Using psql to connect to your RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance - Amazon Relational Database Service

Using psql to connect to your RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance

You can use a local instance of the psql command line utility to connect to a RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance. You need either PostgreSQL or the psql client installed on your client computer.

You can download the PostgreSQL client from the PostgreSQL website. Follow the instructions specific to your operating system version to install psql.

To connect to your RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance using psql, you need to provide host (DNS) information, access credentials, and the name of the database.

Use one of the following formats to connect to your RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance. When you connect, you're prompted for a password. For batch jobs or scripts, use the --no-password option. This option is set for the entire session.

Note

A connection attempt with --no-password fails when the server requires password authentication and a password is not available from other sources. For more information, see the psql documentation.

If this is the first time you are connecting to this DB instance, or if you didn't yet create a database for this RDS for PostgreSQL instance, you can connect to the postgres database using the 'master username' and password.

For Unix, use the following format.

psql \
   --host=<DB instance endpoint> \
   --port=<port> \
   --username=<master username> \
   --password \
   --dbname=<database name>

For Windows, use the following format.

psql ^
   --host=<DB instance endpoint> ^
   --port=<port> ^
   --username=<master username> ^
   --password ^
   --dbname=<database name>

For example, the following command connects to a database called mypgdb on a PostgreSQL DB instance called mypostgresql using fictitious credentials. 

psql --host=mypostgresql.c6c8mwvfdgv0.us-west-2.rds.amazonaws.com --port=5432 --username=awsuser --password --dbname=mypgdb