Windows postgresql reset password

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Cover image for How to Reset PostgreSQL Password

I’m writing this article because I recently ran into an issue with PostgreSQL where I had to reset the password. The steps are simple, but if you’re new to PostgreSQL or running it on Windows, it might get tricky. So, let’s break it down into clear steps that are easy to follow.

Step 1: Stop the PostgreSQL Service

First, we need to stop the PostgreSQL service before we can reset the password. Here’s how you do that:

  • Press Win + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
  • Look for PostgreSQL in the list.
  • Right-click on it and choose Stop.

postres

Step 2: Start PostgreSQL in Single-User Mode

Now, we’ll start PostgreSQL in single-user mode. This mode allows us to reset the password without needing the current one.

  • Open Command Prompt as an administrator.

    To do this, press Win + S, type cmd, right-click on Command Prompt, and choose Run as administrator.

  • Now, navigate to the PostgreSQL bin directory where the executable is located. Typically, it’s in:

  cd "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\bin"

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  • After that, run PostgreSQL in single-user mode with this command:
  postgres --single -D "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\data" postgres

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  • Note: Replace "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\data" with your actual data directory path if it’s different.

Step 3: Reset the Password

Once PostgreSQL starts in single-user mode, you’ll see a prompt where you can run SQL commands. To reset the password for the postgres user, use this command:

ALTER USER postgres WITH PASSWORD 'your_new_password';

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  • Replace 'your_new_password' with the new password you want to set.

After entering the command, press Enter to reset the password.

Step 4: Restart the PostgreSQL Service

After resetting the password, exit the single-user mode by closing the Command Prompt window. Then, go back to the Services tool:

  • Right-click on PostgreSQL and choose Start to restart the service.

Step 5: Reconnect with pgAdmin

Finally, open pgAdmin 4 (or any other PostgreSQL client you use) and try connecting with the new password.

If it still doesn’t work, you may need to update the saved password:

  • Right-click on the server in the Object Browser.
  • Choose PropertiesConnection.
  • Enter the new password and click Save.

Simplified Process (For Quick Reference)

In simpler terms, here’s what you need to do:

  1. Stop PostgreSQL: Go to services.msc and stop PostgreSQL.
  2. Open Command Prompt as Admin: Search for cmd, right-click, and run as administrator.
  3. Navigate to PostgreSQL Folder: Use this command:
   cd "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\bin"

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  1. Run PostgreSQL in Single-User Mode:
   postgres --single -D "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\data" postgres

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  1. Reset the Password:
   ALTER USER postgres WITH PASSWORD 'your_new_password';

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  1. Restart PostgreSQL: Go back to Services and start PostgreSQL again.
  2. Reconnect with pgAdmin: Use the new password to connect.

Final Thoughts

I hope this guide makes it easy for you to reset your PostgreSQL password on Windows using single-user mode. It’s a lifesaver when you’re locked out of your database.

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Stay connected - @syedamaham.dev 🐬
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Introduction

Resetting the root (or superuser) password in PostgreSQL is a common task when you forget or need to change the password for security reasons. For Windows users, there are a few approaches you can take to reset the password. In this article, we will explore several solutions to reset the PostgreSQL root password on Windows.

Solution 1: Use pgAdmin

pgAdmin is a popular graphical tool to manage PostgreSQL databases, which can be used to reset passwords without needing to interact with the command line.

The steps to follow:

  1. Open pgAdmin from your program menu.
  2. Connect to the desired PostgreSQL server.
  3. Navigate to the ‘Login/Group Roles’ node in the browser.
  4. Right-click the user whose password you wish to reset and select ‘Properties’.
  5. Go to the ‘Definition’ tab and enter the new password.
  6. Click ‘Save’ to apply changes.

Pros:

  • User-friendly interface makes the process simple.
  • Does not require command-line knowledge since this is a GUI-based solution.

Cons: Requires pgAdmin to be installed and accessible. You can learn how to set up and configure pgAdmin in this article: How to set up PostgreSQL and pgAdmin on Windows.

Solution 2: Edit pg_hba.conf File

Editing the pg_hba.conf file to allow unauthenticated access temporarily, then resetting the password through the command-line interface or SQL shell.

Here are what we’re going to do:

  1. Locate pg_hba.conf, usually in ‘C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\\data’.
  2. Open pg_hba.conf with a text editor as an administrator.
  3. Change the method for local connections to ‘trust’ and save the file.
  4. Restart the PostgreSQL service from the Windows Services panel.
  5. Connect to PostgreSQL using the psql command-line tool or SQL shell without a password.
  6. Reset the password using the following SQL command: ALTER USER postgres WITH PASSWORD 'newpassword';
  7. Restore the original pg_hba.conf settings and restart the PostgreSQL service

Pros:

  • This method does not require any additional tools.
  • All changes are reversible.

Cons:

  • Requires file system and possibly administrative access.
  • It may have security implications if not done carefully.

Conclusion

Resetting the root password for PostgreSQL on Windows can be accomplished using a range of methods. Whether through a graphical interface like pgAdmin for ease-of-use or directly manipulating server configuration files for a more hands-on approach, picking the right method depends on your level of comfort and access permissions. Always remember to revert any temporary security changes you make, such as altering the pg_hba.conf file, to prevent unauthorized access to your database system.

Passwords play a very crucial role in our lives. Passwords protect the data and prevent a database from unauthorized access. In database management systems, like PostgreSQL, passwords are considered the primary protection parameter against cybercrime.

Try the new PgManage (Open Source) and get rid of PgAdmin!

While installing Postgres, users specify a superuser password that must be remembered for later use. The superuser password is required every time a user logs into the Postgres server. But what if a Postgres user forgets the password? How to reset the forgotten passwords in Postgres?

Well! Nothing to worry about! This post will present step-by-step instructions on how to reset the forgotten password for the “postgres” user.

How Do I Reset the Password for postgres User?

Postgres utilizes a configuration file named “pg_hba.conf” to address the client authentication. Here, the term “hba” stands for “host-based authentication”. The stated file is placed in the data directory of Postgres, i.e., “C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\15\data”. To reset a password, you must change the parameters in the “hba.config” file. Changing the configuration parameters will allow a user to log in without a password.

The below-provided steps will guide you on how to reset a password in Postgres.

Step 1: Locate the “pg_hba.config” File

Open the “C” drive > Program Files > PostgreSQL > 15 > and finally the Data directory. In the Data director, scroll down to locate the pg_hba.config file:

img

Step 2: Open the “pg_hba.config” File

Firstly, copy the stated file into some other location, or rename the file like “pg_hba.conf.bk” to keep the backup of the file. Next, double-click on the selected file to open it:

img

In the “pg_hba.config” file, replace the local connections with “trust”, as demonstrated in the following snippet:

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Resetting the local connections to “trust” will allow you to log into Postgres without providing the superuser password.

Step 3: Restart Postgres

Press “win + S” to open the Windows search bar, type “services”, and click on the “services” app to open it:

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In the “Services” window, find the “Postgresql-x64-15”, select the service, and click on the “restart” button to restart a Postgres server:

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Step 4: Open Postgres

Now connect to Postgres using SQL Shell or pgAdmin:

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The above snippet proves that we are successfully logged in as a “postgres” user.

Step 5: Reset the Password

Now execute the “ALTER USER” or “ALTER ROLE” command with the “PASSWORD” attribute to reset the password for the “postgres” user:

ALTER USER postgres WITH PASSWORD 'my_modified_password';

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The output proves that the password for the “postgres” user has been reset successfully.

Conclusion

To reset a forgotten password for a “postgres” user > open the “pg_hba.config” file located at “C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\15\data”, and replace the local connections with “trust”. After that, open the Services manager, select the “Postgresql-x64-15” service, and click on the “restart” button to restart the Postgres server. Finally, connect to postgres, and execute the “ALTER USER” command with the “PASSWORD” attribute to reset the password for the “postgres” user. This post presented a detailed guide on resetting the forgotten password for a “postgres” user.

Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn step-by-step how to reset the password of the postgres user in PostgreSQL.

For some reason, after installing PostgreSQL, you may forget the password of the postgres user. In such cases, you need to know how to reset the password to regain access to the PostgreSQL server.

PostgreSQL uses the pg_hba.conf configuration file stored in the database data directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\data on Windows) to control the client authentication. The hba in pg_hba.conf means host-based authentication.

To reset the password for the postgres user, you need to follow these steps:

  • First, modify some parameters in the pg_hba.conf configuration file.
  • Log in to the PostgreSQL server using the postgres user account without a password.
  • Reset the password.

The following steps show you how to reset a password for the postgres user:

Step 1. Backup the pg_hba.conf file by copying it to a different location or rename it to pg_hba.conf.bk

Step 2. Edit the pg_dba.conf file and change all local connections from scram-sha-256 to trust. By doing this, you can log in to the PostgreSQL database server without using a password.

# TYPE  DATABASE        USER            ADDRESS                 METHOD

# IPv4 local connections:
host    all             all             127.0.0.1/32            trust
# IPv6 local connections:
host    all             all             ::1/128                 trust
# Allow replication connections from localhost, by a user with the
# replication privilege.
host    replication     all             127.0.0.1/32            trust
host    replication     all             ::1/128                 trust

Step 3. Restart the PostgreSQL server. If you are on Windows, you can restart the PostgreSQL from Services.

Alternatively, you can run the following command from the Command Prompt (notice that you need to run the Command Prompt as the Administrator):

pg_ctl -D "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\data" restart

The "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\data" is the data directory.

Step 4. Connect to PostgreSQL database server using any tool such as psql or pgAdmin:

psql -U postgres

PostgreSQL will not require a password to log in.

Step 5. Execute the following command to set a new password for the postgres user.

postgres=# ALTER USER postgres WITH PASSWORD 'new_password';

Step 6. Restore the pg_dba.conf file, restart the PostgreSQL database server, and connect to the PostgreSQL database server with the new password.

In this tutorial, you have learned how to reset the password of the postgres user.

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