Uninstall PostgreSQL 17(Source Installation)

Table of Contents

1. Stop the PostgreSQL Service

[root@pgdb02 ~]# systemctl stop postgresql-17
[root@pgdb02 ~]# systemctl disable postgresql-17
Removed "/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/postgresql-17.service".
[root@pgdb02 ~]#

2. Remove the systemd Service File (if created)

[root@pgdb02 ~]# ls -l /etc/systemd/system/postgresql-17.service
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 588 Jun 19 21:20 /etc/systemd/system/postgresql-17.service
[root@pgdb02 ~]#
[root@pgdb02 ~]# rm -f /etc/systemd/system/postgresql-17.service
[root@pgdb02 ~]#
[root@pgdb02 ~]# systemctl daemon-reload
[root@pgdb02 ~]#

3. Force Remove the Entire PostgreSQL Directory

WARNING: This permanently deletes all binaries, libraries, and data. Ensure your data is backed up before this step.

[root@pgdb02 ~]# rm -rf /pgBin/*
[root@pgdb02 ~]#

4. Remove Leftover Temporary Files if any

rm -f /tmp/.s.PGSQL.*
rm -f /tmp/.s.PGSQL.*.lock

5. Remove the postgres OS User (Optional)

[root@pgdb02 ~]# userdel -r postgres
[root@pgdb02 ~]# groupdel postgres
groupdel: group 'postgres' does not exist
[root@pgdb02 ~]#

6. Refresh the Library Cache

[root@pgdb02 ~]# ldconfig
[root@pgdb02 ~]#

Rebuilds the OS shared library cache to remove stale references to deleted PostgreSQL libraries.

The files are gone but the OS cache still remembers them. ldconfig clears that memory — it's a one-second cleanup that prevents broken library reference errors for any app that linked against libpq.

7. Verify Complete Removal

[root@pgdb02 ~]# ps -ef | grep postgres
root        4818    3561  0 19:44 pts/1    00:00:00 grep --color=auto postgres
[root@pgdb02 ~]# systemctl status postgresql-17
Unit postgresql-17.service could not be found.
[root@pgdb02 ~]#
[root@pgdb02 ~]# find /usr/local -name "*pgsql*" 2>/dev/null
[root@pgdb02 ~]# ss -tulpn | grep 543
[root@pgdb02 ~]#

Note: No need to run make uninstall — the rm -rf in Step 3 already handles complete removal of all installed files.

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Thank you,
Rajasekhar Amudala
Email: br8dba@gmail.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajasekhar-amudala/