depending on your Windows version, you may encounter various errors related to permissions or incorrect PostgreSQL installations. If this happens, we recommend installing Docker and deploying the PostgreSQL container.