# Fix psql 'could not connect to server' in PostgreSQL

> Fix the PostgreSQL psql error could not connect to server after a brew upgrade by reinstalling it with brew uninstall and install, then brew services start.

Author: [Flavio Copes](https://flaviocopes.com/about/) | Published: 2021-08-23 | Topics: [Database](https://flaviocopes.com/tags/database/) | Canonical: https://flaviocopes.com/postgresql-fix-error-could-not-connect-server/

I had this problem: I had installed PostgreSQL in the past using Homebrew, then I think I updated its version mindlessly with `brew upgrade`, and I couldn't start it again.

It used to work, but now whenever I tried to access it, I got this error:

```
psql: error: could not connect to server: No such file or directory
	Is the server running locally and accepting
	connections on Unix domain socket "/tmp/.s.PGSQL.5432"?
```

The server was running fine, as `ps aux | grep postgres` showed its process.

I tried various solutions, until simply reinstalling it worked fine.

I ran

```
brew uninstall postgresql
brew install postgresql
brew services start postgresql
```

and I was able to connect to the database again.