Allow remote connections to PostgreSQL on Windows — pg_hba.conf & firewall guide

Enable remote connections step by step

• 1

  Edit postgresql.conf — set listen_addresses

  Open postgresql.conf in the data directory and change listen_addresses:

  postgresql.conf

  # Find this line (remove the # if commented out):

  #listen_addresses = 'localhost'

  # Change to listen on all interfaces:

  listen_addresses = '*'

  # Or listen on a specific IP only:

  listen_addresses = '192.168.1.10'

  Using * listens on all network interfaces. For production, specify only the IP address clients will connect to.
• 2

  Edit pg_hba.conf — allow remote clients

  Open pg_hba.conf and add a rule for your client IP range:

  pg_hba.conf — add at the end

  # Allow specific user from a subnet:

  host all all 192.168.1.0/24 scram-sha-256

  # Allow all users from anywhere (not recommended for production):

  host all all 0.0.0.0/0 scram-sha-256

  # Allow specific user to specific database from specific IP:

  host mydb myuser 10.0.0.5/32 scram-sha-256
• 3

  Open Windows Firewall for port 5432

  PowerShell — Administrator

  PS> New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "PostgreSQL 5432" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 5432 -Action Allow

  # Or restrict to specific source IP:

  PS> New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "PostgreSQL 5432" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 5432 -RemoteAddress 192.168.1.0/24 -Action Allow
• 4

  Restart PostgreSQL to apply all changes

  cmd.exe — Administrator

  C:\> net stop postgresql-x64-18 && net start postgresql-x64-18
• 5

  Test from a remote machine

  cmd.exe — remote machine

  C:\> psql -h 192.168.1.10 -U postgres -d mydb

  Password for user postgres:

  mydb=#

Connection refused or timeout

Remote connection questions