One of the most popular ways to run PostgreSQL is inside Docker containers. Docker makes it simple to spin up, isolate, and tear down database environments without cluttering your local system. You’ll never hear “Well, it worked on my machine!” Let’s walk through getting PostgreSQL running in Docker, step by step.

Installing Docker

For Windows and Mac navigate to https://www.docker.com/get-started/ to download and install Docker Desktop.

For Linux

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker.io
sudo systemctl enable --now docker

Let's verify Docker is installed correctly by running:

docker --version

Running Docker

Let's create a container with the PostgreSQL version 18 image.

docker run --name postgres-container-1 -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword -d -p 5432:5432 -v $(pwd)/pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/18/main postgres:18

Option	Description
--name postgres-container-1	Our container name
POSTGRES_PASSWORD	Setting the password for the default postgres user
-d	Run in background flag
-p 5432:5432	Map Host port to Container Port. 5432 is the default Postgres port number
-v $(pwd)/pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data	Maps host folder to Postgres data directory, so database survives container removal NOTE: Postgres 18+ introduced versioned directories. Prior versions will use /var/lib/postgresql/data.
postgres:18	Postgres version to install (i.e. latest, 18, 15, etc.)

Connecting to PostgreSQL

First we need to connect to the container.

docker exec -it postgres-container-1 bash

You’ll notice the prompt changed. Now we will connect to Postgres.

docker exec -it postgres-container-1 bash

Now you can run psql and SQL commands. For example, to list all databases:

\l

To exit psql, type:

\q

We can also connect with a nicer tool such as DBeaver. You can use Docker Desktop or run the following command to get the running container information.

docker ps

Settings you will need to enter based on what we did above.

Server	localhost
Port	5432
Database	postgres
Username	postgres
Password	mysecretpassword

And that’s it! You now have PostgreSQL running in Docker. You can create databases, run queries, and develop your applications with ease.

Moving Files Between Docker and Host

There will be times when you want to move files between host and Docker container.

To copy a file from your host to the Docker container run the following command:

docker cp /path/on/host/file.txt postgres-container-1:/tmp/file.txt

Now let's copy a file from the Docker container to the host. HINT its actually the same command just reversed parameters.

docker cp postgres-container-1:/tmp/file.txt /path/on/host/file.txt

Conclusion

Running PostgreSQL in Docker is a convenient way to manage your database environment. With just a few commands, you can have a fully functional PostgreSQL instance up and running, isolated from your host system. This setup is perfect for development, testing, and learning purposes. Here's a quick cheat sheet of the commands you'll use most. Happy coding!

Command	Description
docker start postgres-container-1	Start Container
docker stop postgres-container-1	Stop Container
docker restart postgres-container-1	Restart Container
docker ps -a	List All Containers
docker exec -it postgres-container-1 bash	Connect To Container
docker cp /path/on/host/file.txt postgres-container-1:/tmp/file.txt	Copy File Host To Container
docker cp postgres-container-1:/tmp/file.txt /path/on/host/file.txt	Copy File Container To Host
docker rm postgres-container-1	Remove Container (Only If Stopped)
docker rmi postgres:18	Remove Image