pgtower is a keyboard-first terminal UI for operating PostgreSQL — sessions, locks, roles, pg_hba and tuning across every server you run, in one static binary you can use over SSH.
curl -fsSL https://pgtower.dev | sh
max_connections, cache hit, storage, replication and the longest query — plus an advisor that says what to fix.
pg_stat_activity you can act on: c cancels a query, k terminates a connection, / finds anything.
yes.
ALTER SYSTEM editor and a pg_hba editor with automatic rollback.Tip: press 1–7 or S — the same keys as in pgtower. Real screenshots, captured against demo clusters.
Health, sessions, locks and roles for every server — without juggling five psql windows and a wiki of queries.
The safe path is the default one. The dangerous path asks you to type what you mean.
One binary. Nothing to install on the database host, no port to open, no dashboard to keep alive.
Many servers
Keep production, staging and the database on your laptop in the same list. Press S, pick one, and every tab follows — nothing from the previous server can linger on screen.
~/.pgpass and password_env: no password needs to live in the config.
Safety model
pgtower is built for people who have typed into the wrong terminal once. Every destructive action has a deliberate second step.
DROP, TRUNCATE and unfiltered DELETE/UPDATE need a typed yes.pg_hba.conf edits are backed up and rolled back if they would lock you out.
Tuning
Tell pgtower how much RAM and how many CPUs the host has, and it compares shared_buffers, work_mem and friends with concrete targets — then lets you change them with ALTER SYSTEM, validated against type and bounds.
pg_hba rules with parse errors highlighted, editable in place.
Where it fits
Great tools already exist for writing SQL and watching activity. pgtower covers the admin work around them, across many servers.
| Tool | What it is | Many servers | Roles & grants | pg_hba editor | Tuning advisor | Typed confirmations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pgtower | Admin TUI for operating clusters | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| psql | The official SQL client | — | By hand, in SQL | — | — | — |
| pgcli | SQL client with autocompletion | — | By hand, in SQL | — | — | — |
| pg_activity | top-like activity monitor | — | — | — | — | — |
| pgcenter | Statistics and troubleshooting CLI | — | — | — | — | — |
Our reading of each project's documented scope; check their docs for the details. They are good tools and pair well with pgtower.
Install
The script picks the right binary for your OS and CPU, verifies its SHA-256 and installs it. Then run pgtower and press S to add your first server.
Updates are offered inside the app, checksum-verified. Prefer not to pipe to a shell? Every binary and SHA256SUMS is on the releases page.
curl -fsSL https://pgtower.dev | sh# pick your platform: linux|darwin × amd64|arm64
curl -fsSLO https://github.com/9LEVEL/pgtower/releases/latest/download/SHA256SUMS
curl -fsSLO https://github.com/9LEVEL/pgtower/releases/download/v0.10.0/pgtower-v0.10.0-linux-amd64
sha256sum --ignore-missing -c SHA256SUMS
install -m 0755 pgtower-v0.10.0-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/pgtower# needs Go 1.26+
git clone https://github.com/9LEVEL/pgtower
cd pgtower
make installNo. Dashboard, sessions, locks, databases, queries and roles work with ordinary privileges — CREATEROLE and CREATEDB to manage roles and databases, pg_monitor to see other sessions' queries. Only the Tuning tab's ALTER SYSTEM and pg_hba editors need a superuser.
Yes. It is a single static binary that runs in any terminal, so you use it inside your normal SSH session. Nothing to install on the database server, no web port to open.
It is designed for it: a red PROD badge, confirmations for writes, a typed yes for destructive statements, the exact name to drop a role or database, and automatic rollback for pg_hba edits that would lock out the admin login. It is still an admin tool with real privileges — use a role with only the rights you need.
It is developed and tested against PostgreSQL 18 and relies on standard catalog views, so current supported versions are expected to work. If something does not, please open an issue.
In a local config.yml written with mode 0600. Passwords are optional there: leave them out and use ~/.pgpass, or point a server at an environment variable with password_env.
Yes — open source under the MIT license, with prebuilt binaries for Linux and macOS on amd64 and arm64.
pgtui is now pgtower (v0.10.0) — another project already used the name. Updating is automatic: the binary, config directories and PGTUI_* variables are migrated on first run, and pgtui keeps working as a symlink. Details.
curl -fsSL https://pgtower.dev | sh