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postgresqlpsql

How do you add connection options to PSQL?

Some Postgres connection options are usually specified in the connection string. For example, sslmode=require can be set with the following connection string

postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/postgres?sslmode=require

But psql --help doesn't provide any information on how to set something like that.

Solution

  • You can pass in a conninfo string or URI. The two examples below are equivalent.

    psql postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/postgres?sslmode=require
psql "sslmode=require" -U postgres -h localhost -p 5432 -d postgres

    Multiple options are space delineated.

    psql "dbname=postgres sslmode=require" -U postgres -h localhost -p 5432

    See The Connection URI Parameter Key Words documentation for other options.

    You can also inspect the current connection info using the \conninfo meta command

    postgres=# \conninfo
You are connected to database "postgres" as user "postgres" on host "localhost" at port "5432".

    The online documentation of psql goes into more detail under the Connecting to a Database section.