Wasp•11mo ago

Port 5432 is already in use

Is it yet possible to assign a different postgres port for Wasp? Mine's currently in use by a different project, and I don't want to kill it so as to run Wasp.
What's the best way to accomplish this?

kapa.ai•2/8/25, 6:55 PM

Hi @Kynetix. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave:

kapa.ai•2/8/25, 6:55 PM

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Currently, Wasp does not have a built-in feature to easily change the default PostgreSQL port (5432) for its managed development database. However, there are a few workarounds and potential solutions being discussed:

Use an existing database:Instead of using Wasp's managed dev database, you can connect to your own PostgreSQL instance by setting the `DATABASE_URL` environment variable. This allows you to use any port you want.[Wasp Docs: Connecting to a Database](<https://wasp-lang.dev/docs/data-model/backends#connecting-to-a-database>) explains:"If you want to spin up your own dev database (or connect to an external one), you can tell Wasp about it using the `DATABASE_URL` environment variable. Wasp will use the value of `DATABASE_URL` as a connection string."You can set this in your `.env.server` file or inline when running Wasp commands:

   DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:your_custom_port/database_name wasp ...

   DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:your_custom_port/database_name wasp ...

Future improvements:There are ongoing discussions about improving port selection for Wasp's managed database:
- [Github Issue: Allow automatic and/or manual choosing of another port than 5432](<https://github.com/wasp-lang/wasp/issues/1049>) discusses potential solutions, including allowing users to specify a custom port or having Wasp automatically find an available port.
- [Github Issue: `wasp start db` should allow switching port](<https://github.com/wasp-lang/wasp/issues/1858>) also addresses this issue and suggests defaulting to a non-standard port to avoid conflicts with local PostgreSQL installations.

kapa.ai•2/8/25, 6:55 PM

For now, the best way to accomplish this is to use your own PostgreSQL instance on a different port and connect to it using the

DATABASE_URL

DATABASE_URL

environment variable. This gives you the flexibility to choose any port you want while still using Wasp for your project.
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kapa.ai•2/8/25, 6:55 PM

Sorry @Kynetix, I seem to be having a bit of trouble. Don't worry though, I've pinged my support and they will try to fix me up! :technologist:

Perhaps try again in 15mins?

ObinnaOP•2/8/25, 7:16 PM

I've added the DATABASE_URL to the .env.server, but when I run wasp start db, I get the error "Wasp has detected that you have defined DATABASE_URL env var in your .env.server file.
To have Wasp run the dev database for you, make sure you remove that env var first."
Should I run a different command instead?