Connect with psql

Airhouse accepts connections from any Postgres client over the standard wire protocol. psql uses the simple query protocol, which Airhouse supports completely, so it’s the most reliable way to explore your data.

Connection parameters

Parameter	Value
Host	Your Airhouse host (`localhost` for a local stack)
Port	`5445` (default)
Database	Your Airhouse database name, for example `demo`
User / password	A user created for that database, or a short-lived credential from a service account
SSL	`sslmode=require` when the server has TLS enabled

Airhouse uses the Postgres database parameter to pick your Airhouse database. If the database doesn’t exist, the connection fails with database "..." does not exist (SQLSTATE 3D000).

Connect

psql "host=localhost port=5445 dbname=demo user=alice"

The same connection as a URL:

psql "postgresql://alice@localhost:5445/demo"

With TLS enabled on the server:

psql "host=airhouse.example.com port=5445 dbname=demo user=alice sslmode=require"

Set PGPASSWORD (or use a ~/.pgpass file) to avoid the password prompt in scripts.

Meta-commands

These psql meta-commands are supported:

Command	Shows
`\dt`	Tables in the `lake` catalog
`\dn`	Schemas in the `lake` catalog
`\l`	Catalogs visible to your session

To see the columns of a table, use DuckDB’s DESCRIBE or information_schema:

DESCRIBE lake.main.customers;

SELECT column_name, data_type, is_nullable
FROM information_schema.columns
WHERE table_schema = 'main' AND table_name = 'customers';

Command tags work as in Postgres, for example INSERT 0 2, UPDATE 1, SELECT 3, and CREATE TABLE.

Load data from a local file

Use psql’s \copy to stream a local CSV file into a table:

CREATE TABLE lake.main.customers (id INTEGER, name TEXT, country TEXT);
\copy lake.main.customers FROM 'customers.csv' WITH (FORMAT csv, HEADER true)

\copy sends the file over the connection with COPY ... FROM STDIN, so the file only needs to exist on your machine. Loading data requires the writer or admin role.

Run a single statement

psql "host=localhost port=5445 dbname=demo user=alice" \
  -c "SELECT count(*) FROM lake.main.customers"

Next steps

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Concepts

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Reference

Connect with psql

Connection parameters

Connect

Meta-commands

Load data from a local file

Run a single statement

Next steps

​Connection parameters

​Connect

​Meta-commands

​Load data from a local file

​Run a single statement

​Next steps

Connection parameters

Connect

Meta-commands

Load data from a local file

Run a single statement

Next steps