Make sure Docker Desktop is running.

Pull a specific version of postgres from Docker Hub.

docker pull postgres:16

Create and then run a postgres container in detached mode.

docker run --name <container_name> -d -p 5432:5432 \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<password> postgres:<tag>

Check if the container is really running.

docker ps

Connect to the postgres container. postgres is the default username —
you can customize this if you want.

docker exec -it <container_name> psql -h <hostname> -U postgres

Create a new database.

postgres=# CREATE DATABASE <db_name>;

List all existing databases.

postgres=# \l
# or
postgres=# \list

Create a new table via psql or through your app.

Connect to an existing database.

postgres=# \c <db_name>
# or
postgres=# \connect <db_name>

List the tables of an active database.

<db_name>=# \dt