How to uninstall PostgreSQL on Mac

With the rise of AI, robust data management has become critical. That’s why I recently dove into PostgreSQL to later experiment with Supabase and its vectorization capabilities for organizing AI data. However, as I prepared to move from my “lab” environment to a clean production server, I hit a roadblock: getting rid of my local PostgreSQL instance on Mac.

Unlike an App Store app, you can’t just drag a database server to the Trash because it creates system users, installs background daemons, and scatters data clusters across your drive. This guide covers how to remove PostgreSQL completely, whether you installed it via Homebrew, the EDB installer, or the Postgres app.

Instead of digging through system folders...

If you don’t have the time to chase down hidden service files and system users manually, there is a much faster option. You can use App Cleaner & Uninstaller from Nektony to find and remove the Postgres app its digital leftovers in just a few clicks.

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Why uninstall PostgreSQL?

Ideally, you should not touch a running database unless absolutely necessary. However, PostgreSQL is a complex beast, and there are several scenarios where a clean slate is the only option:

• Version Conflicts: You need to install a newer version (e.g., upgrading from v14 to v16), and the old data clusters are causing compatibility errors.
• Disk Space: Database clusters can silently grow to consume gigabytes of storage, even if you are no longer working on those projects.
• Broken Configuration: You might have tweaked the

  pg_hba.conf

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  file or messed up the port settings (5432) to the point where the server refuses to start.
• Migration: You are moving your workflow to Docker or a cloud solution, and the local server is just eating up system resources.

Check how PostgreSQL was installed

Before you start dragging things to the Trash, it is critical to know exactly what you are trying to uninstall. On macOS, PostgreSQL can be installed in several completely different ways.

Postgres vs. PostgreSQL: What’s the difference?

While they run the same database engine, they behave like different species on your Mac:

• PostgreSQL (Standard/EDB/Homebrew): This is the “industrial” version. It runs as a background system service (daemon), creates a hidden system user named

  postgres

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  , and buries its data deep in system folders like

  /Library

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  or

  /usr/local

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  . So it doesn’t have a dock icon or a window. Instead, it just runs silently in the background.
• Postgres.app: This is a Mac-friendly wrapper. It runs like a normal application in your Applications folder, has a graphical user interface (GUI) with a little elephant icon in your menu bar, and keeps its data in your personal user library (typically

  ~/Library/Application Support/Postgres

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  ). It is much easier to manage but still leaves “digital dust” if simply deleted.

How to identify your version of PostgreSQL

To check which version is currently active on your system, open Terminal and run this command:

which postgres

• If it returns /usr/local/bin/postgres or /opt/homebrew/…: You likely installed it via Homebrew.
• If it returns /Library/PostgreSQL/…: You used the EnterpriseDB (EDB) Installer.
• If it returns /Applications/Postgres.app/…: You are using the Postgres.app GUI.

Ways to uninstall PostgreSQL

Depending on your specific installation, the “best” removal method varies. For each installation, we have broken this down into comparison tables so you can find the right path for your setup.

For Homebrew Users

If you used the command line to install PostgreSQL, there is really only one robust path – Terminal Commands.

For EnterpriseDB (EDB) Users

If you installed PostgreSQL via the command line or the official installer, you are dealing with system-level services.

For Postgres.app Users (GUI Version)

If you have the elephant icon in your Applications folder, you have two main options.

Now that you have the full spectrum of PostgreSQL uninstallation ways, feel free to choose the one you like most and scroll to it.

They all have been tested on macOS 26 Tahoe and PostgreSQL 18, but should work with other up-to-date setups, so you don’t need to scroll through endless and often outdated discussions on the best ways to uninstall it.

pg_dump

pg_dumpall

How to uninstall Homebrew’s PostgreSQL: The only way

If you installed PostgreSQL as a Homebrew package, the removal process is done entirely through Terminal.

This method takes about a minute. And since the standard uninstall command typically leaves the data directory behind, we will also remove that separately.

1. Launch Terminal.
2. Stop the background service with this command:
   brew services stop postgresql

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3. Uninstall the package:
   brew uninstall postgresql

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4. Remove the data directory to complete the cleanup:
   rm -rf /usr/local/var/postgres

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5. Press Enter and wait for the process to finish.
6. Restart your Mac.

How to uninstall EDB’s PostgreSQL

How to uninstall Postgres.app (GUI Version)

Troubleshooting common issues

If you want to fix an issue with PostgreSQL by reinstalling it, here are a few common issues that might be addressed a bit quicker.

“Address already in use” (Port 5432)

If you try to start a new server and get this error, it means the old PostgreSQL daemon is still alive and hugging port 5432.

To fix, you need to kill the process manually.

1. Open Terminal and run:

   sudo lsof -i :5432 

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2. Find the PID (Process ID) and run:

   sudo kill -9 [PID]. 

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Version incompatibility

If you upgraded macOS or Homebrew and now your database won’t start, it’s often because the old data directory isn’t compatible with the new server binaries. You usually fix this by running pg_upgrade to migrate your data.

Permission denied / Role “username” does not exist

This happens if the postgres system user was deleted but the data directory remains (owned by that deleted user), or if you are trying to run the server as your personal user without configuring it.

To fix it, ensure the data directory is owned by the user running the server:

chown -R $(whoami) /usr/local/var/postgres.

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Autostart issues (The “zombie” server)

Sometimes PostgreSQL refuses to launch after a reboot.

This is usually caused by a broken

.plist

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file. Check

/Library/LaunchDaemons

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and

~/Library/LaunchAgents

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for a file containing

postgresql.plist

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in its name and delete it.

Duplicate installations

It is very common to accidentally have both the Homebrew version and Postgres.app installed, leading to all kinds of conflicts. In such cases, I recommend uninstalling all versions completely using the guides above and then reinstalling only the one you prefer to use.

Personal note

Despite the myriad of ways to install and remove PostgreSQL on macOS, the process usually isn’t too complicated once you know where to look.

Personally, I’m a fan of the Homebrew experience. It feels very similar to package management in Linux, and uninstalling it in three quick Terminal commands was “smooth as butter” during my testing.

However, for all other cases, I’d prefer to use App Cleaner & Uninstaller. I keep it at hand for exactly these tasks. When I want to get rid of an app, I want to forget about it immediately, not spend 15 minutes figuring out its directory structure.