amdavidson

Configuring PostgreSQL for Ruby on OSX

posted on 2010-09-13 - amd.im/BSN8

I found it to be a bit of a bear to get PostgreSQL installed on my OS 10.6 Snow Leopard system. So as I was going along I took notes. Here's how I managed to get it up and running.

Despite the ease of pushing to Heroku for my projects, I like to have a local development environment. I have never used PostgreSQL before, and want to make sure that there are no issues with bringing it up for a new project I am starting. I first checked what version of PostgreSQL Heroku was running and endeavored to get that running on my local installation.

First, install MacPorts on your machine.

Then install PostgreSQL with the following command:

$ sudo port install postgresql83 postgresql83-server

Configure a default database with the following commands (these will also be listed at the end of the MacPorts PostgreSQL installation):

$ sudo mkdir -p /opt/local/var/db/postgresql83/defaultdb
$ sudo chown postgres:postgres /opt/local/var/db/postgresql83/defaultdb
$ sudo su postgres -c '/opt/local/lib/postgresql83/bin/initdb -D /opt/local/var/db/postgresql83/defaultdb'

It seems that some users, including myself, have issues with the last command. If you get the error:

shell-init: error retrieving current directory: getcwd: cannot access parent directories: Permission denied
could not identify current directory: Permission denied
could not identify current directory: Permission denied
could not identify current directory: Permission denied
The program "postgres" is needed by initdb but was not found in the
same directory as "initdb".
Check your installation.

Try running this command (from here and here):

$ sudo dscl . -create /Users/postgres UserShell /usr/bin/false
$ sudo dscl . -create /Users/postgres NFSHomeDirectory /opt/local/var/db/postgresql83

After the dust has settled and you have PostgreSQL running, you'll likely want to get the gem installed for Ruby to get integrated.

Make sure that /opt/local/lib/postgresql83/bin is in your $PATH. Then installing do_postgres is as easy as running:

$ gem install do_postgres

Hope that works for someone.