Quick Steps to Fix “Error: pg_config executable not found”

How to resolve Error: pg_config executable not found?

If you’re installing a package that depends on PostgreSQL — like psycopg2, pgvector, pg-promise, or other PostgreSQL-related libraries — you might see this frustrating message:

error: pg_config executable not found

This happens because your system cannot find the PostgreSQL development files needed to compile the library.

Don’t worry — the fix is super simple. Here are the quick steps based on your OS.

1. Install PostgreSQL Development Package (Most Common Fix)

Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt update sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib libpq-dev

CentOS / RHEL / Fedora

sudo dnf install postgresql postgresql-devel

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install postgresql

Windows

Install PostgreSQL from the official installer: https://www.postgresql.org/download/

Check “Add to PATH” during installation.

2. Find pg_config Location Manually

If PostgreSQL is installed, locate it:

which pg_config

or:

find / -name pg_config 2>/dev/null

3. Add pg_config to Your PATH

If you found the path manually, export it:

export PATH=/path/to/pg_config:$PATH

Example on Ubuntu:

export PATH=/usr/lib/postgresql/15/bin:$PATH

4. Reinstall the Package (psycopg2, pgvector, etc.)

Once pg_config is available in your PATH:

pip install psycopg2

or:

npm install pgvector