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pgxman container is aliased to pgxman c
On MacOS, pgxman automatically aliases pgxman install to pgxman container install. Native MacOS homebrew support is planned for a future release.

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Installing extensions

To install an extension into a container, run: 
pgxman c install extension --pg version
  • Containers use Postgres 15 by default. To use a different version, use the --pg flag to pgxman container install.
  • Each version of Postgres is managed and run independently.
  • Installation is persistent; you can install multiple extensions by running commands consecutively. Each time you install an extension, pgxman will add the extension to the configuration, build a new image, and restart the container with the extensions installed.

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Connecting to the container

The only thing you need to know to connect is the port number. pgxman uses the requested Postgres version and then 432 to form the port number:
  • pg16: 16432
  • pg15: 15432
  • pg14: 14432
  • pg13: 13432
The username, password, and database are all set to pgxman. Combine these to connect to the database. You can use any Postgres client, like psql or your favorite GUI client. 
psql postgres://pgxman:[email protected]:15432/pgxman
Alternatively, you can use psql from inside the container: 
docker exec -it pgxman_runner_15 psql -U pgxman

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Managing running containers

Each version has its own named container, named pgxman_runner_PGVERSION, refered to as NAME below:
  • pg16: pgxman_runner_16
  • pg15: pgxman_runner_15
  • pg14: pgxman_runner_14
  • pg13: pgxman_runner_13
Now you can manage the container as follows:
  • To stop a container, use docker stop NAME
    • For example: docker stop pgxman_runner_15
  • To start a container after stopping it, use docker start NAME
    • For example: docker start pgxman_runner_15
  • To view what containers are running, use docker ps | grep pgxman.
These commands will be integrated into pgxman in a future release.

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Database data

Data is stored a corresponding Docker volume, e.g. pgxman_runner_15_pg_data. To see the volumes, run docker volume ls | grep pgxman.

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Container teardown

If you are done using a pgxman container, you can teardown the container. This will delete the image, volume, and configuration. Any data stored in the Postgres database will be deleted. 
pgxman c teardown pgxman_runner_15

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How it works

  • pgxman generates a Dockerfile, a docker-compose file, and a pgxman pack file. The configuration is stored in USER_CONFIG_DIR/pgxman/runner/PG_VERSION.
    • On Linux, USER_CONFIG_DIR is ~/.config/pgxman
    • On MacOS, USER_CONFIG_DIR is ~/Library/Application Support/pgxman
  • pgxman c install updates the pgxman pack file, rebuilds the image, and restarts the container.