How to Connect PostgreSQL in Laravel 11

Hello, laravel web developers! In this article, we'll see how to connect PostgreSQL in laravel 11. In laravel 11, we'll connect the PostgreSQL database with step by step guide. In this step-by-step guide, I'll walk you through the process of setting up PostgreSQL, and configuring your Laravel project to connect to it.

Connecting Laravel 11 to a PostgreSQL database allows you to leverage the powerful features and scalability of PostgreSQL within your Laravel applications.

How to Connect PostgreSQL in Laravel 11

 

Why Use PostgreSQL?

PostgreSQL is a powerful, open-source relational database system known for its robustness, performance, and advanced features. Here are some reasons why you might choose PostgreSQL for your Laravel project:

  1. Advanced Features: PostgreSQL offers advanced features such as support for complex queries, foreign keys, triggers, views, and transactions. It also includes support for JSON, XML, and custom data types.

  2. Performance and Scalability: PostgreSQL is designed to handle large volumes of data and high-traffic applications efficiently. Its ability to manage heavy workloads and scale easily makes it an excellent choice for growing projects.

  3. Extensibility: PostgreSQL is highly extensible. You can add custom functions, data types, operators, and indexes. This flexibility allows you to tailor the database to your specific needs.

  4. Compliance and Standards: PostgreSQL is known for its compliance with SQL standards. It supports ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) transactions, ensuring data integrity and reliability.

  5. Community and Support: PostgreSQL has a strong, active community that continuously contributes to its development. This means regular updates, extensive documentation, and a wealth of online resources to help you troubleshoot and optimize your database.

  6. Open Source: As an open-source database, PostgreSQL is free to use, which makes it a cost-effective option for both small projects and enterprise applications.

By choosing PostgreSQL, you can take advantage of these benefits to build a reliable, high-performance, and scalable application with Laravel 11.

 

Step 1: Install PostgreSQL

First, we need to make sure PostgreSQL is installed on my system. If it's not installed, we can download it from the official PostgreSQL website and follow the installation instructions for an operating system.

 

Step 2: Install Laravel

Next, we'll make sure we have Laravel installed. If haven't installed it yet, we can do so by running the following command in the terminal.

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel laravel-11-example

 

Step 3: Configure PostgreSQL

Once PostgreSQL is installed, we'll create a new database for the Laravel project. we can do this using the PostgreSQL command line tool psql or a graphical tool like pgAdmin.

Here's how we can create a database using psql:

  1. Open the terminal and run psql to start the PostgreSQL command line tool.

  2. Connect to the PostgreSQL server by running

\connect postgres

Create a new database

CREATE DATABASE my_laravel_db;

 

Step 4: Update Laravel Configuration

Now, we'll open the laravel 11 project's .env file and update the database connection settings to use PostgreSQL. Here's what we need to add or update.

DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=my_laravel_db
DB_USERNAME=your_postgres_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_postgres_password

You need to replace your_postgres_username and your_postgres_password with actual PostgreSQL username and password

 

Step 5: Install PostgreSQL PHP Extension

To ensure Laravel can communicate with PostgreSQL, we'll need to install the PostgreSQL PHP extension. we can do this by running the following command in my terminal.

For Ubuntu or Debian-based systems.

sudo apt-get install php-pgsql

For macOS (if using Homebrew):

brew install php
brew install postgresql

 

Step 6: Run Migrations

Finally, we'll run Laravel's database migrations to set up database tables. In the terminal, we'll navigate to the Laravel project directory and run.

php artisan migrate

If everything is set up correctly, Laravel should connect to my PostgreSQL database and create the necessary tables.

 


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I'm a software engineer and the founder of techsolutionstuff.com. Hailing from India, I craft articles, tutorials, tricks, and tips to aid developers. Explore Laravel, PHP, MySQL, jQuery, Bootstrap, Node.js, Vue.js, and AngularJS in our tech stack.

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