How to fix Could not open extension control file in PostgreSQL

First, determine where PostgreSQL expects to find extension files:

pg_config --sharedir

This command returns the path where PostgreSQL looks for extension control files (typically /usr/share/postgresql/13 or /usr/pgsql-13/share).

Most missing extensions are provided by the postgresql-contrib package. Install it for your PostgreSQL version:

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install postgresql-contrib

On RHEL/CentOS:

sudo yum install postgresql-contrib

On macOS:

brew install postgresql

Make sure to match your PostgreSQL version number if needed (e.g., postgresql-13-contrib).

Some extensions require separate packages beyond contrib:

For PostGIS on Ubuntu:

sudo apt install postgresql-[VERSION]-postgis postgresql-[VERSION]-postgis-scripts

For pgvector:

# pgvector usually requires compilation or pre-built packages
# Check your package manager or build from source

Replace [VERSION] with your PostgreSQL version number (13, 14, 15, etc.).

After installation, check if the .control file is now present:

find /usr/share/postgresql -name "*.control" | grep [extension_name]

For example, to find PostGIS:

find /usr/share/postgresql -name "postgis.control"

If the file is found, the extension package was installed successfully.

Once the extension package is installed, create the extension in your database:

CREATE EXTENSION [extension_name];

For example:

CREATE EXTENSION postgis;
CREATE EXTENSION pg_trgm;
CREATE EXTENSION vector;

Note: For pgvector, use vector as the extension name, not pgvector.

If the .control file exists but PostgreSQL still cannot access it, verify permissions:

ls -l /usr/share/postgresql/[version]/extension/ | head

The directory and files should be readable by the PostgreSQL system user. If permissions are incorrect:

sudo chmod 644 /usr/share/postgresql/[version]/extension/*.control
sudo chmod 755 /usr/share/postgresql/[version]/extension/