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Francis Ndungu

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How to Install pgAdmin4 on Ubuntu 24.04 Using Gunicorn and Nginx

19 Mar, 2026

Introduction

pgAdmin4 is a powerful, open-source administration and development platform for PostgreSQL. It provides a rich web-based interface for managing databases, running queries, visualizing schemas, and handling user roles. Whether you're deploying PostgreSQL locally or managing remote clusters, pgAdmin4 offers a secure and scalable way to interact with your data.

This guide shows you how to install pgAdmin4 on Ubuntu 24.04 using a virtual environment, Gunicorn, and Nginx. This setup is ideal if you want full control over your deployment.

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

Purchase an Ubuntu 24.04 VPS server. If you don't have a VPS server, sign up with Vultr and get upto $300 worth of free credit to test the Vultr platform.
SSH to your VPS server using PuTTY for Windows or run the following command if you're using Linux or Mac.
console
```
$ ssh username@vps_server_public_ip_address
```
Create a non-root user with sudo privileges. Read our guide on How to Create a Non-Root Sudo User on Ubuntu 24.04. You'll use this user's account to run the commands in this guide.
Ensure your domain (For instance, postgres.example.com) points to your server IP address.
Install Nginx and obtain an SSL certificate via Let's Encrypt.

Create a Python Virtual Environment for pgAdmin4

Create and switch to the pgAdmin4 application directory.
console
```
$ mkdir ~/pgadmin4 && cd ~/pgadmin4
```
Create a Python virtual environment.
console
```
$ python3 -m venv venv   
```
Activate the Python virtual environment.
console
```
$ source venv/bin/activate
```

Install pgAdmin4

Download the latest pgAdmin4 Python wheel package.

console

$ wget https://ftp.postgresql.org/pub/pgadmin/pgadmin4/v9.7/pip/pgadmin4-9.7-py3-none-any.whl

Install pgAdmin4.

console

$ pip install pgadmin4-9.7-py3-none-any.whl

Install pgAdmin4 dependencies.

console

$ pip install gunicorn flask flask-security flask-mail werkzeug

Create a local configuration file for your pgAdmin4 setup.

console

$ nano config_local.py

Paste the following:

Python

import os

DATA_DIR = os.path.expanduser('~/pgadmin4/data')
LOG_FILE = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, 'pgadmin4.log')
SQLITE_PATH = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, 'pgadmin4.db')
SESSION_DB_PATH = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, 'sessions')
STORAGE_DIR = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, 'storage')

Save and close the config_local.py file.

Create the following pgAdmin4 data directories.

console

$ mkdir -p ~/pgadmin4/data/sessions ~/pgadmin4/data/storage

Test pgAdmin4 locally.

console

$ gunicorn --bind 127.0.0.1:9000 --workers=1 --threads=25 pgadmin4.pgAdmin4:app

Configure Systemd

Create and open systemd service file.

console

$ sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/pgadmin4.service

Paste the following.

INI

[Unit]
Description=pgAdmin4 Gunicorn Service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=your_server_username
Group=your_server_username
WorkingDirectory=/home/your_server_username/pgadmin4
ExecStart=/home/your_server_username/pgadmin4/venv/bin/gunicorn --bind 127.0.0.1:9000 --workers=1 --threads=25 pgadmin4.pgAdmin4:app
ExecReload=/bin/kill -s HUP $MAINPID
KillMode=mixed
Restart=always
TimeoutStopSec=5
PrivateTmp=true

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and close the /etc/systemd/system/pgadmin4.service file.
Reload systemd unit files.
console
```
$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
```
Configure the pgadmin4 service to start automatically at boot.
console
```
$ sudo systemctl enable pgadmin4
```
Start the pgadmin4 service.
console
```
$ sudo systemctl start pgadmin4
```
Verify that pgadmin4 is running.
console
```
$ sudo systemctl status pgadmin4
```

Configure Nginx

Create an Nginx site config:

console

$ sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/postgres.example.com

Paste the following settings and replace postgres.example.com with your domain or subdomain.

Nginx Configuration File

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name postgres.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/postgres.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/postgres.example.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:9000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_redirect off;
    }
}

Save and close the /etc/nginx/sites-available/postgres.example.com file.

Enable the new Nginx configuration file.

console

$ sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/postgres.example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Ensure there are no errors.
console
```
$ sudo nginx -t
```
Reload Nginx to enable the new changes.
console
```
$ sudo systemctl reload nginx
```

Conclusion

In this guide, you've installed pgAdmin4 on Ubuntu 24.04 using a virtual environment, Gunicorn, and Nginx. This modular setup gives you full control over your PostgreSQL admin interface, with production-grade security and scalability. You've also learned how to daemonize the service with systemd and reverse proxy it behind SSL making your deployment clean, audit-friendly, and ready for global access.