Short answers to the most common setup and connection problems. If you are stuck, double-check credentials, network path, and SSL settings for hosted PostgreSQL.
Add a .env in the folder from which you run pgshell, set DATABASE_URL, or run in an interactive terminal so PgShell can prompt you. For CI or scripts, you must provide environment variables or a connection URL—prompts are not available.
Confirm PostgreSQL is running and listening on the host and port in your configuration. For remote servers, verify security groups, firewalls, VPNs, and that your IP is allowed.
Managed services such as AWS RDS or Supabase usually require TLS. Use a URL that includes sslmode=require or follow your provider’s connection string template. PgShell enables SSL automatically for some common cloud host patterns.