Fixing the error: error: pg_config executable not found

Question

I get the error message:

Error: pg_config executable not found.
 
 Please add the directory containing pg_config to the PATH
 
 or specify the full executable path with the option:
 
 
 
  python setup.py build_ext --pg-config /path/to/pg_config build ...
 
 
 
 or with the pg_config option in 'setup.cfg'.
 
 ----------------------------------------
 Command python setup.py egg_info failed with error code 1 in /tmp/pip-build/psycopg2

Error: Unable to find 'pg_config' file in '/usr/pgsql-9.1/bin/'

Has anyone ever faced this problem? How to troubleshoot the “error: pg_config executable not found..” The problem appears when I try to operate the following program:

$ which pg_config
 /usr/pgsql-9.1/bin/pg_config

hdtutoria · Accepted Answer

The cause: I think this error occurs because you haven't installed libpq-dev/postgresql-libs. The solution: To connect with a PostgreSQL database backend, you must install libpq-dev/postgresql-libs, which contains header files and a static library for generating C applications to link with the libpq library. On Arch this will run:

$ sudo pacman -S postgresql-libs

On Debian and Ubuntu:

$ sudo apt-get install libpq-dev

On Mac OS X:

$ brew install postgresql

On Red Hat/CentOS/Fedora:

$ sudo yum install postgresql-devel

Gabriel Dumont · Answer

pg_config is in postgresql-devel (libpq-dev in Debian/Ubuntu, libpq-devel on Centos/Fedora/Cygwin/Babun.)

Natasha O'Brien · Answer

Pre-compiled binaries can be installed on any platform that has pip and conda

python -m pip install psycopg2-binary

Or

conda install psycopg2

It is important to note that the psycopg2-binary Pypi page suggests building from source in production.

The binary package is a practical choice for development and testing but in production it is advised to use the package built from sources

python -m pip install psycopg2 is required to use the package that was built from source. This process will require multiple dependencies ( documentation). (emphasis mine).

A C compiler.

The Python header files. These files are typically installed in a package like python-dev. If you get a message like error: Python.h: No such file or directory, it means that Python headers are missing.

The header files. These files are typically installed in a package like libpq-dev. You will not receive a error: libpq-fe.h: No such file or directory if you do not have them.

The HTMLTag18 program is normally installed with the HTML16 package, but it can sometimes not be in a directory PATH. It is much easier to have it in the PATH. If it returns an error or an unspecified version number, locate the directory containing pg_config (usually /usr/lib/postgresql/X.Y/bin/), and add it into the PATH.
$ export PATH=/usr/lib/postgresql/X.Y/bin/:$PATH
pg_config is not required for regular use, but it can be used to compile psycopg2.

Once everything is in place it’s just a matter of running the standard:
$ pip install psycopg2
or, from the directory containing the source code:
$ python setup.py build
$ python setup.py install

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Fixing the error: error: pg_config executable not found