programming/PostgreSQL/build_rdbms_01

PostgreSQL Source Installation Scripts

These shell scripts build PostgreSQL from source and install PostgreSQL extensions into a versioned prefix:

/app/postgres/rdbms/<postgresql-version>

The scripts use strict Bash error handling and require a working compiler and build environment. Sources are downloaded from the PostgreSQL FTP site and GitHub repositories.

Install everything

Run the orchestrator with the PostgreSQL version to install:

./install_postgresql_extensions.sh 18.6

The version may also be supplied explicitly with -v or --version:

./install_postgresql_extensions.sh --version 18.6

The orchestrator accepts a custom installation prefix and PostgreSQL configure options:

./install_postgresql_extensions.sh \
  --version 18.6 \
  --prefix /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6 \
  --options="--with-ssl=openssl,--with-lz4"

-p/--prefix defaults to /app/postgres/rdbms/<version>. -o/--options accepts a comma-separated list of configure arguments; if omitted, the defaults are --with-ssl=openssl,--with-lz4. The prefix is passed to all component installers. If the selected prefix already exists, the orchestrator asks whether to recreate it; the prompt defaults to No, and non-interactive runs cancel safely.

The orchestrator runs the installers in this order:

1. PostgreSQL
2. pg_cron
3. TimescaleDB
4. pgAudit
5. set_user
6. pg_stat_statements
7. auto_explain
8. passwordcheck
9. pg_repack
10. pg_stat_monitor
11. pgvector
12. HypoPG
13. pg_hint_plan
14. wal2json

After a successful run, the orchestrator:

• Optionally updates shared_preload_libraries when CONFIG_FILE is set.
• Prints the installed PostgreSQL and extension versions.
• Recreates sources/<complete-version>/ before starting, where <complete-version> is the final directory name of the selected prefix (for example, prefix /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6.3 uses sources/18.6.3/). Each successfully installed component's source tree is saved there with an executable install_<postgresql-version>.sh recipe containing that component's configure/build/install commands.
• Creates postgresql-<prefix-basename>-engine.tar.gz in the directory from which the command was launched (for example, a prefix ending in 18.6.3 produces postgresql-18.6.3-engine.tar.gz).
• Writes the complete process log to postgresql-<version>-process.log in that same directory.
• Prints and logs the total execution duration in hours, minutes, and seconds.

Individual installers

Each component can also be installed independently. The PostgreSQL installation must already exist before running an extension installer.

./install_postgresql.sh --version 18.6
./install_pg_cron.sh --version 18.6
./install_timescaledb.sh --version 18.6
./install_pgaudit.sh --version 18.6
./install_set_user.sh --version 18.6
./install_pg_stat_statements.sh --version 18.6
./install_auto_explain.sh --version 18.6
./install_passwordcheck.sh --version 18.6
./install_pg_repack.sh --version 18.6
./install_pg_stat_monitor.sh --version 18.6
./install_pgvector.sh --version 18.6
./install_hypopg.sh --version 18.6
./install_pg_hint_plan.sh --version 18.6
./install_wal2json.sh --version 18.6

Each installer also accepts -v 18.6 and the previous positional form (./install_pg_cron.sh 18.6). The all-in-one orchestrator passes its complete --version value to every component installer.

All source downloads, extracted source trees, and build workspaces use the tmp/ directory alongside the scripts by default. install_postgresql.sh recreates that staging directory and the versioned PostgreSQL prefix before downloading sources. Each extension installer recreates only the staging directory and preserves the PostgreSQL prefix.

When the main orchestrator is invoked without --help or -h, it first recreates tmp/ alongside the scripts. Help mode prints usage only and does not create, delete, or modify files.

Every installer accepts --help or -h, for example:

./install_pgvector.sh --help

The generated install_<version>.sh recipes also accept --help/-h and can be run from their saved component source directory to repeat that component's configure/build/install steps.

Resuming a failed extension build

If an extension build fails, rerun that extension's standalone installer with the same PostgreSQL version and installation prefix. The standalone installer rebuilds only that extension and preserves the installed PostgreSQL prefix. For example, to retry HypoPG for PostgreSQL 17.11 installed in a custom prefix:

PREFIX=/app/staging_area/postgres/rdbms/17.11/ ./install_hypopg.sh --version 17.11

Replace install_hypopg.sh with the failed extension's installer, and use the prefix where PostgreSQL is installed. If you used the default prefix, omit PREFIX:

./install_hypopg.sh --version 17.11

Script descriptions

install_postgresql_extensions.sh

All-in-one entry point. It invokes every installer, applies optional configuration changes, prints a product summary, writes a process log, and packages the installed PostgreSQL prefix.

install_postgresql.sh

Downloads, configures, builds, and installs PostgreSQL. By default, configure uses:

--with-ssl=openssl
--with-lz4

install_pg_cron.sh

Builds and installs pg_cron against the selected PostgreSQL installation.

install_timescaledb.sh

Bootstraps and builds TimescaleDB with CMake, installing it into the selected PostgreSQL prefix.

install_pgaudit.sh

Builds and installs pgAudit using PostgreSQL PGXS. It selects a tag matching the PostgreSQL major version when possible.

install_set_user.sh

Builds and installs the set_user extension using the selected PostgreSQL pg_config.

install_pg_stat_statements.sh

Downloads the matching PostgreSQL source tree and builds pg_stat_statements from contrib using PGXS.

install_passwordcheck.sh

Downloads the matching PostgreSQL source tree and builds the passwordcheck contrib module using PGXS. The module is loaded at server startup through shared_preload_libraries; it does not have a CREATE EXTENSION control file.

install_pg_repack.sh

Builds and installs the pg_repack extension and its pg_repack command-line utility.

install_pg_stat_monitor.sh

Builds and installs Percona's pg_stat_monitor extension.

install_pgvector.sh

Builds and installs pgvector against the selected PostgreSQL installation.

install_auto_explain.sh

Builds and installs PostgreSQL's auto_explain contrib module from the matching PostgreSQL source. It has no CREATE EXTENSION control file; load it in sessions with LOAD 'auto_explain' or configure it for server startup.

install_hypopg.sh

Builds and installs HypoPG against the selected PostgreSQL installation. Create the extension in each database where it will be used with CREATE EXTENSION hypopg.

install_pg_hint_plan.sh

Builds and installs the pg_hint_plan tag matching the PostgreSQL major version when available. Create it in each database where it will be used with CREATE EXTENSION pg_hint_plan.

install_wal2json.sh

Builds and installs wal2json as a PostgreSQL logical decoding output plugin. It does not use CREATE EXTENSION or require shared_preload_libraries; configure PostgreSQL with wal_level = logical and restart the server before creating a logical replication slot that uses the wal2json plugin.

install_common.sh

Shared helper functions used by the installers, including:

• Required-command checks
• PostgreSQL version validation
• GitHub release/tag lookup
• Source download and extraction
• Staging-directory reset
• PostgreSQL-prefix validation

Configuration

The following environment variables can override defaults:

Variable	Default	Purpose
POSTGRES_ROOT	/app/postgres/rdbms	Root directory for versioned PostgreSQL installations
-p, --prefix	/app/postgres/rdbms/<version>	Exact PostgreSQL installation prefix
-o, --options	--with-ssl=openssl,--with-lz4	Comma-separated PostgreSQL configure options
STAGING_DIR	<script directory>/tmp	Temporary source downloads, extracted source, and build directory
JOBS	nproc result	Parallel build job count
CONFIG_FILE	unset	PostgreSQL configuration file to update
PG_CRON_TAG	Latest compatible release/tag	pg_cron source tag
TIMESCALEDB_TAG	Latest release/tag	TimescaleDB source tag
PGAUDIT_TAG	PostgreSQL-major-compatible tag	pgAudit source tag
SET_USER_TAG	Latest release/tag	set_user source tag
PG_REPACK_TAG	Latest release/tag	pg_repack source tag
PG_STAT_MONITOR_TAG	Latest release/tag	pg_stat_monitor source tag
PGVECTOR_TAG	Latest release/tag	pgvector source tag
HYPOPG_TAG	Latest release/tag	HypoPG source tag
PG_HINT_PLAN_TAG	PostgreSQL-major-compatible tag	pg_hint_plan source tag
WAL2JSON_TAG	Latest release/tag	wal2json source tag

Repository variables can also be overridden when using a custom mirror:

PG_CRON_REPOSITORY=owner/repository
TIMESCALEDB_REPOSITORY=owner/repository
PGAUDIT_REPOSITORY=owner/repository
SET_USER_REPOSITORY=owner/repository
PG_REPACK_REPOSITORY=owner/repository
PG_STAT_MONITOR_REPOSITORY=owner/repository
PGVECTOR_REPOSITORY=owner/repository
HYPOPG_REPOSITORY=owner/repository
PG_HINT_PLAN_REPOSITORY=owner/repository
WAL2JSON_REPOSITORY=owner/repository

Example:

JOBS=8 \
PG_CRON_TAG=v1.6.5 \
TIMESCALEDB_TAG=2.19.3 \
PGAUDIT_TAG=17.1 \
SET_USER_TAG=REL4_2_0 \
./install_postgresql_extensions.sh 17.11

When CONFIG_FILE is supplied, the orchestrator adds the modules and extensions that require server startup loading:

shared_preload_libraries = 'pg_cron,timescaledb,pgaudit,pg_stat_statements,pg_stat_monitor,passwordcheck'

pg_repack, pgvector, HypoPG, set_user, and wal2json do not require shared_preload_libraries. auto_explain and pg_hint_plan can be loaded per session or configured for server startup; they are not added automatically. wal2json is a logical decoding output plugin and requires wal_level = logical plus a server restart before use. passwordcheck and auto_explain are PostgreSQL contrib modules (not SQL extensions), and pg_stat_activity is a built-in PostgreSQL system view.

Prerequisites

The scripts check for the tools needed by each build. The complete procedure requires:

• Bash
• curl
• tar
• make
• gcc
• cmake
• python3 when CONFIG_FILE is used
• Standard PostgreSQL build dependencies, including OpenSSL and LZ4 development libraries

Validation

Validate all shell scripts:

for script in install_*.sh; do
  bash -n "$script"
done

Check an installed PostgreSQL version:

/app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/bin/postgres --version
/app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/bin/pg_config --version

Check installed extension files:

ls \
  /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/lib/pg_cron.so \
  /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/lib/timescaledb.so \
  /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/lib/pgaudit.so \
  /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/lib/set_user.so \
  /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/lib/pg_stat_monitor.so \
  /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/lib/auto_explain.so \
  /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/lib/hypopg.so \
  /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/lib/pg_hint_plan.so \
  /app/postgres/rdbms/18.6/lib/wal2json.so

The extension SQL objects still need to be created in each target database with PostgreSQL's CREATE EXTENSION command.