where is postgres database stored on hard disk

Question

i want to hand in a course work for marking but i have no idea what files represent the database. Question: Where can i find the postgres sql database on my hard disk? Thanks.

Answer 1

You should use pg_dump to export the database to SQL. Giving the raw files won't work if they are running a different version, 64bit instead of 32bit or something else in the environment.

You can easily export it using pgadmin3

Answer 2

Checkout the startup parameter -D for the Postgres service. It defines where the data directory is located.

Edit:
To hand in your homework, you'd better export the database using pg_dump as WoLpH suggested. The actual files in the data directory are binary files and I bet your teacher want's to have SQL scripts

Answer 3

The database files are in what is called the "data" directory. Depending on your environment there are a few ways to tell - here is one that should work everywhere:

psql -d database_name_here -c "show data_directory"

And if you're turning this in for some school work you should:

pg_dump -d database_name_here

Answer 4

If installed by apt-get or similar package manager, most likely in

/usr/local/pgsql/data