If exactly at the same time, with an ssh instance redirecting localhost port 5432 to some outside server, psql -h localhost -p 5432 works but pgAdmin configured the same way does not, you then have a strange problem. You should really make sure pgAdmin uses this configuration. This guide will help you get up and running with pgAdmin on Mac OS X. Connected to your remote PostgreSQL server with pgAdmin 4.

About the App

• App name: pgAdmin
• App description: pgadmin3 (App: pgAdmin3.app)
• App website: http://pgadmin.org

Install the App

1. Press Command+Space and type Terminal and press enter/return key.
2. Run in Terminal app:
   ruby -e '$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)' < /dev/null 2> /dev/null ; brew install caskroom/cask/brew-cask 2> /dev/null
   and press enter/return key.
   If the screen prompts you to enter a password, please enter your Mac's user password to continue. When you type the password, it won't be displayed on screen, but the system would accept it. So just type your password and press ENTER/RETURN key. Then wait for the command to finish.
3. Run:
   brew cask install pgadmin3

Done! You can now use pgAdmin.

General

Configuration

Troubleshooting

General

What is pgAdmin 4?

pgAdmin is a management tool for PostgreSQL and derivative relational databases such as EnterpriseDB's EDB Advanced Server. It may be run either as a web or desktop application. For more information on the features offered, please see the Features and Screenshots pages.

Why doesn't pgAdmin use the native File management dialogues?

This is largely for a couple of reasons:

• As pgAdmin is a web application, it can only interact with the local filesystem in ways that are allowed by modern web browsers. This limits what is possible for security; essentially files can only be 'downloaded' or 'uploaded' (through a form). There is no way to simply save an update to a file by hitting a Save button, nor is it possible to save the working directory for example.
• When running in server mode, files are read from and stored on the server to enable users to work with the same data whatever machine they happen to be using. There are no 'native dialogues' for working with files stored on a web server in this way, so we have to implement our own.

We have done extensive evaluation and testing of various ways of managing files in pgAdmin 4, and have consistently found that using our own dialogues provides the best experience (one that we continue to refine and improve with user feedback).

What is the Master Password, and how do I use it or remove it?

The Master Password is used to securely encrypt any credentials that you choose to save when using pgAdmin. Without the Master Password (or something similar that is supplied by the user), the encryption keys must be generated from data that is stored on-disk in a location known to pgAdmin. By examining the source code another user with the ability to access the encrypted passwords and the data used to generate the keys would be able to decrypt the saved passwords.

Unfortunately this ability isn't limited to administrative users of the machine(s) containing the saved passwords and key data as you might immediately think. Malware that may have been inadvertently installed may be able to transmit the saved password database and key data to an attacker. Such malware could be part of another piece of software or something installed utilising a browser vulnerability for example.

The Master Password mitigates this problem by ensuring that the key data is never stored on disk.

I know my system is secure and can't possibly get infected with malware. Can I disable the Master Password? Yes, though we strongly advise against doing so! To do so, find the config.py file that is part of your pgAdmin installation. This is normally in a top-level directory called web. In the same directory, create a file called config_local.py, and add a line that reads:

If the file already exists, edit it, and add the line. When you restart pgAdmin, the Master Password will be disabled and passwords will be encrypted in an insecure manner which will protect them against 'shoulder surfing', but will not prevent anyone from decrypting them fairly easily.

But why can't I disable the Master Password from the GUI? By requiring a change to the main configuration for pgAdmin, we allow system administrators to enforce a security policy which is often a requirement in corporate or other secure environments. At present there are no general mechanisms in pgAdmin to allow administrators to control which user preferences (those options which can be configured through the GUI) can or cannot be changed.

Configuration

What are Server Mode and Desktop Mode?

When deploying pgAdmin on a web server for multiple users, it is run in server mode (SERVER_MODE = True). This mode requires each user to have an account in pgAdmin, with their own password. Users are required to login to pgAdmin in order to use it. One or more users may be configured as an administrator and will be able to add or remove other users. For more information, please see the Server Deployment and User Management documentation.

To allow running in desktop mode (SERVER_MODE = False), a runtime application is provided to host and display the pgAdmin code (sometimes referred to as the application server). In this mode, each user runs their own instance of pgAdmin, thus no authentication or user management is required. Appcode vs xcode reddit. For more information, please see the Desktop Deployment documentation.

What should I set the Binary Path configuration option to so I can make and restore backups?

pgAdmin can utilise PostgreSQL utilities such as pg_dump, pg_restore to enable users to take backups and restore them, as well as run other maintenance operations. The directory path in which these utilities can be found must be provided to pgAdmin to enable these features - see File -> Preferences -> Paths -> Binary paths. You can specify separate paths for the PostgreSQL and EDB Advanced Server binaries. In server mode, the binaries must be installed on the server hosting pgAdmin, whilst in desktop mode they must be on the local machine (that is running pgAdmin).

The binary utilities are typically shipped with the database server packages for your platform. Future versions of pgAdmin may include them in some desktop packages.

Troubleshooting

How do I enable logging in pgAdmin 4?

The default log settings for pgAdmin will write warnings and errors to a logfile, the location of which depends on the platform:

• Linux/MacOS: ~/.pgadmin/pgadmin4.log
• Windows: %APPDATA%pgAdminpgadmin4.log

To override the log settings, create a file called config_local.py in the web/ directory of the installation, alongside the existing config.py. This file can be used to override any of the settings in config.py (which shouldn't be edited). To modify the logging settings, create a file similar to the following:

Once the configuration change has been made, pgAdmin must be restarted.

How do I start pgAdmin such that it outputs a log to the console?

If you're running in server mode, or directly using Python, then console logs will be sent directly to the tty under which the application is started.

In desktop mode, the process varies depending on the platform:

• Linux: Start the desktop runtime from the command line, e.g. /usr/local/pgadmin4/bin/pgadmin4, adjusting the path as necessary.
• MacOS: Start the desktop runtime from the command line, e.g. /Applications/pgAdmin 4.app/Contents/MacOS/pgAdmin4, adjusting the path as necessary.
• Windows: Console logs can be written to a file from the command line on Windows, e.g. 'C:Program FilespgAdmin 4v2runtimepgAdmin4.exe' > %TEMP%pgadmin-console.log will write a log to %TEMP%pgadmin-console.log.

Note that you may need to adjust the CONSOLE_LOG_LEVEL option in config_local.py to see useful information in the log. See this FAQ for more information.

Why does pgAdmin seem to use a lot of CPU cycles?

pgAdmin 4's architecture will naturally require more CPU and memory than a traditional native desktop application, however, pgAdmin 4 also includes continually updating dashboards that weren't present in pgAdmin III. The dashboards update each graph every second by default, even if they are not visible (to avoid gaps in the data). CPU usage may be noticably reduced by adjusting the refresh speed of the graphs to a longer period, such as ten seconds. This can be done under File -> Preferences -> Paths -> Dashboards -> Graphs. After changes have been made, you may need to navigate to a different dashboard instance for the changes to take effect.

When pgAdmin runs in desktop mode on my Windows PC, I just see unformatted text on the left of the window. Why?

This behaviour has been observed by a number of users on Windows. Essentially what is happening is that the browser is ignoring the stylesheets that properly format the display. In all cases seen, this was because a registry setting on the machine had been set to an incorrect value, possibly by the installation of a particular editor. To resolve the issue, use the Windows Registry Editor to reset the value of 'HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.cssContent Type' to 'text/css' (without the quotes), and then restart pgAdmin.

On macOS, I get an error like: 'pgAdmin 4 is damaged and cannot be opened'

This has been seen mostly on older versions of macOS (e.g. 10.10). Unfortunately the error message is usually misleading, and the digital signature of the application will validate correctly. What is apple iworks. The actual problem is typically that the operating system is configured to only allow running of app from the Apple App store.

To change this setting, open the Preferences Panel and then browse to Security and Privacy. From there, change the Allow apps downloaded from setting to App Store and identified developers (more secure) or Anywhere (less secure).

Note that the available options and their labels vary from release to release of macOS, and may not be exactly as described above.