How to Install PostgreSQL 18 on Ubuntu, Windows and Docker: Step by Step

We recommend three ways to install PostgreSQL 18: the official PGDG package repository for Linux servers in production, the postgresql.org installer for Windows servers, and the official Docker image for development and test environments. Whichever you choose, the important part comes afterwards: a separate role for the application, tight network access and the right locale chosen on day one.

This guide walks through the three installation methods step by step, then moves on to the settings that make a new server production-ready: roles and passwords, remote access (listen_addresses and pg_hba.conf), TLS, language-specific sorting and the errors you are most likely to hit on day one. We tested the commands with PostgreSQL 18.6 on a clean Ubuntu 24.04 system and the official postgres:18 Docker image.

Which Installation Method Should You Choose?

All four methods install the same PostgreSQL server. The difference is which version you can get and how updates arrive.

Which version? PostgreSQL 18 is the current major version (18.6 as of October 2026) and is supported until November 14, 2030. Unless your application vendor or an extension requires an older release, start new installations on 18.

Installing PostgreSQL on Ubuntu 24.04

The steps below follow the official instructions on postgresql.org. Run the commands as a user with sudo rights.

1. Add the PGDG repository

The postgresql-common package ships a script that adds the PostgreSQL community’s (PGDG) official package repository and signing key. The script asks for confirmation; add -y for unattended installs.

sudo apt install -y postgresql-common
sudo /usr/share/postgresql-common/pgdg/apt.postgresql.org.sh

After this step, apt-cache madison postgresql lists the 18.x packages from the PGDG repository alongside Ubuntu’s own 16.x package.

2. Install PostgreSQL 18

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y postgresql-18

The package creates and starts a database cluster named 18/main automatically. In our test the cluster came with these settings:

3. Check the service

pg_lsclusters
sudo pg_ctlcluster 18 main status
sudo pg_ctlcluster 18 main restart
sudo pg_ctlcluster 18 main reload

pg_lsclusters shows the version, port, status and directories of every cluster on the machine. Each cluster is also a systemd service named postgresql@18-main, so systemctl works as well.

Knowing what each change requires avoids unnecessary restarts: a reload is enough for pg_hba.conf changes, while settings such as listen_addresses and port need a restart.

4. Create the application role and database

After installation the only database role is postgres, and it has no password. Because local connections use peer authentication, you run administrative tasks as the postgres operating system user:

sudo -u postgres psql -c "SELECT version();"
sudo -u postgres psql -c "CREATE ROLE appuser WITH LOGIN PASSWORD 'ChangeMe-Str0ng!';"
sudo -u postgres psql -c "CREATE DATABASE appdb OWNER appuser;"

Never run applications as the postgres role. Give each application its own role that owns its database, and grant extra privileges only when they are really needed.

5. Verify password security

PostgreSQL 18 stores passwords with SCRAM-SHA-256 by default. The old MD5 method is deprecated; do not go back to it. The commands below confirm that the password is stored correctly and that a password login over TCP works:

sudo -u postgres psql -c "SELECT rolname, left(rolpassword, 14) AS hash_prefix FROM pg_authid WHERE rolname = 'appuser';"
PGPASSWORD='ChangeMe-Str0ng!' psql -h 127.0.0.1 -U appuser -d appdb -c "SELECT current_user, current_database(), inet_server_addr();"

The first query should return the SCRAM-SHA-256$ prefix. In scripts, use a ~/.pgpass file instead of PGPASSWORD so the password does not show up on the command line.

Open Remote Access Safely

A new installation accepts connections only from the server itself. Two settings control remote access together:

The example below opens appdb only to the appuser role, only from the 10.10.20.0/24 application network and only over encrypted connections:

sudo -u postgres psql -c "ALTER SYSTEM SET listen_addresses = '*';"
echo "hostssl appdb    appuser    10.10.20.0/24    scram-sha-256" | sudo tee -a /etc/postgresql/18/main/pg_hba.conf
sudo pg_ctlcluster 18 main restart
sudo -u postgres psql -c "SELECT line_number, type, database, user_name, address, auth_method, error FROM pg_hba_file_rules;"

The last query shows the rules the server loaded and any lines with errors; check it after every change. pg_hba.conf rules are read from top to bottom and the first matching rule applies. If authentication fails on that rule, the following lines are not tried.

About TLS: hostssl accepts only encrypted connections. The Ubuntu package enables TLS with a self-signed certificate, so encryption works immediately. In our test a client on the allowed network connected with TLS 1.3; the same client was rejected with “no pg_hba.conf entry” when it turned encryption off. If clients must verify the server’s identity (sslmode=verify-full), replace the self-signed certificate with one issued by your organization’s certificate authority.

Installing PostgreSQL on Windows

The Windows page on postgresql.org points to an installer that sets up the PostgreSQL server, the pgAdmin management tool and StackBuilder (a tool for downloading extensions and drivers) together. The PostgreSQL 18 installer is tested on Windows Server 2025 and 2022.

1. Download the PostgreSQL 18 installer from postgresql.org/download/windows/ and run it as administrator.
2. Confirm the installation directory.
3. Select components: PostgreSQL Server, pgAdmin 4, Stack Builder and Command Line Tools. Keep Command Line Tools selected; it installs tools such as psql and pg_dump.
4. Choose the data directory. On servers, use the disk set aside for the database instead of the system disk.
5. Set the password of the postgres superuser role and keep it in your corporate password manager.
6. Keep the default port 5432 unless another PostgreSQL installation exists.
7. Choose the locale. This choice sets the default sorting rules of your databases.
8. Finish the installation. PostgreSQL then runs as a Windows service.

Watch for three Windows-specific points:

After installation you can connect with the bundled psql:

psql "host=127.0.0.1 port=5432 dbname=postgres user=postgres"

Roles, databases and pg_hba.conf rules work the same as on Linux.

PostgreSQL 18 with Docker

For development and test environments, the official image gives you a running server in seconds. A named volume keeps the data even if the container is removed or replaced.

docker run -d --name pg18 \
  -e POSTGRES_USER=appuser \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD='ChangeMe-Str0ng!' \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=appdb \
  -p 127.0.0.1:5432:5432 \
  -v pg18data:/var/lib/postgresql \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  postgres:18
docker logs pg18
docker exec -it pg18 psql -U appuser -d appdb

On first start the image creates the cluster and the role and database you specified. Wait for “PostgreSQL init process complete; ready for start up.” in the docker logs output before connecting. The -p 127.0.0.1:5432:5432 option publishes the port only on the host itself. In our test, a table we created was still there after the container was removed and started again on the same volume.

The Docker image has three behaviors that matter in practice:

Choosing the Right Locale for Language-Specific Data

If your data is in a language with special case and sorting rules, decide on the locale before creating the cluster or database. Turkish is the classic example: the default C.UTF-8 locale upper-cases “istanbul ılık” to “ISTANBUL ILIK” and loses the dotted capital İ. The ICU-based tr-TR locale returns the correct “İSTANBUL ILIK” and sorts ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş and ü in Turkish alphabetical order.

A database’s locale provider cannot be changed later, so make the choice at creation time:

# Ubuntu: a new cluster with an ICU Turkish default (options after -- go to initdb)
sudo pg_createcluster 18 trmain --port 5433 --start -- --locale-provider=icu --icu-locale=tr-TR --locale=C.UTF-8

# Docker: pass the same options to initdb on first start
docker run -d --name pg18tr -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD='ChangeMe-Str0ng!' \
  -e POSTGRES_INITDB_ARGS="--locale-provider=icu --icu-locale=tr-TR" \
  -v pg18trdata:/var/lib/postgresql postgres:18

On an existing cluster, you can create a single database with Turkish rules and check the result:

CREATE DATABASE trdb TEMPLATE template0 ENCODING 'UTF8'
  LOCALE_PROVIDER icu ICU_LOCALE 'tr-TR' LOCALE 'C.UTF-8';
-- connect to trdb, then:
SELECT datname, datlocprovider, datlocale FROM pg_database WHERE datname = 'trdb';
SELECT upper('istanbul ılık') AS upper_tr, lower('İSTANBUL IŞIK') AS lower_tr;

Post-Installation Checklist

For what comes after installation, see our PostgreSQL best practices guide.

Common Errors and Fixes

We ran into every one of these errors while testing this guide.

When Should You Bring in an Expert?

A test server is a few hours of work. In the following situations we recommend working with an experienced team:

• The server will hold production data and needs a defined backup and point-in-time recovery plan.
• High availability is required: standby servers, automatic failover or a second site. See our guide to building a high-availability PostgreSQL environment with Autobase.
• Applications connect from different networks or through a connection pooler, and access must pass a security audit.
• The workload is large enough that memory, checkpoint and autovacuum settings directly determine performance.
• The new server replaces SQL Server, Oracle or a PostgreSQL version whose support has ended.

Aryasoft’s senior-only team offers every service it provides for SQL Server for PostgreSQL as well, from installation and hardening to performance tuning and version upgrades. Take a look at our PostgreSQL services, and if you want your new server looked after by a remote DBA under 8×5 or 24/7 maintenance-support, see our managed database services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

The technical details in this guide were checked against the official documentation below in October and November 2026. Versions and package details can change; confirm them on the relevant page before you install.

1. PostgreSQL: Linux downloads (Ubuntu)
2. PostgreSQL Wiki: Apt repository
3. PostgreSQL: Windows installers
4. PostgreSQL: Versioning Policy
5. PostgreSQL 18 release notes
6. PostgreSQL 18 documentation: The pg_hba.conf File
7. PostgreSQL 18 documentation: Peer Authentication
8. PostgreSQL 18 documentation: Password Authentication
9. PostgreSQL 18 documentation: Connections and Authentication
10. PostgreSQL 18 documentation: Secure TCP/IP Connections with SSL
11. PostgreSQL 18 documentation: ALTER SYSTEM
12. PostgreSQL 18 documentation: CREATE DATABASE
13. PostgreSQL 18 documentation: initdb
14. PostgreSQL 18 documentation: Collation Support
15. PostgreSQL 18 documentation: Authentication Problems
16. Ubuntu Server documentation: Install and configure PostgreSQL
17. Docker Hub: official postgres image