psql: command not found Mac

I installed PostgreSQL via the graphical install on

I see it in my applications and also have the psql terminal in my applications. I need psql to work in the regular terminal for another bash script I'm running for an app.

For some reason, when I run

psql 

in the Mac terminal, my output is

-bash: psql: command not found 

I ran the following in the terminal:

locate psql | grep /bin 

and the output was

/Library/PostgreSQL/9.5/bin/psql 

I then edited my ~/.bash_profile and added it to the path like so:

export PATH = /Library/PostgreSQL/9.5/bin/psql:$PATH 

The only other thing in ~/.bash_profile is SDK man and it's at the bottom of the script as it says it should be. I've tried setting the bath to just the /Library/PostgreSQL/9.5/bin/ as well. I've restarted my terminal also.

How can I get psql to work?

EDIT After adding to .bashrc, this output is returned when I open terminal

-bash: export: `/Library/PostgreSQL/9.5/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin': not a valid identifier 

15 Answers

You have got the PATH slightly wrong. You need the PATH to "the containing directory", not the actual executable itself.

Your PATH should be set like this:

export PATH=/Library/PostgreSQL/9.5/bin:$PATH 

without the extra sql part in it. Also, you must remove the spaces around the equals sign.

Keywords: Postgresql, PATH, macOS, OSX, psql

From the Postgres documentation page:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/paths.d && echo /Applications/ | sudo tee /etc/paths.d/postgresapp

restart your terminal and you will have it in your path.

For me this worked:

1. Downloading the App:

2. Running commands to configure $PATH - note though that it didn't work for me.

3. Manually add it to the .bash_profile or .zshrc document if you are using zsh:

    cd # to get to your home folder open .bash_profile # to open your bash_profile # Or open .zshrc # to open your zshrc 

   In your bash profile or zshrc add:

    # Postgres export PATH=/Applications/ 

   Save the file. Restart the terminal. Type 'psql'. Done.

If someone used homebrew with Mojave or later:

export PATH=/usr/local/opt/postgresql@9.5/bin:$PATH 

change version if you need!

If Postgresql was downloaded from official website. After installation, running these commands helped me resolve the psql issue.

Go to your home directory with cd ~

In your home directory, run ls -a. Edit the .bash_profile file with vim

vi .bash_profile opens the vim editor.

Insert by pressing i on the editor.

Add export PATH=$PATH:/Applications/ Number>/bin

The Version Number refers to the version number of the postgresql installed on your local machine. In my case, version 12 was installed, so I inputed

export PATH=$PATH:/Applications/ .

Press the esc key and press :wq to exit the editor.

Enter source .bash_profile in your terminal to read and execute the content of a file just passed as an argument in the current shell script.

Run psql

terminal result

In summary:

• cd ~
• vi .bash_profile
• export PATH=$PATH:/Applications/ Take note of the version number
• exit vim
• source .bash_profile
• psql Works 😁

Mojave, Postgres was installed via

brew install 

How to get psql in your path:

brew link postgresql@9.6 --force 

Modify your PATH in .bashrc, not in .bash_profile:

If Postgres was downloaded and installed, running this should fix the issue:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/paths.d && echo /Applications/ | sudo tee /etc/paths.d/postgresapp 

Restart the terminal and you'll be able to use psql command.

Ref:

Open the file .bash_profile in your Home folder. It is a hidden file.

Add this path below to the end export PATH line in you .bash_profile file :/Applications/

The symbol : separates the paths.

Example:

If the file contains: export PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin

it will become: export PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/Applications/

How to show hidden files

In Terminal, paste the following: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

ANSWERED ON OCTOBER 2017

run

export PATH=/Library/PostgreSQL/9.5/bin:$PATH 

and then restart your terminal.

As a postgreSQL newbie I found the os x setup instructions on the postgresql site impenetrable. I got all kinds of errors. Fortunately the uninstaller worked fine.

cd /Library/PostgreSQL/11; open 

Then I started over with a brew install followed by this article How to setup PostgreSQL on MacOS

It works fine now.

In my case, I have updated my .bash_profile and added Postgres path as shown on some of the answers here but running psql in Terminal still gave me a command not found error.

Had to update .zprofile file and add the Postgres path and it worked!

Steps in Terminal:

1. nano ~/.zprofile
2. Add this on the end of PATH: /Library/PostgreSQL/14/bin:${PATH} Note: Mind the version number
3. Save your changes. Ctrl + o then Ctrl + x
4. source .zprofile

I know some others have already mentioned that the path needs to be updated however for me it did not work till I added the path itself in quotations. I an not 100% sure why that happened for me but this is the command that worked for me (on MacOS Terminal)

export PATH="/usr/local/opt/postgresql@9.5/bin:$PATH" 

Your path is not defined correctly. Run this command in your terminal:

echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/Library/PostgreSQL/<your psql version>/bin/"' >> ~/.zshrc 

zshrc is for you if you are using MacOS Catalina or a newer version.

I installed postgresql@13 with Homebrew on Mac, and I followed the given instructions in the zsh terminal after installation.

postgresql@13 is keg-only, which means it was not symlinked into /usr/local,because this is an alternate version of another formula.

If you need to have postgresql@13 first in your PATH, run:
echo 'export PATH="/usr/local/opt/postgresql@13/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc

For compilers to find postgresql@13 you may need to set:
export LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/opt/postgresql@13/lib"
export CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/local/opt/postgresql@13/include"

For pkg-config to find postgresql@13 you may need to set:
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/usr/local/opt/postgresql@13/lib/pkgconfig"

To restart postgresql@13 after an upgrade:
brew services restart postgresql@13

Or, if you don't want/need a background service you can just run:
/usr/local/opt/postgresql@13/bin/postgres -D /usr/local/var/postgresql@13

You can check if the path is added by running: open .zshrc
and restart the zsh terminal after: exec zsh -l