Thread: Creating first database
The following documentation comment has been logged on the website: Page: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/17/tutorial-createdb.html Description: In the Getting Started section of the documentation which would be used by a new user immediately after installing PostgreSQL, the user is asked to run $ createdb mydb If the database is correctly installed, this first command to be run by the new user inevitably fails with the error: createdb: error: connection to server at "localhost" (::1), port 5432 failed: FATAL: password authentication failed for user "Mark" The reason it fails by my understanding is because the installation process does not create any user and without a user specified on createdb PostgreSQL is defaulting to using the OS user name. Since this does not exist in PostgreSQL the access is denied with the incorrect error message above. The error message suggests that there is a password issue but the real issue is that PostgreSQL has defaulted to a user that does not exist in PostgreSQL. This is a disappointing start for a new user. It would be better to explain this to the user and take them through the user creation process rather than letting them struggle and Google the issue as I did. I think the typical user would assume that they should be using their OS user password and then wonder why that doesn't work.
PG Doc comments form <noreply@postgresql.org> writes:
> In the Getting Started section of the documentation which would be used by a
> new user immediately after installing PostgreSQL, the user is asked to run
> $ createdb mydb
> If the database is correctly installed, this first command to be run by the
> new user inevitably fails with the error:
> createdb: error: connection to server at "localhost" (::1), port 5432
> failed: FATAL: password authentication failed for user "Mark"
The out-of-the-box factory default is indeed that there is no password
for the initial user, but one is not needed because the default
authentication method is "trust". You have not mentioned exactly how
you installed Postgres, but a plausible guess is that you are using
somebody's packaging of Postgres and that somebody saw fit to override
the factory default. If so, there should be some documentation about
what they did and how you're supposed to achieve initial access in
the package's documentation.
We can't really hope to document everything that every packager does
in the community Postgres documentation, not least because they seldom
inform us. I suppose it might be helpful to add something along the
lines of "if you are using a pre-packaged version of Postgres, please
consult the packager's documentation".
regards, tom lane
On Friday, March 28, 2025, PG Doc comments form <noreply@postgresql.org> wrote:
The following documentation comment has been logged on the website:
Page: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/17/tutorial-createdb.html
Description:
In the Getting Started section of the documentation which would be used by a
new user immediately after installing PostgreSQL, the user is asked to run
$ createdb mydb
If the database is correctly installed, this first command to be run by the
new user inevitably fails with the error:
createdb: error: connection to server at "localhost" (::1), port 5432
failed: FATAL: password authentication failed for user "Mark"
The reason it fails by my understanding is because the installation process
does not create any user and without a user specified on createdb PostgreSQL
is defaulting to using the OS user name.
The database has to have a user created during install in order to work. Usually that is “postgres” and the installer is considerate enough to ensure your operating system also has a user of the same name. You need to become that OS user initially in order to get into the clean post-install system. And which point you can create users and databases that align with your desired interaction. And to also modify the configuration files which are owned by that created (usually postgres) OS user.
David J.
On Sat Mar 29, 2025 at 6:56 AM PDT, Tom Lane wrote: > PG Doc comments form <noreply@postgresql.org> writes: >> In the Getting Started section of the documentation which would be used by a >> new user immediately after installing PostgreSQL, the user is asked to run >> $ createdb mydb >> If the database is correctly installed, this first command to be run by the >> new user inevitably fails with the error: >> createdb: error: connection to server at "localhost" (::1), port 5432 >> failed: FATAL: password authentication failed for user "Mark" > We can't really hope to document everything that every packager does > in the community Postgres documentation, not least because they seldom > inform us. I suppose it might be helpful to add something along the > lines of "if you are using a pre-packaged version of Postgres, please > consult the packager's documentation". Given that the 'Installation' subsection, before the 'Creating a Database' subsection within Getting Started, covers the various way Postgres may be installed, and covers that environment variables may need to be tweaked to accommodated the differences, I don't feel the subsequent sections need to repeat how to deal with different types of installations. Best regards, Gurjeet https://Gurje.et