Docker-compose postgresql password authentication failed - postgresql

Question

I'm trying to get a setup going with a webservice that consumes a postgres database. Should be simple to setup, but I'm getting errors. So, first thing I want to make sure is that the database I set up is actually there and running.
To test this I substitute the "consumer" or "client" for an alpine interactive shell like so:
version: '3'
services:
db:
image: postgres:10.1-alpine
container_name: db
expose:
- 5432
volumes:
- "dbdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data"
environment:
- POSTGES_USER=user
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD=pass
- POSTGRES_DB=db
web:
image: alpine:latest
stdin_open: true
tty: true
entrypoint: /bin/sh
depends_on:
- db
volumes:
dbdata:
Then I run the following command to get into the interactive shell:
docker-compose run web
and the following command to get in the database:
apk --update add postgresql-client && rm -rf /var/cache/apk/*
psql -h db -U user db
I get a plain denial from postgresql:
psql: FATAL: password authentication failed for user "user"
Same error message for each combo of username/password/databasename I try. Not much helpful.
What am I doing wrong here?

Answer 1

You have a typo in your docker-compose file. You mispelled POSTGRES here:
POSTGES_USER=user
That means the user user isn't being created. If I correct that typo, so that I have:
version: '3'
services:
db:
image: postgres:10.1-alpine
expose:
- 5432
volumes:
- "dbdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data"
environment:
- POSTGRES_USER=user
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD=pass
- POSTGRES_DB=db
web:
image: alpine:latest
stdin_open: true
tty: true
entrypoint: /bin/sh
depends_on:
- db
volumes:
dbdata:
Start the environment:
docker-compose up -d
Attach to the web contained and install the postgresql client:
$ docker attach project_web_1
/ # apk add --update postgresql-client
Then I can connect without a problem:
/ # psql -h db -U user db
Password for user user:
psql (11.2, server 10.1)
Type "help" for help.
db=#