Connecting to a DB instance running the PostgreSQL database engine
After Amazon RDS provisions your DB instance, you can use any standard SQL client application to connect to the instance. Before you can connect, the DB instance must be available and accessible. Whether you can connect to the instance from outside the VPC depends on how you created the Amazon RDS DB instance:
If you created your DB instance as public, devices and Amazon EC2 instances outside the VPC can connect to your database.
If you created your DB instance as private, only Amazon EC2 instances and devices inside the Amazon VPC can connect to your database.
To connect to your DB instance from an EC2 instance, you can install a PostgreSQL client on the EC2 instance. To install the psql client on Amazon Linux 2023, run the following command:
sudo dnf install postgresql15
To install the psql client on Amazon Linux 2, run the following command:
sudo amazon-linux-extras install postgresql14
To install the psql client on Ubuntu, run the following command:
sudo apt-get install -y postgresql14
To check whether your DB instance is public or private, use the Amazon Web Services Management Console to view the Connectivity & security tab for your instance. Under Security, you can find the "Publicly accessible" value, with No for private, Yes for public.
To learn more about different Amazon RDS and Amazon VPC configurations and how they affect accessibility, see Scenarios for accessing a DB instance in a VPC.
If the DB instance is available and accessible, you can connect by providing the following information to the SQL client application:
The DB instance endpoint, which serves as the host name (DNS name) for the instance.
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The port on which the DB instance is listening. For PostgreSQL, the default port is 5432.
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The user name and password for the DB instance. The default 'master username' for PostgreSQL is
postgres. The name and password of the database (DB name).
You can obtain these details by using the Amazon Web Services Management Console, the Amazon CLI describe-db-instances command, or the Amazon RDS API DescribeDBInstances operation.
To find the endpoint, port number, and DB name using the Amazon Web Services Management Console
Sign in to the Amazon Web Services Management Console and open the Amazon RDS console at https://console.amazonaws.cn/rds/
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Open the RDS console and then choose Databases to display a list of your DB instances.
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Choose the PostgreSQL DB instance name to display its details.
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On the Connectivity & security tab, copy the endpoint. Also, note the port number. You need both the endpoint and the port number to connect to the DB instance.
On the Configuration tab, note the DB name. If you created a database when you created the RDS for PostgreSQL instance, you see the name listed under DB name. If you didn't create a database, the DB name displays a dash (‐).
Following are two ways to connect to a PostgreSQL DB instance. The first example uses pgAdmin, a popular open-source administration and development tool for PostgreSQL. The second example uses psql, a command line utility that is part of a PostgreSQL installation.
Topics
Using pgAdmin to connect to a RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance
You can use the open-source tool pgAdmin to connect to your RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance. You can download
and install pgAdmin from http://www.pgadmin.org/
To connect to your RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance using pgAdmin
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Launch the pgAdmin application on your client computer.
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On the Dashboard tab, choose Add New Server.
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In the Create - Server dialog box, type a name on the General tab to identify the server in pgAdmin.
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On the Connection tab, type the following information from your DB instance:
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For Host, type the endpoint, for example
mypostgresql.c6c8dntfzzhgv0.us-east-2.rds.amazonaws.com. -
For Port, type the assigned port.
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For Username, type the user name that you entered when you created the DB instance (if you changed the 'master username' from the default,
postgres). -
For Password, type the password that you entered when you created the DB instance.
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Choose Save.
If you have any problems connecting, see Troubleshooting connections to your RDS for PostgreSQL instance.
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To access a database in the pgAdmin browser, expand Servers, the DB instance, and Databases. Choose the DB instance's database name.
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To open a panel where you can enter SQL commands, choose Tools, Query Tool.
Using psql to connect to your RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance
You can use a local instance of the psql command line utility to connect to a RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance. You need either PostgreSQL or the psql client installed on your client computer.
You can download the PostgreSQL client from the
PostgreSQL
To connect to your RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance using psql, you need to provide host (DNS) information, access credentials, and the name of the database.
Use one of the following formats to connect to your RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance. When you connect, you're
prompted for a password. For batch jobs or scripts, use the --no-password option. This option is set
for the entire session.
Note
A connection attempt with --no-password fails when the server requires password authentication
and a password is not available from other sources. For more information, see the psql documentation
If this is the first time you are connecting to this DB instance, or if you didn't yet create a database for this RDS for PostgreSQL instance, you can connect to the postgres database using the 'master username' and password.
For Unix, use the following format.
psql \ --host=<DB instance endpoint> \ --port=<port> \ --username=<master username> \ --password \ --dbname=<database name>
For Windows, use the following format.
psql ^ --host=<DB instance endpoint> ^ --port=<port> ^ --username=<master username> ^ --password ^ --dbname=<database name>
For example, the following command connects to a database called mypgdb
on a PostgreSQL DB instance called mypostgresql using fictitious
credentials.
psql --host=mypostgresql.c6c8mwvfdgv0.us-west-2.rds.amazonaws.com --port=5432 --username=awsuser --password --dbname=mypgdb
Connecting with the Amazon JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL
The Amazon JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL is a client wrapper designed for use with RDS for PostgreSQL. The Amazon JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL
extends the functionality of the community pgJDBC driver by enabling Amazon features such as authentication.
For more information about the Amazon JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL and complete instructions for using it, see the Amazon JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL GitHub repository
The Amazon JDBC Driver for PostgreSQL supports Amazon Identity and Access Management (IAM) database authentication and Amazon Secrets Manager.
For more information on using these authentication mechanisms with the driver, see Amazon IAM Authentication Plugin
For more information about IAM database authentication, see IAM database authentication for MariaDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. For more information about Secrets Manager, see the Amazon Secrets Manager User Guide.
Troubleshooting connections to your RDS for PostgreSQL instance
Topics
Error – FATAL: database name does not exist
If when trying to connect you receive an error like FATAL: database
, try using the default
database name postgres for the
name does not exist--dbname option.
Error – Could not connect to server: Connection timed out
If you can't connect to the DB instance, the most common error is Could not
connect to server: Connection timed out. If you receive this error, check the
following:
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Check that the host name used is the DB instance endpoint and that the port number used is correct.
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Make sure that the DB instance's public accessibility is set to Yes to allow external connections. To modify the Public access setting, see Modifying an Amazon RDS DB instance.
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Make sure that the user connecting to the database has CONNECT access to it. You can use the following query to provide connect access to the database.
GRANT CONNECT ON DATABASEdatabase nameTOusername; -
Check that the security group assigned to the DB instance has rules to allow access through any firewall your connection might go through. For example, if the DB instance was created using the default port of 5432, your company might have firewall rules blocking connections to that port from external company devices.
To fix this, modify the DB instance to use a different port. Also, make sure that the security group applied to the DB instance allows connections to the new port. To modify the Database port setting, see Modifying an Amazon RDS DB instance.
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See also Errors with security group access rules.
Errors with security group access rules
By far the most common connection problem is with the security group's access rules assigned to the DB instance. If you used the default security group when you created the DB instance, the security group likely didn't have access rules that allow you to access the instance.
For the connection to work, the security group you assigned to the DB instance at its creation must allow access to the DB instance. For example, if the DB instance was created in a VPC, it must have a VPC security group that authorizes connections. Check if the DB instance was created using a security group that doesn't authorize connections from the device or Amazon EC2 instance where the application is running.
You can add or edit an inbound rule in the security group. For Source, choosing My IP allows access to the DB instance from the IP address detected in your browser. For more information, see Provide access to your DB instance in your VPC by creating a security group.
Alternatively, if the DB instance was created outside of a VPC, it must have a database security group that authorizes those connections.
For more information about Amazon RDS security groups, see Controlling access with security groups.