createdb

Create a new PostgreSQL database

TLDR

Create a database with the default name (current user)

$ createdb

Create a database with a specific name

$ createdb [dbname]

Create a database with a specific owner

$ createdb -O [owner] [dbname]

Create a database with a specific encoding

$ createdb -E [UTF8] [dbname]

Create a clean database from template0

$ createdb -T [template0] [dbname]

Create a database on a remote server

$ createdb -h [hostname] -p [5432] -U [user] [dbname]

Show the SQL command being executed

$ createdb -e [dbname]

SYNOPSIS

createdb [options] [dbname] [description]

createdb creates a new PostgreSQL database. It is a convenience wrapper around the SQL CREATE DATABASE command, providing a command-line interface that is often more convenient than invoking psql directly.The database name defaults to the current system user name if not specified. An optional description (comment) can be provided as the second argument.

PARAMETERS

-D tablespace, --tablespace tablespace

Default tablespace for the database.

-E encoding, --encoding encoding

Character encoding for the database.

-l locale, --locale locale

Locale for the database.

-O owner, --owner owner

Database owner user.

-T template, --template template

Template database to copy from (default template1).

-e, --echo

Echo the SQL commands that createdb sends to the server.

--icu-locale locale

ICU locale for the database.

--icu-rules rules

ICU collation rules for the database.

--locale-provider provider

Locale provider (libc or icu).

--strategy strategy

Database creation strategy (wallog or filecopy).

-V, --version

Print the createdb version and exit.

-h host, --host host

Server hostname or socket directory.

-p port, --port port

Server port number.

-U user, --username user

User name to connect as.

-w, --no-password

Never prompt for password.

-W, --password

Force password prompt.

--maintenance-db db

Database to connect to when creating the new database. Defaults to postgres, or template1 if postgres does not exist.

INSTALL

sudo apk add postgresql17-client

CAVEATS

Requires CREATEDB privilege or superuser role. The default template is template1; use template0 for a clean database without local additions. Connection parameters can also be set via the standard PostgreSQL environment variables (PGHOST, PGPORT, PGUSER, PGDATABASE).

HISTORY

createdb has been part of the PostgreSQL distribution since its early versions, providing a simple command-line interface to the CREATE DATABASE SQL command.