pg0

Zero-dependency embedded PostgreSQL - Run PostgreSQL locally without installation. A single binary that downloads and manages PostgreSQL for you.

Includes pgvector for AI/vector workloads out of the box.

Features

• Zero dependencies - single binary, no installation required
• Embedded PostgreSQL 16 with pgvector pre-installed
• Multiple instances - run multiple PostgreSQL servers simultaneously
• Works on macOS (Apple Silicon), Linux (x86_64), and Windows (x64)
• Bundled psql client - no separate installation needed
• Data persists between restarts

Installation

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vectorize-io/pg0/main/install.sh | bash

Or with a custom install directory:

INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vectorize-io/pg0/main/install.sh | bash

Quick Start

# Start PostgreSQL
pg0 start

# Connect with psql
pg0 psql

# Use pgvector
pg0 psql -c "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS vector;"
pg0 psql -c "CREATE TABLE items (embedding vector(3));"
pg0 psql -c "INSERT INTO items VALUES ('[1,2,3]');"

# Stop when done
pg0 stop

Usage

Start PostgreSQL

# Start with defaults (port 5432)
pg0 start

# Start with custom options
pg0 start --port 5433 --username myuser --password mypass --database myapp

Stop PostgreSQL

pg0 stop

Get Server Info

# Human-readable format
pg0 info

# JSON output
pg0 info -o json

# Info for a specific instance
pg0 info --name myapp

List Instances

# List all instances
pg0 list

# JSON output
pg0 list -o json

Open psql Shell

# Interactive shell
pg0 psql

# Run a single command
pg0 psql -c "SELECT version();"

# Run a SQL file
pg0 psql -f schema.sql

Using pgvector

pgvector is pre-installed. Just enable it:

pg0 psql -c "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS vector;"

Then use it for vector similarity search:

-- Create a table with vector column
CREATE TABLE items (id serial PRIMARY KEY, embedding vector(1536));

-- Insert vectors
INSERT INTO items (embedding) VALUES ('[0.1, 0.2, ...]');

-- Find similar vectors
SELECT * FROM items ORDER BY embedding <-> '[0.1, 0.2, ...]' LIMIT 5;

Multiple Instances

Run multiple PostgreSQL servers simultaneously using named instances:

# Start multiple instances on different ports
pg0 start --name app1 --port 5432
pg0 start --name app2 --port 5433
pg0 start --name test --port 5434

# List all instances
pg0 list

# Get info for a specific instance
pg0 info --name app1

# Connect to a specific instance
pg0 psql --name app2

# Stop a specific instance
pg0 stop --name test

# Stop all (one by one)
pg0 stop --name app1
pg0 stop --name app2

Each instance has its own data directory at ~/.pg0/instances/<name>/data/.

Install Additional Extensions

For extensions beyond pgvector:

# List available extensions
pg0 list-extensions

# Install an extension
pg0 install-extension <name>

Options

Global Options

  -v, --verbose  Enable verbose logging

Start Options

pg0 start [OPTIONS]

Options:
      --name <NAME>           Instance name [default: default]
  -p, --port <PORT>           Port to listen on [default: 5432]
  -d, --data-dir <DATA_DIR>   Data directory [default: ~/.pg0/instances/<name>/data]
  -u, --username <USERNAME>   Username [default: postgres]
  -P, --password <PASSWORD>   Password [default: postgres]
  -n, --database <DATABASE>   Database name [default: postgres]
  -c, --config <KEY=VALUE>    PostgreSQL config option (can repeat)

PostgreSQL Configuration

pg0 applies optimized defaults for vector/AI workloads:

• shared_buffers=256MB
• maintenance_work_mem=512MB (faster index builds)
• effective_cache_size=1GB
• max_parallel_maintenance_workers=4
• work_mem=64MB

Override any setting with -c:

# Custom memory settings
pg0 start -c shared_buffers=512MB -c work_mem=128MB

# For larger workloads
pg0 start -c shared_buffers=1GB -c maintenance_work_mem=2GB

How It Works

On first run, pg0 downloads PostgreSQL from theseus-rs and pgvector from pre-compiled binaries. These are cached in ~/.pg0/installation/ for subsequent runs.

Data is stored in ~/.pg0/instances/<name>/data/ (or your custom --data-dir) and persists between restarts.

Build from Source

cargo build --release

The binary will be at target/release/pg0.

License

MIT