pgAdmin
pgAdmin is the graphical management tool for PostgreSQL. Innovative PostgreSQL is a standard PostgreSQL 17 server, so pgAdmin connects to it the same way it connects to any other. Use it to browse the databases each product created, run queries, check activity, and take manual backups.
pgAdmin is not part of Innovative PostgreSQL and is not installed with it. Innovative PostgreSQL accepts connections only from the server it runs on, so install pgAdmin on the database server itself.
Installing pgAdmin
Download it from the pgAdmin project: https://www.pgadmin.org/download/. Packages are available for Windows, macOS and Linux. Choose the desktop version unless you specifically want the browser-hosted server version.
Install a pgAdmin release that supports PostgreSQL 17. An older pgAdmin can connect, but some newer server features are not shown.
Connecting to Innovative PostgreSQL
- Open pgAdmin, right-click Servers in the tree on the left and choose Register, Server.
- On the General tab, give the connection a name you will recognise, for example Innovative PostgreSQL.
- On the Connection tab, fill in the fields below.
- Click Save. The server appears in the tree, and expanding Databases lists the database each product created.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Host name/address | localhost |
| Port | The port in database.json in the connection file folder (C:\ProgramData\Innovative\innovative-postgresql on Windows). This is 5432 unless it was installed on another port |
| Maintenance database | postgres |
| Username | postgres |
| Password | The superuser password chosen or generated when the instance was installed |
When the connection is refused, the service is stopped or the port is wrong. When the password is rejected, see Innovative PostgreSQL Troubleshooting, which also covers a lost superuser password.
What to be careful with
The databases under this instance belong to the products that created them. Changing table contents or structure by hand breaks the product that owns them. Use pgAdmin to look, to query and to back up, and leave schema changes to the product's own installer and updates.
Dropping a database in pgAdmin is immediate and cannot be undone.
On a new installation the server cancels any statement that runs longer than 30 seconds, including a query run from pgAdmin.
Backups
Right-click a database and choose Backup to write a backup file. pgAdmin uses the PostgreSQL tools to do this, so the file it produces can be restored on any PostgreSQL server of the same or a newer version. A backup taken this way is a point-in-time copy and does not replace a scheduled backup of the server.
Uninstalling Innovative PostgreSQL deletes its databases unless the uninstaller is told to keep them, so back up every database you need first.