How to Configure PostgreSQL for Remote Connections

Generally, most servers only allow PostgreSQL connections to be made locally, that is, from the same Cloud server and not from an external server or machine.

In setups where it is necessary to configure PostgreSQL on a separate server, for example to avoid overloading the web frontend, some configurations must be carried out to enable remote connections to the databases.

Below we explain the steps to configure this access:

1. Access your server via SSH as the “root” user. Access Linux via SSH
   

   # ssh root@public_ip

2. Once connected, edit the following file:
   

   # vi /etc/postgresql/12/main/postgresql.conf

   Look for the following line:

   #listen_addresses = 'localhost'         # what IP address(es) to listen on;

   Replace 'localhost' with '*' and uncomment the line by removing the #:
   

   listen_addresses = '*'          # what IP address(es) to listen on;

3. The next step is to configure the "pg_hba.conf" file to allow remote access from any address. To do this, run the following:
   

   # vi /etc/postgresql/12/main/pg_hba.conf

   Add the following lines at the end of the file:

   host    all      all              0.0.0.0/0                    md5
    host    all      all              ::/0                         md5

4. To finish, restart the PostgreSQL service:
   

   # systemctl restart postgresql.service

5. Finally, test the access from a remote machine:
   
   
   
   

With these simple steps, you will have configured PostgreSQL to allow remote connections.