Software⏱️ 1 min read📅 2026-05-31

How to Fix: psql: FATAL: database "<user>" does not exist

Postgres.app database not existing issue.

Quick Answer: Try running the command with the correct username, e.g. psql -h localhost -U , or check if the Postgres.app configuration is set up correctly.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. ✅ Best Solutions to Fix It
  2. 🎯 Final Words

To resolve the issue of 'psql: FATAL: database "<user>" does not exist' when using Postgres.app on Mac, you need to create the database manually.

✅ Best Solutions to Fix It

Method 1: Create Database Manually

  1. Step 1: Open Postgres.app and navigate to the 'Data' directory.
  2. Step 2: Create a new database using the command `psql -c "CREATE DATABASE ;"`

🎯 Final Words

[Wrap-up]

Alternatively, you can also use the Postgres.app GUI to create a new database. To do this, open Postgres.app, click on 'New Database', select the desired database name and owner, and then click 'Create'.

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