How To Set Up PostgreSQL 17 on Docker CE

On this tutorial, we will show you how to set up PostgreSQL database engine on Docker Community Edition (CE). As we know, if PostgreSQL is a powerful open-source relational database. Running it inside a Docker container allows for easy setup, isolation, and management. This guide will walk you through installing and setting up PostgreSQL on Docker.

Prerequisites

• Docker installed on your system. If not, install it from Docker’s official website.
• Basic knowledge of Docker commands.

Docker installation on Ubuntu 24.04 has been covered on How To Install Docker CE on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS article.

Setting Up PostgreSQL on Docker

To set up PostgreSQL database engine on Docker will be consist of several tasks as summarize below :

Step 1: Pull the PostgreSQL Docker Image
Step 2: Run a PostgreSQL Container
Step 3: Verify the Running Container
Step 4: Access the PostgreSQL Database
Step 5: Persisting Data Using a Volume (Optional)
Step 7: Stopping and Removing the Container

Details explanation of each step will be covered on following sub sections.

Step 1: Pull the PostgreSQL Docker Image

We need to get the latest PostgreSQL image which will be used on our tutorial.  To get the latest PostgreSQL image from Docker Hub, run:

docker pull postgres

Or if we need other version of PostgreSQL, we just submit the command :

docker pull postgres:<main_version>

On this tutorial, since we know that the latest version of PostgresQL is version 17, then we will submit the following command :

docker pull postgres:17

The output will be as shown below :

ramansah@bckinfo:~$ docker pull postgres:17
17: Pulling from library/postgres
7cf63256a31a: Pull complete 
543c6dea2e39: Pull complete 
dc87fb4dbc03: Pull complete 
55c54708c8e7: Pull complete 
878a40f56a67: Pull complete 
6424ae1ae883: Pull complete 
600e770d797e: Pull complete 
a21a08dbca2c: Pull complete 
783086ffbe8e: Pull complete 
42e76ffa3e07: Pull complete 
fcccafd45a4d: Pull complete 
420a047e4570: Pull complete 
553d1749e29f: Pull complete 
bc13f9b1d80d: Pull complete 
Digest: sha256:81f32a88ec561664634637dd446487efd5f9d90996304b96210078e90e5c8b21
Status: Downloaded newer image for postgres:17
docker.io/library/postgres:17

Step 2: Run a PostgreSQL Container

After pulling the PostgreSQL container, then we will run it on the system. Use the following command to run a PostgreSQL container:

docker run --name docker_bckinfo -e POSTGRES_USER=admin -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=bckinfo123 -e POSTGRES_DB=bckinfodb -p 5444:5444 -d postgres

Explanation of the Flags:

• --name docker_bckinfo → Assigns a name to the container.
• -e POSTGRES_USER=admin→ Sets the database user.
• -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=bckinfo123→ Sets the database password.
• -e POSTGRES_DB=bckinfodb → Creates a default database.
• -p 5444:5444 → Maps the PostgreSQL port to the local machine, default port is : 5432.
• -d postgres → Runs the container in detached mode.

Otput will be as shown below :

ramansah@bckinfo:~$ docker run --name docker_bckinfo -e POSTGRES_USER=admin -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=bckinfo123 -e POSTGRES_DB=bckinfodb -p 5444:5444 -d postgres
6c199053efa2d405ba89dd99068d2267c701ba435feebea924874ccdeda365de

Step 3: Verify the Running Container

Check if the container is running, by using command line :

docker ps

the output will be as shown below :

ramansah@bckinfo:~$ docker ps
CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES
6c199053efa2 postgres "docker-entrypoint.s…" 37 seconds ago Up 36 seconds 5432/tcp, 0.0.0.0:5444->5444/tcp, [::]:5444->5444/tcp docker_bckinfo

The PostgreSQL container has already run.

Step 4: Access the PostgreSQL Database

On this stage, we will access PostgreSQL shell inside the running container. For this purpose we will submit command line :

docker exec -it docker_bckinfo psql -U admin -d bckinfodb

The output will be as shown below :

On this step, we just logged in ot bckinfodb database on PostgreSQL hosted on Docker.

Step 5: Persisting Data Using a Volume (Optional)

By default, data inside a container is lost when the container is removed. To persist data, use a Docker volume:

docker run --name docker_bckinfo -e POSTGRES_USER=admin -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mypassword -e POSTGRES_DB=bckinfodb -p 5444:5444 -v pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data -d postgres

Step 6: Stopping and Removing the Container

On this stage, we will To stop and remove PostgreSQL container:

1. Stoping the PostgreSQL container

docker stop docker_bckinfo

2. Removing PostgreSQL container

docker rm docker_bckinfo

 

Conclusion

By following these steps, you have successfully set up PostgreSQL on Docker. You can now use it for development, testing, or production environments with ease.