Re: Lost password to user postgres - Mailing list pgsql-admin

From Scott Marlowe
Subject Re: Lost password to user postgres
Date
Msg-id 1165101923.25316.8.camel@localhost.localdomain
Whole thread Raw
In response to Lost password to user postgres  (Philippe Salama <karebacnyc@yahoo.com>)
Responses Re: Lost password to user postgres
List pgsql-admin
On Sat, 2006-12-02 at 11:44 -0800, Philippe Salama wrote:
> 2 years ago, I installed postgresql on my desktop and used it for a
> while for learning purposes.  Then, I stopped using it.  I forgot the
> password to the user postgres

You don't have to reinstall.  you've got three basic options:

1. Change the password in single user mode
2. Edit pg_hba.conf and set it to trust mode, change your password,
change back to md5
3. Re-initdb your cluster.

For 1:
su - postgres (from root if you have to)
pg_ctl stop
postgres template1 (or some other database you know exists)
alter user postgres password 'newpassword';

For 2:
su - postgres
cd $PGDATA
vi pg_hba.conf
// change entries at bottom to trust
pg_ctl reload
psql template1
alter user postgres password 'newpassword';

For 3:
su - postgres
pg_ctl stop
echo $PGDATA  // make sure this is set to something like /var/lib/pgsql
rm -rf $PGDATA/*
initdb // with whatever options you need.

I prefer option 2, as you don't have to take down your database to do
it.

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