How to install PostGIS PostgreSQL database extender on CentOS 8

PostGIS is a free and open source database extension program for PostgreSQL database management system. It can help you add some extra features, such as area, union, intersection, distance, data type, and allows you to run location queries in SQL. Using PostGIS, the polygon and point types of the data can be stored in the PostgreSQL database.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install PostGIS with PostgreSQL on CentOS 8.

prerequisites

Server running CentOS 8.
A root password is configured on your server.

getting Started

Before starting, you need to install PostGIS and EPEL libraries into the system. You can install both by running the following command:

dnf -y install https://download.postgresql.org/pub/repos/yum/reporpms/EL-8-x86_64/pgdg-redhat-repo-latest.noarch.rpmdnf -y install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm

Next, use the following command to enable the Powertool repository and disable the default PostgreSQL repository:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled PowerToolsdnf -qy module disable postgresql

Once completed, you can proceed to the next step.

Install PostGIS

Now, you can install PostGIS by running the following command:

dnf install postgis25_12

After the installation is complete, you can verify the PostGIS package with the following command:

rpm -qi postgis25_12

You should get the following output:

Name        : postgis25_12
Version     : 2.5.5
Release     : 2.rhel8
Architecture: x86_64
Install Date: Monday 01 February 2021 11:59:37 PM EST
Group       : Unspecified
Size        : 29832534
License     : GPLv2+
Signature   : DSA/SHA1, Tuesday 10 November 2020 01:36:47 PM EST, Key ID 1f16d2e1442df0f8
Source RPM  : postgis25_12-2.5.5-2.rhel8.src.rpm
Build Date  : Tuesday 10 November 2020 01:30:09 PM EST
Build Host  : koji-rhel8-x86-64-pgbuild
Relocations : (not relocatable)
Vendor      : PostgreSQL Global Development Group
URL         : http://www.postgis.net/
Summary     : Geographic Information Systems Extensions to PostgreSQL
Description :
PostGIS adds support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL object-relational
database. In effect, PostGIS "spatially enables" the PostgreSQL server,
allowing it to be used as a backend spatial database for geographic information
systems (GIS), much like ESRI's SDE or Oracle's Spatial extension. PostGIS
follows the OpenGIS "Simple Features Specification for SQL" and has been
certified as compliant with the "Types and Functions" profile.

Next, use the following command to initialize the PostgreSQL database:

/usr/pgsql-12/bin/postgresql-12-setup initdb

Next, start the PostgreSQL service and use the following command to enable it to start when the system restarts:

systemctl start postgresql-12.servicesystemctl enable postgresql-12.service

Create an extension

So far, PostgreSQL and PostGIS have been installed. Now you will need to create an extension for PostGIS.

First, log in to the Postgres user using the following command:

su - postgres

Next, create a postgres user and database using the following commands:

createuser test_usrcreatedb test_postgis -O test_usr

Next, use the following command to connect to the database:

psql -d test_postgis

You should see the following output:

psql (12.5)
Type "help" for help.

Next, use the following command to create the PostGIS extension:

CREATE EXTENSION postgis;

Next, you can verify the PostGIS version with the following command:

select PostGIS_Full_Version();

You should see the PostGIS version in the following output:

                                                                                          postgis_full_version                                 
                                                          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
 POSTGIS="2.5.5" [EXTENSION] PGSQL="120" GEOS="3.8.1-CAPI-1.13.3" PROJ="Rel. 7.2.1, January 1st, 2021" GDAL="GDAL 3.2.1, released 2020/12/29" L
IBXML="2.9.7" LIBJSON="0.13.1" LIBPROTOBUF="1.3.0" RASTER
(1 row)

Next, use the following command to exit from the Postgres shell;

exitexit

in conclusion

In the above guide, you learned how to install PostgreSQL together with PostgreSQL on CentOS 8. You can now use PostGIS to add geometry to the database.