Using psql to connect to PostgreSQL in SSL mode - postgresql

Question

I am trying to configure ssl certificate for PostgreSQL server. I have created a certificate file (server.crt) and key (server.key) in data directory and update the parameter SSL to "on" to enable secure connection.
I just want only the server to be authenticated with server certificates on the client side and don't require the authenticity of client at server side. I am using psql as a client to connect and execute the commands.
I am using PostgreSQL 8.4 and Linux. I tried with the below command to connect to server with SSL enabled
psql "postgresql://localhost:2345/postgres?sslmode=require"
but I am getting
psql: invalid connection option "postgresql://localhost:2345/postgres?sslmode"
What am doing wrong here? Is the way I am trying to connect to server with SSL mode enabled is correct? Is it fine to authenticate only server and not the client ?

Answer 1

psql below 9.2 does not accept this URL-like syntax for options.
The use of SSL can be driven by the sslmode=value option on the command line or the PGSSLMODE environment variable, but the default being prefer, SSL connections will be tried first automatically without specifying anything.
Example with a conninfo string (updated for psql 8.4)
psql "sslmode=require host=localhost dbname=test"
Read the manual page for more options.

Answer 2

psql --set=sslmode=require -h localhost -p 2345 -U thirunas \
-d postgres -f test_schema.ddl
Another Example for securely connecting to Azure's managed Postgres database:
psql --file=product_data.sql --host=hostname.postgres.database.azure.com --port=5432 \
--username=postgres#postgres-esprit --dbname=product_data \
--set=sslmode=verify-full --set=sslrootcert=/opt/ssl/BaltimoreCyberTrustRoot.crt.pem

Answer 3

Well, you could provide all the information with the following command in CLI, if a connection requires in SSL mode:
psql "sslmode=verify-ca sslrootcert=server-ca.pem sslcert=client-cert.pem sslkey=client-key.pem hostaddr=your_host port=5432 user=your_user dbname=your_db"

Answer 4

Found the following options useful to provide all the files for a self signed postgres instance
psql "host={hostname} sslmode=prefer sslrootcert={ca-cert.pem} sslcert={client-cert.pem} sslkey={client-key.pem} port={port} user={user} dbname={db}"

Answer 5

On psql client v12, I could not find option in psql client to activate sslmode=verify-full.
I ended up using environment variables :
PGSSLMODE=verify-full PGSSLROOTCERT=server-ca.pem psql -h your_host -U your_user -W -d your_db

Answer 6

psql "sslmode=require host=localhost port=2345 dbname=postgres" --username=some_user
According to the postgres psql documentation, only the connection parameters should go in the conninfo string(that's why in our example, --username is not inside that string)

Answer 7

psql -h <host> -p <port> -U <user> -d <db>
and update /var/lib/pgsql/10/data/pg_hba.conf to change the auth method to cert. Check the following link for more information:
https://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.1/auth-pg-hba-conf.html

Answer 8

Another pattern that worked with v8 is
psql -h host_name -p port -U user_name "dbname=db sslmode=require"