How to Install PostgreSQL 13 in MacOS Big Sur via Homebrew

In this post, you'll be learning how to install PostgreSQL 13 in macOS through the command line with the help of Homebrew package manager. The steps are very simple so do follow along and let's get started.

Install Homebrew

Launch your terminal and type in the command below to install Homebrew. Do note that it works for both Intel MacBook and ARM-based MacBook so you don't have to worry about incompatibility.

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" 

Next, do update the brew to get the latest package version from the source.

brew update

If necessary, also run brew doctor to run diagnosis to check if there are any errors.

brew doctor

Install PostgreSQL

To install PostgreSQL version 13 (the latest version at the time of writing) run the command below. Do note that each new version released will still be named "postgresql".

brew install postgresql

If for some reason you prefer to install PostgreSQL version 11 or 12 do specify the version by appending the version number at the end.

brew install postgresql@11
brew install postgresql@12

To start the PostgreSQL server, run the brew services command like below.

brew services start postgresql

If you want to stop it then run the stop command.

brew services stop postgresql

Lastly, to view any running services run the services command.

brew services list

Integrate with Laravel

If you are developing a Laravel web application and you want to make use of PostgreSQL, do change the environment configuration like below. The connection should be "pgsql", the port number is 5432, the username is "postgres" and the password is empty.

DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=your_db_name
DB_USERNAME=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=

If you find this tutorial to be helpful do share it with others and cheers! 🍻