How to fix FATAL: no password supplied in PostgreSQL

PostgreSQLINTERMEDIATEHIGH

This error occurs when a PostgreSQL client attempts to connect to a database but fails to provide authentication credentials. It happens when the user lacks a password, the .pgpass file is misconfigured, or environment variables aren't set properly.

What this error means

PostgreSQL's libpq authentication layer is rejecting the connection attempt because no password was provided during the authentication handshake. This error typically appears when connecting to a PostgreSQL server that requires password-based authentication (SCRAM-SHA-256, MD5, or plain password methods) but the client hasn't supplied credentials. The error can occur with command-line tools like psql, pg_dump, or programmatic clients that don't handle password input correctly.

How to fix "FATAL: no password supplied"

1Verify the user has a password set in PostgreSQL

Connect to PostgreSQL as a superuser (postgres) and check if the user has a password:

sql

-- List users and their password status
SELECT usename, usecanlogin FROM pg_user WHERE usename = 'yourUsername';

-- Check if password is set (encrypted passwords will be visible)
SELECT usename, valuntil FROM pg_user WHERE usename = 'yourUsername';

If the user has no password or valuntil is NULL, you need to set one:

sql

ALTER USER yourUsername WITH PASSWORD 'newPassword';

For new users, create them with a password:

sql

CREATE USER newuser WITH PASSWORD 'initialPassword';

2Set up a .pgpass file for automatic authentication

Create a ~/.pgpass file to store connection credentials securely:

bash

# On Linux/macOS
cat > ~/.pgpass << EOF
localhost:5432:mydatabase:myuser:mypassword
EOF

# Set restrictive permissions (required for pgpass to work)
chmod 600 ~/.pgpass

Format: hostname:port:database:username:password

Use * to match any value:

bash

*:5432:mydatabase:myuser:mypassword

Now psql will use this file automatically:

bash

psql -h localhost -U myuser -d mydatabase

3Use PGPASSWORD environment variable for one-off commands

For non-interactive scripts or quick connections, use the PGPASSWORD environment variable:

bash

export PGPASSWORD='mypassword'
psql -h localhost -U myuser -d mydatabase -c 'SELECT 1;'
unset PGPASSWORD

Or inline:

bash

PGPASSWORD='mypassword' psql -h localhost -U myuser -d mydatabase

For pg_dump:

bash

PGPASSWORD='mypassword' pg_dump -h localhost -U myuser mydatabase

Warning: This method is less secure because environment variables may be visible in process lists. Use .pgpass for regular operations.

4Prompt for password interactively with psql

If you want to provide a password securely when running psql, use the -W flag to prompt:

bash

psql -h localhost -U myuser -d mydatabase -W

This will prompt you to enter the password interactively:

bash

Password for user myuser:

The password is not echoed to the terminal and is not stored in shell history.

5Check pg_hba.conf authentication method

Verify that pg_hba.conf allows password authentication for your connection:

bash

# Find pg_hba.conf location (usually in PostgreSQL data directory)
psql -U postgres -c "SHOW hba_file;"

# Check the file (usually /etc/postgresql/version/main/pg_hba.conf on Linux)
cat /etc/postgresql/14/main/pg_hba.conf

Ensure the authentication method supports password:

bash

# TYPE  DATABASE        USER            ADDRESS                 METHOD
local   all             all                                     scram-sha-256
host    all             all             127.0.0.1/32            scram-sha-256
host    all             all             ::1/128                 scram-sha-256

Valid password methods: scram-sha-256 (recommended), md5 (legacy), password (plaintext, use only with SSL)

After modifying pg_hba.conf:

bash

sudo systemctl restart postgresql

6For streaming replication: configure primary_conninfo

If you're setting up a PostgreSQL standby server and see this error during replication, configure primary_conninfo in recovery.conf or postgresql.conf:

bash

# Using password in connection string (less secure)
primary_conninfo = 'host=primary.example.com port=5432 user=replicator password=repPassword'

# Or use .pgpass (more secure)
primary_conninfo = 'host=primary.example.com port=5432 user=replicator'

Ensure the .pgpass file on the standby contains:

bash

primary.example.com:5432:replication:replicator:repPassword

With permissions:

bash

chmod 600 /var/lib/postgresql/.pgpass
chown postgres:postgres /var/lib/postgresql/.pgpass

Then restart the standby:

bash

sudo systemctl restart postgresql

How to fix FATAL: no password supplied in PostgreSQL

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How to fix "FATAL: no password supplied"

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