Quick Start

docker run --name postgres16 -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword -d postgres:16.3-alpine3.20

Detailed Steps

  1. Pull the image: 
    docker pull postgres:16.3-alpine3.20

  2. Run the container:

    # When running the PostgreSQL container for the first time using Docker, 
# you are required to set the environment variable POSTGRES_PASSWORD to your desired password for the PostgreSQL superuser.

docker run --name postgres16 -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword -d postgres:16.3-alpine3.20
    • docker run: Command to create and start a new Docker container.
    • --name postgres16: Assigns a name (postgres16) to the container for easy reference.
    • -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword: Sets an environment variable POSTGRES_PASSWORD inside the container with the value mysecretpassword. This is required to set the password for the PostgreSQL superuser.

    • -d: Runs the container in detached mode (in the background).

      Run the existing container

    • #list container
docker ps -a

    • docker start <container_id> #run the container
docker start -a <container_id> #see the forground activity -a [attach]
  3. Connect to the database: 
    docker exec -it postgres16 psql -U postgres

Environment Variables

  • POSTGRES_PASSWORD: Set the superuser password (required)
  • POSTGRES_USER: Create a new superuser (default: postgres)
  • POSTGRES_DB: Specify the name of the default database (default: POSTGRES_USER value)

Persistence

Mount a volume for data persistence:

docker run --name postgres16 -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword -v /my/data:/var/lib/postgresql/data -d postgres:16-alpine

Custom Configuration

Mount a custom postgresql.conf:

docker run --name postgres16 -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword -v /my/custom/postgresql.conf:/etc/postgresql/postgresql.conf -d postgres:16-alpine -c 'config_file=/etc/postgresql/postgresql.conf'

Health Check

docker run --name postgres16 -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword -d --health-cmd="pg_isready -U postgres" --health-interval=10s --health-timeout=5s --health-retries=5 postgres:16-alpine