In this blog I will show step by step how to setup PostgreSQL in Docker on your local machine.

1. Pull the latest PostgreSQL image: docker pull postgres:latest

   or specify a specific version: docker pull postgres:16

2. Create a Docker volume to preserve data: docker volume create postgres-data

3. Run the PostgreSQL container:

   docker run --name my-postgres \ # Names your container
   -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mypassword \ # Set the superuser password
   -e POSTGRES_DB=mydatabase \ # Creates an initial database
   -p 0.0.0.0:5432:5432 \ # Maps port so that your local machine can connect to the database locally
   -v postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data \ # Mounts the volume for data persistence
   -d postgres:latest # Runs container in detached mode
   

   NOTE: For PostgreSQL 18+, the path for the volume for data persistence has changed from /var/lib/postgresql/data to /var/lib/postgresql.

4. Verify the container is running: docker ps

5. Connect the PostgreSQL: docker exec -it my-postgres psql -U postgres -d mydatabase