Users can connect to Greenplum Database using a PostgreSQL-compatible client program, such as psql. Users and administrators always connect to Greenplum Database through the master; the segments cannot accept client connections.

    In order to establish a connection to the Greenplum Database master, you will need to know the following connection information and configure your client program accordingly.

    Connection ParameterDescriptionEnvironment Variable
    Application nameThe application name that is connecting to the database. The default value, held in the application_name connection parameter is psql.$PGAPPNAME
    Database nameThe name of the database to which you want to connect. For a newly initialized system, use the postgres database to connect for the first time.$PGDATABASE
    Host nameThe host name of the Greenplum Database master. The default host is the local host.$PGHOST
    PortThe port number that the Greenplum Database master instance is running on. The default is 5432.$PGPORT
    User nameThe database user (role) name to connect as. This is not necessarily the same as your OS user name. Check with your Greenplum administrator if you are not sure what you database user name is. Note that every Greenplum Database system has one superuser account that is created automatically at initialization time. This account has the same name as the OS name of the user who initialized the Greenplum system (typically gpadmin).$PGUSER

    Connecting with psql provides example commands for connecting to Greenplum Database.

    Parent topic: Accessing the Database