Pre-compiled and configured installation packages for pgAdmin 4 are available for a number of desktop environments; we recommend using an installer whenever possible.

In a Server Deployment, the pgAdmin application is deployed behind a webserver or with the WSGI interface. If you install pgAdmin in server mode, you will be prompted to provide a role name and pgAdmin password when you initially connect to pgAdmin. The first role registered with pgAdmin will be an administrative user; the administrative role can use the pgAdmin User Management dialog to create and manage additional pgAdmin user accounts. When a user authenticates with pgAdmin, the pgAdmin tree control displays the server definitions associated with that login role.

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In a Desktop Deployment, the pgAdmin application is configured to use the desktop runtime environment to host the program on a supported platform. Typically, users will install a pre-built package to run pgAdmin in desktop mode, but a manual desktop deployment can be installed and though it is more difficult to setup, it may be useful for developers interested in understanding how pgAdmin works.

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Note

Pre-compiled and configured installation packages are available for a number of platforms. These packages should be used by end-users whereever possible - the following information is useful for the maintainers of those packages and users interested in understanding how pgAdmin works.

The pgAdmin 4 client features a highly-customizable display that features drag-and-drop panels that you can arrange to make the best use of your desktop environment.

The tree control provides an elegant overview of the managed servers, and the objects that reside on each server. Right-click on a node within the tree control to access context-sensitive menus that provide quick access to management tasks for the selected object.

The tabbed browser provide quick access to statistical information about each object in the tree control, and pgAdmin tools and utilities (such as the Query tool and the debugger). pgAdmin opens additional feature tabs each time you access the extended functionality offered by pgAdmin tools; you can open, close, and re-arrange feature tabs as needed.

Use the Preferences dialog to customize the content and behaviour of the pgAdmin display. To open the Preferences dialog, select Preferences from the File menu.

Help buttons in the lower-left corner of each dialog will open the online help for the dialog. You can access additional Postgres help by navigating through the Help menu, and selecting the name of the resource that you wish to open.

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Before using pgAdmin to manage objects that reside on a server, you must define a connection to the server; for more information please see Connecting to a Server in the next section.