Installing PostgreSQL on OS X to run AR Tests¶

When I first tried to install and configure PostgreSQL to run Active Record tests on OS X, I went the "easy" route and used the one-click distribution from EnterpriseDB. The one-click installer does install and configure PostgreSQL nicely for general use, but I am not familiar with PostgreSQL and couldn't figure out how to enable a no-password database connection that the Active Record tests require. After fussing with the admin GUI for a while and failing to get the tests to connect to the PostgreSQL DB, I looked around for other accounts of installing PostgreSQL on OS X. Fortunately, I found one that worked at the end of Robby Russell's excellent Installing Ruby on Rails and PostgreSQL on OS X, Third Edition blog post.

I uninstalled the one-click installer (no mean feat--the uninstaller that got installed didn't seem to do anything, but an entry on EnterpriseDB's forum described how to manually uninstall it), followed Robby Russell's steps exactly (starting at "Phase Three" of his blog post), and ended up with PostgreSQL installed and passing all Active Record tests!

Woohoo!

Ed Ruder