Convert SQLite to Postgre in Rails

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So you want to convert your SQLite database in Rails to Postgre? That is why you are here right? Let’s get started. 😊

Check Postgre Version

First, you have to check if you have Postgre via the command line. If you have Ubuntu then Postgre should come installed by default.

psql -V

If nothing comes up then you will have to install Postgre.

For New Projects

If you are creating a new Rails project, you can specify on creating that you will opt-out of the standard SQLite setup in favor of Postgre.

rails new my_app --database=postgresql

This should take care of all your woes. If it doesn’t then read on.

For Existing Projects

First, you will need to comment out gem 'sqlite' . Then add Postgre to your Gemfile and bundle install .

1. gem 'pg' 
2. bundle install

You will need to modify your database.yml file to pull from Postgre for all three environments.

development:
adapter: postgresql
database: my_database_development
username: my_username
password: my_password
pool: 5
timeout: 5000

test:
adapter: postgresql
database: my_database_test
username: my_username
password: my_password
pool: 5
timeout: 5000
production:
adapter: postgresql
database: my_database_production
username: my_username
password: my_password
pool: 5
timeout: 5000

With Postgre, each environment has its own separate database, username, and password. This was an ah-ha moment for me. It is something you do not think about when you are coming from using SQLite.

Conclusion

This should take care of it. It is a best practice to store your username and password inside a .env variable. You should be able to rails db:migrate any changes no problem now!