PostgreSQL Mac Preferences

Unlike many coders, I'm not overly fond of the command line. Yes it's quick, but only provided you can remember the commands!. Too often, I find myself hunting through obscure documentation (and StackOverflow...) to find the right command, even for relatively simple things.

I much prefer to use a GUI (ideally with keystrokes for invoking its frequently-used functions). Not only does it free me from the burden of committing pointlessly complex keywords and arguments to memory - it just feels nicer!

So it was when I made the switch from MySQL to PostgreSQL (due to an instinctive mistrust of the former's new corporate owners) that I was disappointed to find that PostgreSQL relies on the command line in a major way. A simple task like starting & stopping the server is far from a no-brainer - you have to find the relevant script, set the environment variables just so, and even switch to the right user (with some installations). Compare this to MySQL, which has a swish System Preferences screen for starting, stopping and enabling auto-startup.

Well, today I am pleased to announce the release of PostgreSQL Preferences for Mac OS X.

Please see installation instructions below, and be sure to check out the User Guide - although given the above rant, I'm hoping it's so intuitive to use that you won't need to look at this much!

So now you can happily avoid struggling with mundane activities like starting / stopping servers - and concentrate on the more important business of designing great websites!

Update 30-August 2015: Links and screenshots updated to latest version.