The local psql command could not be located

Question

I'm following the instructions found here. When I try to run $ heroku pg:psql or $ heroku pg:psql HEROKU POSTGRESQL_BROWN I recieve the following error message:

! The local psql command could not be located ! For help installing psql, see local-postgresql

I can't find anything useful on the link it gives me (it just links to the instructions I was already using, but further down the page) nor can I find this error anywhere else.

If I've missed anything you need to know to answer this, just let me know. I'm rather new to all this and teaching myself as I go.

Answer 1

I had same error even after installing Postgres locally. But after seeing this I saw that "pqsl" was not in the PATH so I then did

PATH=%PATH%;C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\9.2\bin

which worked for me

Answer 2

I have since solved this myself. When I ran heroku pg:info it says the version number is 9.1.8, I was locally running 9.2

installing 9.1.8 and ensuring Path pointed to the appropriate folder solved the problem.

Answer 3

After you change the path, make sure to restart the terminal!

Answer 4

Set the PATH. To find out the PATH of your psql script (on mac) open the sql shell script from your finder in Applications/Postgres installation. This will give you a hint as to where it is installed. That opened a window which told me it is located here: /Library/PostgreSQL/8.4/scripts/runpsql.sh

Then, I set the PATH variable from the terminal window by typing:

$ PATH="/Library/PostgreSQL/8.4/bin:$PATH"

(depends on the location of your PostgreSQL installation, find your bin path first, another exp: /usr/local/Cellar/postgresql@9.6/9.6.8/bin)

OR.....

You can also connect to the shell by opening the shell directly from your postgres installation folder. Then enter the credentials. If you don't know the credentials, here is how to find them out:

$ heroku pg:info === HEROKU_POSTGRESQL_RED_URL (DATABASE_URL)

$ heroku pg:credentials HEROKU_POSTGRESQL_RED_URL

Answer 5

Top answer wouldn't work for me oddly, my system would not add the Path via cmd with administrator access (Not sure why).

So check this > Windows key > environment variables > system variables

And add the last line (your version may differ in the path)

Answer 6

Make sure you've installed the toolbelt as psql is installed by default.

However you also need to ensure you've installed a local copy of PostgreSQL; if you don't the toolbelt will be unable to find the native psql client.

Assuming you have installed a local copy of PostgreSQL, make sure you can execute psql from the command line directly (i.e make sure you PATH is set correctly ). If the command does not execute, check your PATH, if it does execute see if you can connect via the PSQL connection string provided in the Heroku control panel. If you can connect reinstall the toolbelt, if you are unable to connect provision another dev database and try again.

If there are still issues, I would suggest contacting Heroku support for assistance after verifying no API issues are listed on the status page located here.

Answer 7

I got rid if this annoying message on Windows by adding a path element without the spaces, i.e.

C:\Progra~1\PostgreSQL\9.4\data

instead of

“C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\9.4\data”

Answer 8

I followed the instructions here: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000549.htm, which worked for me if you prefer to go the point-and-click configuration of the PATH variable.

Answer 9

This type of error usually appears in the Windows environment, because if you do not update the PATH after installing Postgresql, heroku pg:psql command does not work.

So you need to update your PATH environment variable to add the bin directory of your Postgres installation. The directory will look like this: C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\<VERSION>\bin. For more information, go to the Heroku in Local setup website:

heroku-postgresql: Local setup

Answer 10

I had the same problem and discovered that Heroku doesn't seem to provision the latest version of PostgreSQL by default. Where the Heroku Getting Started instructions said

heroku addons:create heroku-postgresql:hobby-dev

That provisioned a v10 database for some reason (which you can check by clicking on Heroku Postgres in the Add-ons tab of your dashboard). I deleted that database and provisioned a new database using the --version flag:

heroku addons:create heroku-postgresql:hobby-dev --version 11

As of now, at least, you can find the latest version of Postgres supported by Heroku at this link: https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/heroku-postgresql#version-support-and-legacy-infrastructure

I'm writing this in early 2019, but according to the PostgreSQL website the next version (12) is "tentatively scheduled" for third quarter of 2019 so if you're reading this in late 2019 potentially the same problem will come up for v12 instead

Answer 11

On Mac you can use the following:

export PATH="/Library/PostgreSQL/12/bin/:$PATH"

Answer 12

The only solution that I found on Windows:

1. go to advanced system settings
2. go to environment variables
3. select Path variable and click Edit
4. add a new line and enter your bin directory path (C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL<version>\bin) and click ok
5. restart your terminal
6. enter your psql command (heroku pg:psql)