{"id":165029,"date":"2026-03-29T12:12:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T09:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/install-postgresql-void-linux\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T23:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:56:12","slug":"install-postgresql-void-linux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/install-postgresql-void-linux\/","title":{"rendered":"Install PostgreSQL on Void Linux"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Void Linux is one of those distributions that rewards you for understanding how your system works. No systemd, no hand-holding, just runit and XBPS doing exactly what you tell them. PostgreSQL fits right into that philosophy: a database engine that does one thing extremely well and stays out of your way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This guide walks through installing PostgreSQL 16 on Void Linux, initializing the database cluster, creating a runit service from scratch (Void doesn’t ship one), and locking down authentication. If you’re coming from Debian or RHEL, the biggest difference is the service management piece, which we’ll cover in detail. For PostgreSQL on RHEL-based systems, see PostgreSQL on Rocky Linux 10<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tested March 2026<\/strong> | Void Linux (glibc), PostgreSQL 16.10<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prerequisites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Void Linux (glibc variant, x86_64) with root or sudo access<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • XBPS package manager up to date<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Tested on: Void Linux rolling (glibc), PostgreSQL 16.10<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    1. Install PostgreSQL<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Void’s XBPS repository ships PostgreSQL 16.x. Install the server and client packages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    sudo xbps-install -Sy postgresql16 postgresql16-client<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Confirm the installed version:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    psql --version<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    You should see the version string confirming 16.x:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    psql (PostgreSQL) 16.10<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    XBPS creates a postgres<\/code> system user automatically during installation. Verify it exists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    id postgres<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    The output confirms the user and group:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    uid=997(postgres) gid=997(postgres) groups=997(postgres)<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    2. Initialize the Database Cluster<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    PostgreSQL needs an initialized data directory before it can start. Create the directory and set ownership to the postgres<\/code> user:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo mkdir -p \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data\nsudo chown postgres:postgres \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Now initialize the cluster. This must run as the postgres<\/code> user:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo -u postgres initdb -D \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    The initialization output shows the cluster being created with default settings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    The files belonging to this database system will be owned by user \"postgres\".\nThis user must also own the server process.\n\nThe database cluster will be initialized with locale \"en_US.UTF-8\".\nThe default database encoding has accordingly been set to \"UTF8\".\nThe default text search configuration will be set to \"english\".\n\nData page checksums are disabled.\n\nfixing permissions on existing directory \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data ... ok\ncreating subdirectories ... ok\nselecting dynamic shared memory implementation ... posix\nselecting default \"max_connections\" ... 100\nselecting default \"shared_buffers\" ... 128MB\nselecting default \"timezone\" ... UTC\ncreating configuration files ... ok\nrunning bootstrap script ... ok\nperforming post-bootstrap initialization ... ok\nsyncing data to disk ... ok\n\ninitdb: warning: enabling \"trust\" authentication for local connections\ninitdb: hint: You can change this by editing pg_hba.conf or using the option -A,\nor --auth-local and --auth-host, the next time you run initdb.\n\nSuccess. You can now start the database server using:\n\n    pg_ctl -D \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data -l logfile start<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Notice the warning about trust authentication. We’ll tighten that up after getting the service running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    3. Create a Runit Service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Void Linux uses runit for service management, and PostgreSQL doesn’t ship with a runit service file by default. You need to create one manually. This catches most people off guard when coming from distributions where systemctl enable postgresql<\/code> just works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Create the service directory structure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo mkdir -p \/etc\/sv\/postgresql\/log<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Create the main run script that starts PostgreSQL as the postgres<\/code> user:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo vi \/etc\/sv\/postgresql\/run<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Add the following content:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    #!\/bin\/sh\nexec chpst -u postgres postgres -D \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data 2>&1<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Make it executable:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo chmod +x \/etc\/sv\/postgresql\/run<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Now create the log service. Runit expects a log\/run<\/code> script to capture output via svlogd<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo vi \/etc\/sv\/postgresql\/log\/run<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Add the logging script:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    #!\/bin\/sh\nexec svlogd -tt \/var\/log\/postgresql<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Make it executable and create the log directory:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo chmod +x \/etc\/sv\/postgresql\/log\/run\nsudo mkdir -p \/var\/log\/postgresql<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Enable the service by creating a symlink to \/var\/service\/<\/code>. Runit picks it up automatically within a few seconds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo ln -s \/etc\/sv\/postgresql \/var\/service\/<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Check the service status:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo sv status postgresql<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    A healthy service looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    run: postgresql: (pid 1423) 5s; run: log: (pid 1420) 5s<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    If the status shows down<\/code>, check the log at \/var\/log\/postgresql\/current<\/code> for errors. Common causes include wrong permissions on the data directory or a missing postgres<\/code> user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    4. Secure the Installation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    The default initdb<\/code> configuration uses trust authentication for local connections, which means any local user can connect as any database user without a password. Fix this by setting a password for the postgres<\/code> superuser and switching to password-based authentication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Connect to PostgreSQL and set the superuser password:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo -u postgres psql -c \"ALTER USER postgres PASSWORD 'StrongPassword123!';\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    The response confirms the change:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    ALTER ROLE<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Now edit pg_hba.conf<\/code> to enforce password authentication. Open the file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo vi \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data\/pg_hba.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Find the lines near the bottom that control local connections and change trust<\/code> to scram-sha-256<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    # \"local\" is for Unix domain socket connections only\nlocal   all             all                                     scram-sha-256\n# IPv4 local connections:\nhost    all             all             127.0.0.1\/32            scram-sha-256\n# IPv6 local connections:\nhost    all             all             ::1\/128                 scram-sha-256<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Reload PostgreSQL to apply the changes without dropping existing connections:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo -u postgres pg_ctl reload -D \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    The reload confirmation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    server signaled<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    From now on, every connection requires a password. Test it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    psql -U postgres -h 127.0.0.1 -c \"SELECT version();\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Enter the password you set earlier. The query output shows your running version:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
                                                    version\n---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n PostgreSQL 16.10 on x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (GCC) 13.2.0, 64-bit\n(1 row)<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    5. Create a Database and User<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Production applications should never connect as the postgres<\/code> superuser. Create a dedicated user and database for your application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Connect as the superuser first:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    psql -U postgres -h 127.0.0.1<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Create a new user, database, and grant privileges. This is an interactive psql session:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    CREATE USER appuser WITH PASSWORD 'AppUserPass456!';\nCREATE DATABASE appdb OWNER appuser;\nGRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE appdb TO appuser;\n\\q<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Verify the new user can connect to the database:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    psql -U appuser -h 127.0.0.1 -d appdb -c \"\\conninfo\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    The connection info confirms the user and database:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    You are connected to database \"appdb\" as user \"appuser\" on host \"127.0.0.1\" at port \"5432\".<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    6. Enable Remote Connections (Optional)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    By default, PostgreSQL 16 listens only on localhost. If other machines on your network need to connect, you’ll need to change the listen address and add a firewall rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Open the main configuration file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo vi \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data\/postgresql.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Find the listen_addresses<\/code> line and change it to listen on all interfaces:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    listen_addresses = '*'<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Next, add a line to pg_hba.conf<\/code> to allow connections from your network. Open the file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo vi \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data\/pg_hba.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Add this line at the end, adjusting the subnet to match your network:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    # Allow connections from local network\nhost    all             all             10.0.1.0\/24             scram-sha-256<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Restart PostgreSQL to apply the listen address change (a reload isn’t enough for listen_addresses<\/code>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo sv restart postgresql<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Void Linux uses nftables for firewalling. Allow TCP port 5432:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo nft add rule inet filter input tcp dport 5432 accept<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    To make the firewall rule persistent across reboots, save the current ruleset:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo nft list ruleset | sudo tee \/etc\/nftables.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Verify PostgreSQL is listening on all interfaces:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    ss -tlnp | grep 5432<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    The output should show 0.0.0.0:5432<\/code> instead of 127.0.0.1:5432<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    LISTEN 0      244          0.0.0.0:5432       0.0.0.0:*    users:((\"postgres\",pid=1423,fd=6))<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    7. Basic psql Commands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Quick reference for the most common psql<\/code> commands you’ll use daily. Connect with psql -U postgres -h 127.0.0.1<\/code> and run these from the psql prompt:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Command<\/th>Description<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    \\l<\/code><\/td>List all databases<\/td><\/tr>
    \\dt<\/code><\/td>List tables in the current database<\/td><\/tr>
    \\c dbname<\/code><\/td>Connect to a different database<\/td><\/tr>
    \\d tablename<\/code><\/td>Describe a table (columns, types, indexes)<\/td><\/tr>
    \\du<\/code><\/td>List all roles\/users<\/td><\/tr>
    SELECT version();<\/code><\/td>Show the PostgreSQL server version<\/td><\/tr>
    \\timing<\/code><\/td>Toggle query execution time display<\/td><\/tr>
    \\x<\/code><\/td>Toggle expanded (vertical) output<\/td><\/tr>
    \\q<\/code><\/td>Exit psql<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    PostgreSQL on Void vs Other Distros<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    If you manage PostgreSQL across multiple distributions, these are the key differences to keep in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Item<\/th>Void Linux<\/th>Debian\/Ubuntu<\/th>RHEL\/Rocky 10<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    Package name<\/td>postgresql16<\/code><\/td>postgresql-16<\/code><\/td>postgresql16-server<\/code><\/td><\/tr>
    Data directory<\/td>\/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data<\/code><\/td>\/var\/lib\/postgresql\/16\/main<\/code><\/td>\/var\/lib\/pgsql\/16\/data<\/code><\/td><\/tr>
    Config path<\/td>\/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data\/<\/code><\/td>\/etc\/postgresql\/16\/main\/<\/code><\/td>\/var\/lib\/pgsql\/16\/data\/<\/code><\/td><\/tr>
    Service manager<\/td>runit (manual setup)<\/td>systemd<\/td>systemd<\/td><\/tr>
    Start command<\/td>sv up postgresql<\/code><\/td>systemctl start postgresql<\/code><\/td>systemctl start postgresql-16<\/code><\/td><\/tr>
    Auto-init on install<\/td>No<\/td>Yes<\/td>No (postgresql-setup --initdb<\/code>)<\/td><\/tr>
    Firewall<\/td>nftables<\/td>ufw<\/td>firewalld<\/td><\/tr>
    SELinux\/AppArmor<\/td>Neither<\/td>AppArmor (usually permissive)<\/td>SELinux enforcing<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    The biggest difference on Void is the manual service setup. On Debian, the package creates the cluster and starts the service automatically. On Void, you handle both yourself, which gives you full control over the data directory location and startup flags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Tuning for Production<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    PostgreSQL’s default configuration is deliberately conservative. On a dedicated database server, you’ll want to adjust these settings in postgresql.conf<\/code>. The values below assume a server with 4 GB of RAM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo -u postgres vi \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/data\/postgresql.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Key parameters to change:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    # Memory (adjust proportionally to your RAM)\nshared_buffers = 1GB              # 25% of total RAM\neffective_cache_size = 3GB        # 75% of total RAM\nwork_mem = 16MB                   # per-operation sort memory\nmaintenance_work_mem = 256MB      # for VACUUM, CREATE INDEX\n\n# WAL and checkpoints\nwal_buffers = 64MB\ncheckpoint_completion_target = 0.9\nmax_wal_size = 2GB\n\n# Connections\nmax_connections = 100             # lower this if using pgbouncer<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    After editing, reload the configuration without restarting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    sudo sv reload postgresql<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Some parameters (like shared_buffers<\/code> and max_connections<\/code>) require a full restart to take effect. Check the PostgreSQL 16 documentation<\/a> for which settings need a restart versus a reload. For a web application backend, pairing this with a LAMP<\/a> or Nginx<\/a> stack on the same Void Linux host works well for small to medium deployments. Once the database holds real data, set up a backup strategy with point-in-time recovery<\/a> so you can restore to any moment before a failure.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
    Void Linux is one of those distributions that rewards you for understanding how your system works. No systemd, no hand-holding, just runit and XBPS doing exactly what you tell them. PostgreSQL fits right into that philosophy: a database engine that does one thing extremely well and stays out of your way. This guide walks through … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":165024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[461,299,50,37631],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-databases","category-how-to","category-linux-tutorials","category-postgresql"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165029"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165197,"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165029\/revisions\/165197"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}