The document discusses setting up a Docker PostgreSQL environment in 3 steps: 1. Download and install Docker 2. Download the PostgreSQL Docker image from Docker Hub 3. Install PGAdmin, a GUI tool, to connect to and manage the PostgreSQL database running in the Docker container

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3 Easy Steps to Install Docker
PostgreSQL Environment
Ishwarya M on Data Integration, Database Management Systems • February 7th, 2022 •
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One of the most important phases of the Software Development Life Cycle
(SDLC) is Data Processing. This involves actions like Data Joining, Data
Cleaning, Data Filtering, and more. Usually, developers use Database
Management Applications like MySQL and PostgreSQL to implement Data
Processing Operations. Besides, while developing such applications,
developers work with several temporary software that get employed at
different phases of their SDLC.
To run different applications and processes, developers use Docker as a
containerization platform. It omits the need to install and run applications in
different environments. Developers can perform Data Processing Operations
using any Database Management System (DBMS) like PostgreSQL by pulling in
their respective Docker Image files from the Docker Hub.
In this blog, you will learn about the process of setting up a Docker PostgreSQL
environment. We’ll show how you can install, configure, and run PostgreSQL on
Docker in 3 simple steps. Read on to get started.
Table of Contents
Prerequisites for Setting Up Docker PostgreSQL Environment
What is PostgreSQL?
What is Docker?

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3 Steps to Setup Docker PostgreSQL Environment
Step 1: Download and Install Docker
Step 2: Download Docker PostgreSQL Image
Step 3: Install PGAdmin on Docker
Conclusion
Prerequisites for Setting Up Docker PostgreSQL
Environment
A fundamental understanding of Data Processing Operations and Database
Management Systems (DBMS) like PostgreSQL.
What is PostgreSQL?
Image Source: PostgreSQL
Developed in the late 1980s, PostgreSQL is an Open-Source Relational
Database Management System (RDBMS) with more than 30 years of active
development history. Although PostgreSQL has object-oriented features for
handling unstructured data, it is widely used as a Relational Database.
PostgreSQL supports both SQL and JSON to implement relational and non-
relational queries on data present inside databases. In other words, with
PostgreSQL, you can write SQL commands to process data present in tables
that belong to the respective database servers. Because of its vast features
and functionalities, PostgreSQL is reportedly ranked 4th among the most
popular databases worldwide.
In case, if your website or application uses lots of reading queries, we
recommend you replicate your primary database (Master-Slave Replication).
For more details, check out this blog piece here- How To Achieve PostgreSQL
Master-Slave Replication?

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What is Docker?
Image Source: Docker
Developed by Solomon Hykes in 2013, Docker is an Open-Source software tool
that allows you to quickly build, test, manage, and deploy applications. It carries
multiple containers that comprise all executable packages and dependencies
required to run an application. Docker Containers are built using Docker
Images, a template that comprises all the parameters and instructions required
to run a particular application.
You can access different Docker Containers by signing up on an online cloud
repository called Docker Hub. From the Docker Hub, you can easily pull or
download pre-configured Docker Containers, like Docker PostgreSQL
Container to execute specific applications based on your requirements.
If you are a software developer, you can also upload and share your own
applications in the form of Docker images that can be used by other Docker
users to try and execute your application.
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3 Steps to Setup Docker PostgreSQL Environment
In the sections below, we show you a step-by-step process to install, set up,
and run Docker PostgreSQL Environment.
Step 1: Download and Install Docker

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Image Source: Self
Before starting the application setup process for Docker PostgreSQL
Environment, you are required to download and install Docker on your local
machine. To download the application, visit the official website of Docker. On
the welcome page of the Docker website, click on the “Get-Started” option.
You will be redirected to the download page, where you can download the
Docker version according to your operating system specifications.
Select the preferred option to start the downloading process. After the Docker
setup file is downloaded, install it on your local machine by following the
installation steps.
Image Source: Self
Next, you can sign in on Docker Hub, from where you can access the Docker
Image files. This will be used to run external applications like PostgreSQL.
Step 2: Download Docker PostgreSQL Image
There are two different ways to download Docker PostgreSQL Image that
allows you to set up PostgreSQL on Docker. One is by directly accessing it from
the Docker Hub’s website. The other method is by pulling the Docker
PostgreSQL Image from default Command Line Interface (CLI) tools like
Command Prompt or Power Shell.
If you are opting for method one:
To download Docker PostgreSQL Image, visit Docker Hub using your
previously created user account.

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On the welcome page, you can find a search bar at the top. Type
“PostgreSQL” to get the Docker Image of the respective application. You can
find various Docker Images related to the PostgreSQL database.
On clicking on the appropriate file, you will be redirected to a new page where
you can find the command used to access the Docker Image file. Copy and
make a note of the respective command. Run this into your Command Prompt
to install the PostgreSQL instance.
Another way to pull Docker PostgreSQL Image is by accessing it using the
Command Prompt instead of reaching its website. To do so, follow these steps:
Open a new command window, and run the command given below.
docker pull postgres
To obtain the list of existing Docker Images, run the following command.
docker images
In the next step, you can enter the command you copied from the Docker
Hub in the Command Prompt.
docker run --name some-postgres -e
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword -d postgres
The above-given command should be customized and added with the
necessary parameters to work properly for setting up PostgreSQL on
Docker.
docker run --name postgresql -e POSTGRES_USER=myusername -e
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mypassword -p 5432:5432 -v
/data:/var/lib/postgresql/data -d postgres
In the command given above,
PostgreSQL is the name of the Docker Container.
-e POSTGRES_USER is the parameter that sets a unique username to the
Postgres database.

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-e POSTGRES_PASSWORD is the parameter that allows you to set the
password of the Postgres database.
-p 5432:5432 is the parameter that establishes a connection between the
Host Port and Docker Container Port. In this case, both ports are given as
5432, which indicates requests sent to the Host Ports will automatically
redirect to the Docker Container Port. In addition, 5432 is also the same port
where PostgreSQL will be accepting requests from the client.
-v is the parameter that synchronizes the Postgres data with the local folder.
This ensures that Postgres data will be safely present within the Home
Directory even if the Docker Container is terminated.
-d is the parameter that runs the Docker Container in the detached mode,
i.e., in the background. If you accidentally close or terminate the Command
Prompt, the Docker Container will still run in the background.
postgres is the name of the Docker image that was previously downloaded
to run the Docker Container.
Now, execute docker ps -a to check the status of the newly created
PostgreSQL container.
Image Source: DEV Comminity
On executing the command, you get the output, as shown in the above image.
It shows that Docker Container is running successfully on port 5432. You can
start and stop the newly created Docker Container by running the following
commands.
For starting the Docker Container:
docker start postgresqldb
For stopping the Docker Container:
docker stop postgresqldb
There you have it. You have now successfully created a Docker Container
running the PostgreSQL Environment.

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Step 3: Install PGAdmin on Docker
At this stage of setting up the Docker PostgreSQL Environment, your
PostgreSQL is active and running on the respective ports. Now, you have to
install the PGAdmin, a web-based GUI tool used to manage PostgreSQL
databases and services. You can install PGAdmin to check whether your
Docker Containers are working fine and execute SQL queries on databases
present in PostgreSQL.
To download PGADmin, perform these steps:
Visit Docker Hub and search for PgAdmin. You can find various Docker
Images to run PGAdmin. Select the appropriate one and copy the Docker
pull command (Follow this link to get the “Docker pull” command, which
pulls the PGAdmin4 version. You can also get the respective PGAdmin
versions according to your preferences).
Execute the pull command to start PGAdmin.
docker pull dpage/pgadmin4:latest
After downloading the image, run the container by executing the command
given below.
docker run --name my-pgadmin -p 82:80 -e
'PGADMIN_DEFAULT_EMAIL=user@domain.local' -e
'PGADMIN_DEFAULT_PASSWORD=postgresmaster'-d dpage/pgadmin4
In the above-given command, my-pgadmin is the name of the Docker
PostgreSQL PGAdmin Container. PGADMIN_DEFAULT_EMAIL and
PGADMIN_DEFAULT_PASSWORD are the username and password for the
Docker PostgreSQL container, respectively.
Following this, open your browser and search for the web address
http://localhost:8081/. It will redirect you to the welcome page of the
PGAdmin 4 Web Instance.

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Image Source: DEV Comminity
On the welcome page, it will ask you to enter the username and password of
PGAdmin 4.
Enter the credentials you defined while running the Docker Container of
PGAdmin.
Image Source: DEV Comminity
Upon logging in with PGAdmin 4, you will see the main page where you
have to set up a connection between the GUI tool and the Postgres server.
Click on the “Add New Server” icon on the main page. It will open a new
dialogue box asking you to fill two mandatory fields, such as “General” and
“Connection.”

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Image Source: DEV Comminity
In the General tab, provide a name to uniquely identify the connection
between PostgreSQL and PGAdmin 4. Then, fill the Server group by
selecting the Server options from the drop-down menu.
Now, switch to the Connection tab under the same dialogue box and fill the
required fields.
Image Source: DEV Comminity
Before filling in the connection details, you have to execute the following
command to get the required information about connection settings.
docker inspect postgresql -f “{{json .NetworkSettings.Networks
}}”

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The above-given command will display your connection details in JSON
format.
In the connection tab, you can fill in the Hostname/address details according
to the docker inspect command’s output.
Fill the port value as 5432 that runs the Docker PostgreSQL Container and
provide the name of the database as postgres. Then, fill the username and
password fields with the credentials you created while running the PGAdmin
container.
After providing all required details, click on the “Save” button.
Image Source: DEV Comminity
Now, your PGAdmin is connected to the Docker Postgres instance. You can see
the newly created instance in the left side panel that confirms that the
connection is successfully established between PGAdmin and Postgres.
In the PGAdmin dashboard, you can fully manage the PostgreSQL Instance that
runs on the Docker Container and completely manage Docker PostgreSQL
Environment. You can also query the PostgreSQL database by writing
commands using the “Query Tool” from the PGAdmin dashboard.
Using following the above-mentioned steps, you have successfully installed
and set up a Docker Postgres Instance on Docker.
Conclusion
In this article, you learned about Docker PostgreSQL Container, how to install,
set up, and run the Docker Postgres Instance on your Docker. Since this blog
mainly focused on managing Postgres instances using the web-based tool or
interface called PGAdmin, you have learned the GUI way of interacting with
Postgre instances on Docker. However, you can also use CLI (Command Line

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Interface tools) to connect with the PSQL server for executing queries on
databases present in PostgreSQL.
If you would like to export data from a source of your choice like PostgreSQL
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transfer data from multiple data sources such as PostgreSQL into your Data
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It provides you with a consistent and reliable solution to manage data in real-
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Share your experience of learning about how to install and set up Docker
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