# Postgres: Fix psql Could Not Connect, Connection Refused

> Check that Postgres is listening on port 5432 with lsof, verify listen_address and port in postgresql.conf, and confirm pg_hba.conf and firewalls allow your IP

**URL:** https://sentry.io/answers/connection-refused/

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## The Problem

When configuring Postgres initially, this error is quite common: `psql: could not connect to server: Connection refused Is the server running on host "<your host>" and accepting TCP/IP connections on port 5432`. It occurs because Postgres isn't listening on the correct port (5432 is what `psql` expects by default) or there is an issue connecting from your computer to that port.

## The Solution

First, double check that the Postgres process is running where you expect it to be. If you are trying to connect to a Postgres instance on the same host as your terminal, you can run `lsof -i :5432` which will show which, if any, processes are listening on that port. The postgres process should be connected there.

You can also look at the `listen_address` and `port` value in your `postgresql.conf` to make sure Postgres is accepting connections on the address and port you expect. If the connection is still failing, then there might be a permission issue in the `pg_hba.conf` access configuration file. Make sure this is set up correctly to accept connections from your IP. Finally, ensure there are no firewalls or `iptables` on the Postgres server that are blocking connections.

### Further Reading

- [How to mutate data in a system designed for immutable data](https://blog.sentry.io/how-to-mutate-data-in-a-system-designed-for-immutable-data/)
- [Database integrations (docs)](https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/javascript/guides/node/tracing/instrumentation/automatic-instrumentation/)

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*Source: [sentry.io/answers/connection-refused/](https://sentry.io/answers/connection-refused/)*