853
votes

I'm setting up my PostgreSQL 9.1. I can't do anything with PostgreSQL: can't createdb, can't createuser; all operations return the error message

Fatal: role h9uest does not exist

h9uest is my account name, and I sudo apt-get install PostgreSQL 9.1 under this account.
Similar error persists for the root account.

16
Afterwards you might run into FATAL: role "user" is not permitted to log in, check dba.stackexchange.com/questions/57723/… for that.kqw
I answered this question here. Read this tutorial too "How to Install Postgres for Ubuntu Linux".ruzenhack
@Ruzenhack that tutorial link was exactly what I needed! Very clear and simpledwanderson
psql -h localhost -U postgresMetin Atalay
If you get the error role doesn't exist AND the error can't create role, it already exists check out this answer: stackoverflow.com/a/56658832/1689770Jonathan

16 Answers

893
votes

Use the operating system user postgres to create your database - as long as you haven't set up a database role with the necessary privileges that corresponds to your operating system user of the same name (h9uest in your case):

sudo -u postgres -i

As recommended here or here.

Then try again. Type exit when done with operating as system user postgres.

Or execute the single command createuser as postgres with sudo, like demonstrated by drees in another answer.

The point is to use the operating system user matching the database role of the same name to be granted access via ident authentication. postgres is the default operating system user to have initialized the database cluster. The manual:

In order to bootstrap the database system, a freshly initialized system always contains one predefined role. This role is always a “superuser”, and by default (unless altered when running initdb) it will have the same name as the operating system user that initialized the database cluster. Customarily, this role will be named postgres. In order to create more roles you first have to connect as this initial role.

I have heard of odd setups with non-standard user names or where the operating system user does not exist. You'd need to adapt your strategy there.

Read about database roles and client authentication in the manual.

317
votes

After trying many other people's solutions, and without success, this answer finally helped me.

https://stackoverflow.com/a/16974197/2433309

In short, running

sudo -u postgres createuser owning_user

creates a role with name owning_user (in this case, h9uest). After that you can run rake db:create from the terminal under whatever account name you set up without having to enter into the Postgres environment.

153
votes
sudo su - postgres

psql template1

creating role on pgsql with privilege as "superuser"

CREATE ROLE username superuser;
eg. CREATE ROLE demo superuser;

Then create user

CREATE USER username; 
eg. CREATE USER demo;

Assign privilege to user

GRANT ROOT TO username;

And then enable login that user, so you can run e.g.: psql template1, from normal $ terminal:

ALTER ROLE username WITH LOGIN;
102
votes

This works for me:

psql -h localhost -U postgres
97
votes

Installing postgres using apt-get does not create a user role or a database.

To create a superuser role and a database for your personal user account:

sudo -u postgres createuser -s $(whoami); createdb $(whoami)

25
votes
psql postgres

postgres=# CREATE ROLE username superuser;
postgres=# ALTER ROLE username WITH LOGIN;
18
votes

For version Postgres 9.5 use following comand:

psql -h localhost -U postgres

Hope this will help.

16
votes

Working method,

  1. vi /etc/postgresql/9.3/main/pg_hba.conf
  2. local all postgres peer here change peer to trust
  3. restart, sudo service postgresql restart

  4. now try, psql -U postgres

7
votes

In local user prompt, not root user prompt, type

sudo -u postgres createuser <local username>

Then enter password for local user.

Then enter the previous command that generated "role 'username' does not exist."

Above steps solved the problem for me. If not, please send terminal messages for above steps.

7
votes

For Windows users : psql -U postgres

You should see then the command-line interface to PostgreSQL: postgres=#

6
votes

I installed it on macOS and had to:

cd /Applications/Postgres.app/Contents/Versions/9.5/bin
createuser -U postgres -s YOURUSERNAME
createdb YOURUSERNAME

Here's the source: https://github.com/PostgresApp/PostgresApp/issues/313#issuecomment-192461641

3
votes

Manually creating a DB cluster solved it in my case.

For some reason, when I installed postgres, the "initial DB" wasn't created. Executing initdb did the trick for me.

This solution is provided in the PostgreSQL Wiki - First steps:

initdb

Typically installing postgres to your OS creates an "initial DB" and starts the postgres server daemon running. If not then you'll need to run initdb

2
votes

dump and restore with --no-owner --no-privileges flags

e.g.

dump - pg_dump --no-owner --no-privileges --format=c --dbname=postgres://userpass:username@postgres:5432/schemaname > /tmp/full.dump

restore - pg_restore --no-owner --no-privileges --format=c --dbname=postgres://userpass:username@postgres:5432/schemaname /tmp/full.dump

0
votes

Something as simple as changing port from 5432 to 5433 worked for me.

0
votes

Follow these steps to get postgres working.

  1. In your terminal, locate the Application Support folder with the following command. /Users/[name of the user]/library/application support
  2. Delete the application, Postgres.
  3. Reinstall the app and it should work just fine.
-2
votes

Follow These Steps and it Will Work For You :

  1. run msfconsole
  2. type db_console
  3. some information will be shown to you chose the information who tell you to make: db_connect user:pass@host:port.../database sorry I don't remember it but it's like this one then replace the user and the password and the host and the database with the information included in the database.yml in the emplacement: /usr/share/metasploit-framework/config
  4. you will see. rebuilding the model cache in the background.
  5. Type apt-get update && apt-get upgrade after the update restart the terminal and lunch msfconsole and it works you can check that by typing in msfconsole: msf>db_status you will see that it's connected.