Introduction

pgAdmin4 is a powerful, open-source administration and development platform for PostgreSQL. It provides a rich web-based interface for managing databases, running queries, visualizing schemas, and handling user roles. Whether you're deploying PostgreSQL locally or managing remote clusters, pgAdmin4 offers a secure and scalable way to interact with your data.

This guide shows you how to install pgAdmin4 on Ubuntu 24.04 using a virtual environment, Gunicorn, and Nginx. This setup is ideal if you want full control over your deployment.

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

• Deploy a Digital Ocean VPS server running Ubuntu 24.04.
• Create a non-root sudo user. See our guide on How to create a non-root sudo user on Ubuntu 24.
• Ensure your domain (e.g. postgres.example.com) is pointed to your server IP.
• Install Nginx and obtain an SSL certificate via Let's Encrypt.

Create Virtual Environment

1. SSH into your server and create a working directory:

   CONSOLE

   $ mkdir ~/pgadmin4
   $ cd ~/pgadmin4
   

2. Create and activate a Python virtual environment:

   CONSOLE

   $ python3 -m venv venv
   $ source venv/bin/activate
   

Install pgAdmin4

1. Download the latest pgAdmin4 Python wheel:

   CONSOLE

   $ wget https://ftp.postgresql.org/pub/pgadmin/pgadmin4/v9.7/pip/pgadmin4-9.7-py3-none-any.whl
   

2. Install pgAdmin4 and dependencies:

   CONSOLE

   $ pip install pgadmin4-9.7-py3-none-any.whl
   $ pip install gunicorn flask flask-security flask-mail werkzeug
   

3. Create a configuration file:

   CONSOLE

   $ nano config_local.py
   

   Paste the following:

   Python

   import os
   
   DATA_DIR = os.path.expanduser('~/pgadmin4/data')
   LOG_FILE = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, 'pgadmin4.log')
   SQLITE_PATH = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, 'pgadmin4.db')
   SESSION_DB_PATH = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, 'sessions')
   STORAGE_DIR = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, 'storage')
   

4. Create required directories:

   CONSOLE

   $ mkdir -p ~/pgadmin4/data/sessions ~/pgadmin4/data/storage
   

5. Test pgAdmin4 locally:

   CONSOLE

   $ gunicorn --bind 127.0.0.1:9000 --workers=1 --threads=25 pgadmin4.pgAdmin4:app
   

Configure Systemd

1. Create a systemd service file:

   CONSOLE

   $ sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/pgadmin4.service
   

   Paste the following:

   INI

   [Unit]
   Description=pgAdmin4 Gunicorn Service
   After=network.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   User=your_server_username
   Group=your_server_username
   WorkingDirectory=/home/your_server_username/pgadmin4
   ExecStart=/home/your_server_username/pgadmin4/venv/bin/gunicorn --bind 127.0.0.1:9000 --workers=1 --threads=25 pgadmin4.pgAdmin4:app
   ExecReload=/bin/kill -s HUP $MAINPID
   KillMode=mixed
   Restart=always
   TimeoutStopSec=5
   PrivateTmp=true
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target
   

2. Reload and start the service:

   CONSOLE

   $ sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
   $ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   $ sudo systemctl enable pgadmin4
   $ sudo systemctl start pgadmin4
   

3. Verify it's running:

   CONSOLE

   $ sudo systemctl status pgadmin4
   

Configure Nginx

1. Create an Nginx site config:

   CONSOLE

   $ sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/postgres.example.com
   

   Paste the following:

   Nginx Configuration File

   server {
       listen 443 ssl;
       server_name postgres.example.com;
   
       ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/postgres.example.com/fullchain.pem;
       ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/postgres.example.com/privkey.pem;
   
       location / {
           proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:9000;
           proxy_set_header Host $host;
           proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
           proxy_redirect off;
       }
   }
   

2. Enable the site and reload Nginx:

   CONSOLE

   $ sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/postgres.example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
   $ sudo nginx -t
   $ sudo systemctl reload nginx
   

Conclusion

In this guide, you’ve installed pgAdmin4 on Ubuntu 24.04 using a virtual environment, Gunicorn, and Nginx. This modular setup gives you full control over your PostgreSQL admin interface, with production-grade security and scalability. You’ve also learned how to daemonize the service with systemd and reverse proxy it behind SSL — making your deployment clean, audit-friendly, and ready for global access.