How to determine the size of PostgreSQL databases and tables

This article demonstrates how to determine the size of PostgreSQL databases and tables. You can do this by using the psql command-line program (for databases and tables) or by using the phpPgAdmin web interface (for databases only).

Using the command line

You can use the psql command-line program to determine the sizes of PostgreSQL databases and tables. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your account using SSH.
2. At the command line, type the following command. Replace dbname with the name of the database, and username with the database username:

   psql dbname username

3. At the Password prompt, type the database user's password. When you type the correct password, the psql prompt appears.

4. To determine the size of a database, type the following command. Replace dbname with the name of the database that you want to check:
   

   SELECT pg_size_pretty( pg_database_size('dbname') );

   Psql displays the size of the database.

5. To determine the size of a table in the current database, type the following command. Replace tablename with the name of the table that you want to check:
   

   SELECT pg_size_pretty( pg_total_relation_size('tablename') );

   Psql displays the size of the table.

Using phpPgAdmin

You can use the phpPgAdmin web interface to determine the sizes of PostgreSQL databases. To determine the sizes of PostgreSQL tables, however, you must use the psql command-line program as described in the previous section.

To determine the size of a PostgreSQL database using phpPgAdmin, follow these steps:

1. Log in to cPanel.
   If you do not know how to log in to your cPanel account, please see this article.
2. In the DATABASES section of the cPanel home screen, click phpPgAdmin:

   

   The phpPgAdmin administration page appears in a new window.

3. In the left pane, click PostgreSQL:
   

   

4. phpPgAdmin displays the size of each database: