Postgresql – How to change the data directory on Postgresql 9.1 on Ubuntu

postgresqlUbuntu

I am having a problem changing the data directory on postgresql 9.1 on ubuntu 13.04:

I first did a:

sudo pg_dropcluster --stop 9.1 main

and then attempted to create a new one in the desired path:

 sudo pg_createcluster -d /home/fccoelho/Documentos/databases/postgresqldata 9.1 main

but i fails with a permission denied:

Creating new cluster (configuration: /etc/postgresql/9.1/main, data: /home/fccoelho/Documentos/databases/postgresqldata/)...
initdb: could not access directory "/home/fccoelho/Documentos/databases/postgresqldata": Permission denied
Error: initdb failed

How do I make this work?

Best Answer

If you create a cluster in Debian/Ubuntu without specifying the owner (option --user of pg_createcluster) then you have to be sure that the directory you specify is accessibile in r/w to the postgres user. Please note that all parent directories should also be accessibile to the same user with bit x (list directory content).

Otherwise, you may specify a different owner using option --user. This should create a cluster ran by that user instead of postgres.

In order to check if postgres user may access that directory, execute this command:

sudo su - postgres -c 'touch /home/fccoelho/Documentos/databases/postgresqldata/test'

and check for any error.

Related Question