.. _pgagent_install:


***************************
`Installing pgAgent`:index:
***************************

pgAgent runs as a daemon on Unix systems, and a service on Windows systems.  In
most cases it will run on the database server itself - for this reason, pgAgent
is not automatically configured when pgAdmin is installed. In some cases
however, it may be preferable to run pgAgent on multiple systems, against the
same database; individual jobs may be targeted at a particular host, or left
for execution by any host. Locking prevents execution of the same instance of a
job by multiple hosts.


Database setup
**************

Before using pgAdmin to manage pgAgent, you must create the pgAgent extension in
the maintenance database registered with pgAdmin.  To install pgAgent on a
PostgreSQL host, connect to the *postgres* database, and navigate  through the
*Tools* menu to open the Query tool.  For server versions 9.1 or later, and
pgAgent 3.4.0 or later, enter the following command in the query window, and
click the *Execute* icon:

.. code-block:: sql

    CREATE EXTENSION pgagent;

This command will create a number of tables and other objects in a schema
called 'pgagent'.

The database must also have the pl/pgsql procedural language installed - use
the PostgreSQL CREATE LANGUAGE command to install pl/pgsql if necessary.  To
install pl/pgsql, enter the following command in the query window, and click
the *Execute* icon:

.. code-block:: sql

    CREATE LANGUAGE plpgsql;


Daemon installation on Unix
***************************

.. note:: pgAgent is available in Debian/Ubuntu (DEB) and Redhat/Fedora (RPM)
     packages for Linux users, as well as source code. See the
     `pgAdmin Website <https://www.pgadmin.org/download/>`_. for more
     information.

To install the pgAgent daemon on a Unix system, you will normally need to have
root privileges to modify the system startup scripts.  Modifying system startup
scripts is quite system-specific so you should consult your system documentation
for further information.

The program itself takes few command line options, most of which are only
needed for debugging or specialised configurations::

  Usage:
    /path/to/pgagent [options] <connect-string>

  options:
    -f run in the foreground (do not detach from the terminal)
    -t <poll time interval in seconds (default 10)>
    -r <retry period after connection abort in seconds (>=10, default 30)>
    -s <log file (messages are logged to STDOUT if not specified)>
    -l <logging verbosity (ERROR=0, WARNING=1, DEBUG=2, default 0)>

The connection string is a standard PostgreSQL libpq connection string (see
the `PostgreSQL documentation on the connection string <https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq.html#libpq-connect>`_
for further details). For example, the following command line will run pgAgent
against a server listening on the localhost, using a database called 'pgadmin',
connecting as the user 'postgres':

.. code-block:: bash

    /path/to/pgagent hostaddr=127.0.0.1 dbname=postgres user=postgres

Service installation on Windows
*******************************

.. note:: pgAgent is available in a pre-built installer if you use
     `EnterpriseDB's PostgreSQL Installers <https://www.enterprisedb.com/downloads/postgres-postgresql-downloads>`_.
     Use the StackBuilder application to download and install it. If installed
     in this way, the service will automatically be created and the instructions
     below can be ignored.

pgAgent can install itself as a service on Windows systems.  The command line
options available are similar to those on Unix systems, but include an
additional parameter to tell the service what to do::

  Usage:
    pgAgent REMOVE <serviceName>
    pgAgent INSTALL <serviceName> [options] <connect-string>
    pgAgent DEBUG [options] <connect-string>

    options:
      -u <user or DOMAIN\user>
      -p <password>
      -d <displayname>
      -t <poll time interval in seconds (default 10)>
      -r <retry period after connection abort in seconds (>=10, default 30)>
      -l <logging verbosity (ERROR=0, WARNING=1, DEBUG=2, default 0)>

The service may be quite simply installed from the command line as follows
(adjust the path as required):

.. code-block:: bash

    "C:\Program Files\pgAgent\bin\pgAgent" INSTALL pgAgent -u postgres -p secret hostaddr=127.0.0.1 dbname=postgres user=postgres

You can then start the service at the command line using *net start pgAgent*,
or from the *Services* control panel applet. Any logging output or errors will
be reported in the Application event log. The DEBUG mode may be used to run
pgAgent from a command prompt. When run this way, log messages will output to
the command window.