PostgreSQL error: could not connect to database template1: could not connect to server: No such file or directory

postgresql ubuntu psql
pptt picture pptt · May 7, 2015 · Viewed 28.4k times · Source

I need to create database.

First I run: sudo su - postgres, then: createdb test

And I keep getting this error: 

createdb: could not connect to database template1: could not connect to server: No such file or directory
    Is the server running locally and accepting
    connections on Unix domain socket "/var/run/postgresql/.s.PGSQL.5432"

This is unexpected, I have never encountered any problems with psql, but this time I don't get what is wrong. And there is no external server, I am connected locally.

I am running on Ubuntu.

Answer

Daniel Vérité picture Daniel Vérité · May 7, 2015

The error message suggests:

Is the server running locally

and according to the result of ps -ef | grep "post" posted in the comments, the answer is a definitive No, the server processes are not there, the server is not running.

That fact that you write i have never encountered any problems with psql, suggests that it was installed and working before, in that case look at the most recent log file inside /var/log/postgresql to check for any fatal error message indicating why the server didn't start.

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