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I'm new to Python/Django so forgive me if this is a simple problem to solve...

I'm trying to set up a PostgreSQL database for my Django project. I have downloaded PostgreSQL 9.2 from here http://www.postgresql.org/download/macosx/ and gone through the installation process. I've been following a wiki article which said to update my system path to /Library/PostgreSQL/9.2/bin, which I have. When I type 'nano ~/.bash_profile' into Terminal I see this 'PATH ='Library/PostgreSQL/9.2/bin' which I believe means I have updated my system path correctly. However, when I then try to run the command 'createdb', I see this...

-bash: createdb: command not found

I believe I have installed PostgreSQL correctly so I'm not sure how to get around this.

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Thank you


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2 Answers 2

PATH ='Library/PostgreSQL/9.2/bin is overwriting your global $PATH with just the PostgreSQL binaries. It should be the following instead:


This appends the PostgreSQL bin directory to your $PATH, instead of overwriting it. Don't forget to start a new terminal session after you make the edit, or do the following in your current session:

source ~/.bash_profile

In general, the best way to install open source software, packages and utilities on OSX is to use homebrew. Homebrew is a package manager for OSX to simplify the installation and management of programs such as PostgreSQL, and many other popular open source projects. Check it out!

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Thank you. I'll get homebrew. Just to make sure I'm doing it correctly, to update my system path to PATH="$PATH:Library/PostgreSQL/9.2/bin" do I use 'nano ~/.bash_profile', then edit the text after 'PATH = ' and then save by using ^X to Exit and then Y to save the changes? Sorry if this is really simple - it's my first time. –  Jess Oct 3 '12 at 14:56
Yeah if you want to use a command line editor, but it might be more straightforward to use TextEdit. Run this and replace the line with the one I wrote above when TextEdit opens: open -a TextEdit ~/.bash_profile –  TheDeveloper Oct 3 '12 at 15:00
Sorry to send another question your way! I've just tried to run 'python manage.py runserver' and the response I'm getting is 'Error: No module named psycopg2.extensions'. Do you know how I fix that? –  Jess Oct 4 '12 at 10:02

While it's not exactly an answer to your "question", it might solve the problem for you. Have you checked out the PostgreSQL "app"? It's created by Matt Thompson & supported by Heroku Postgres and is meant to make PostgreSQL development easier for people using Mac. You might want to give it a look. Here's a link. Or just google "Postgresapp".

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Hi David, thank you for the link. I've downloaded it and just tried to open the app but I'm being told it doesn't work with my version of Mac OS X (which is 10.6.8). –  Jess Oct 3 '12 at 17:59
@Jess Well, sorry it wasn't of any use to you. I hope you figure things out. I use Django + PostgreSQL all the time and love it, but I'm on Linux. –  David S Oct 3 '12 at 18:01
No worries! Thank you for the thought :) –  Jess Oct 4 '12 at 9:40

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