List of useful PostgreSQL commands

Shortcuts

Basics

psql -U [postgres] -d [db] -h [host] Connect to a database
psql -U [postgres] [db] Connect to a database shorthand
\c [db] [username] Switch to a different database
\c [db] Switch to a different database shorthand
\l List all databases
\dt List all tables
\d [table name] Describe a table
\dn List schemas
\df List functions
\dv List views
\du List users and roles
\g Execute previous command
\s History
\i [file name] Execute queries from a file
\timing Turn query execution timing
\q Quit

Create and drop database, table

createdb [db name] Create a database
dropdb [db name] Drop a database
create table [table description] Create a table
drop table [table name] Drop a table

Add remove user

createuser [user] Create a user
createuser -s [user] Create a super user
dropuser [user] Drop a user

Backup, restore

pg_dump -O [db name] > backup.pg_dump Backup a database
psql -f backup.pg_dump [db name] Restore a database

Start, stop and restart PostgreSQL

/etc/init.d/postgresql stop Stop PostgreSQL
service postgresql stop Stop PostgreSQL
/etc/init.d/postgresql start Start PostgreSQL
service postgresql Start PostgreSQL
/etc/init.d/postgresql restart Restart PostgreSQL
service postgresql restart Restart PostgreSQL
/etc/init.d/postgresql reload Reload PostgreSQL
service postgresql reload Reload PostgreSQL