How to Enable Access for Remote Users to your PostgreSQL Database Server
In this article, we show how to make sure that that your postgresql database has access enabled for remote users trying to access your database server.
How you would go about doing this is checking the postgresql.conf file, which a file that comes installed when you download the postgresql software to your computer.
When using a Windows PC, this file is normally found at the path, C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\data
In this folder named data, you will find a postgresql.conf file,
The postgresql.conf file stands for the PostgreSQL configuration file.
Within this file, you can set a lot of important configuration settings for your postgresql database server.
This is found within the Connections and Authentication section.
One important parameter is named listen_addresses.
This determines which IP addresses the database will listen to.
This can be set to localhost, in which case only users on the local computer can connect to and interact with the database.
This can be set to *, in which any case any and all IP addresses can connect to the database. This includes remote users on entirely different networks.
Or this can be set to a specific IP address, in which you mention the exact IP address of the computer that you allow to access your postgresql network.
When you are just doing local work and there are no remote users, localhost works just well and keeps outside remote users off your database.
But in a production environment in which your database needs to be accessed by remote users, this must be changed. Changing the listen_addresses to '*' allows for any remote user to be able to gain access to your database, assuming they have the credentials (username, password, etc.) to be able to access the database. But they would not be restricted from access just due to their IP address that they are connecting from.
So if you are having problems with remote users being able to access your site, the best place to start is here, making sure that the listen_addresses is set to '*'
Just realize that if your postgresql.conf file didn't originally have this setting and you had to change it, you need to restart the postgresql database server for this setting to take effect.
According to the documentation for the postgresql.conf file, "This file is read on server startup and when the server receives a SIGHUP signal. If you edit the file on a running system, you have to SIGHUP the server for the changes to take effect, run "pg_ctl reload", or execute "SELECT pg_reload_conf()". Some parameters, which are marked below, require a server shutdown and restart to take effect."
Thus, if you see no change after you have made this change, you may have to restart your database server for the change to take effect.
And this is how access can be established for remote users to a PostgreSQL database server.
Related Resources
How to Create Your Own PostgreSQL Server on Your Own Computer in Windows