Psql: error: connection to server on socket “/tmp/.s.pgsql.5432” failed: connection refused is the server running locally and accepting connections on that socket?

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Explanation:

The error message “psql: error: connection to server on socket “/tmp/.s.pgsql.5432″ failed: connection refused” indicates that there is an issue connecting to the PostgreSQL server on the specified socket. This error usually occurs when the server is not running locally or is not accepting connections on that specific socket.

Example:

Let’s say you have a web application that uses PostgreSQL as the database server. When you try to establish a connection to the database, you might encounter the mentioned error message.

    
    const { Pool } = require('pg');
    const pool = new Pool({
      user: 'your_username',
      host: 'localhost',
      database: 'your_database',
      password: 'your_password',
      port: 5432, // PostgreSQL default port
    });

    pool.query('SELECT * FROM your_table', (error, result) => {
      if (error) {
        console.error(error);
      } else {
        console.log(result.rows);
      }
    });

In the above example, we are using the ‘pg’ library to establish a connection with the PostgreSQL server. The configuration for the connection includes the necessary parameters such as the username, host, database name, password, and port.

If the server is running locally and accepting connections on the specified socket ‘/tmp/.s.pgsql.5432’, then the connection will be successfully established, and you will be able to execute queries on the database. However, if the server is not running or not accepting connections on that socket, you will receive the mentioned error message.

To resolve this issue, you can try the following solutions:

  1. Make sure that the PostgreSQL server is running. You can check the server’s status by executing the following command in your terminal: 
            
        sudo service postgresql status

    If the server is not running, start it using the following command:

            
        sudo service postgresql start
  2. Check if the server is configured to accept connections on the socket ‘/tmp/.s.pgsql.5432’. You can check the server’s configuration file (usually located at ‘/etc/postgresql/{version}/main/postgresql.conf’) and ensure that the ‘unix_socket_directories’ directive includes the relevant directory where the socket file is located. Additionally, check the ‘listen_addresses’ directive to ensure that the server is listening on the correct IP address.
  3. Verify the connection parameters used in your code. Make sure that the username, password, host, database name, and port are correct and match the configuration of your PostgreSQL server.
  4. If you are connecting to a remote PostgreSQL server, ensure that the server allows incoming connections from your IP address. You may need to modify the server’s firewall or security group rules to permit the connection.

By following the above steps, you should be able to resolve the “psql: error: connection to server on socket ‘/tmp/.s.pgsql.5432’ failed: connection refused” error and establish a successful connection to your PostgreSQL server.

Note: This answer assumes you are using Node.js and the ‘pg’ library for connecting to PostgreSQL.

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