pgModeler 2.x installation
A quick step-by-step on how to build, install and run the tool

This page gives some essential instructions about building pgModeler from source, installing, and running it on all supported platforms. Please, read it carefully and avoid skipping any steps below even if you're an experienced user in compiling softwares from the source. If you stumble on any problem just ask for help at Github issues page by posting as many as possible details about it so the correct support can be provided. Finally, if you find any error in this document, please report it so the proper fixes can be applied. All suggestions or constructive criticisms to make the building steps easier to understand are welcome!

Requirements overview

On all supported platforms, the first requirement is the Qt framework in at least the version 6.4.x. At the moment these instructions were being updated, Qt 6.9.2 was the latest stable version. Make sure to use a compatible version to avoid any further problems in the steps below. Bear in mind that failing to observe this first requirement in most cases will cause the compilation to fail due to incompatibilities between the pgModeler's source code and the Qt framework, or even the deployment steps below may not be enough to make the software work after a successful build.

Second, you will need a PostgreSQL server installation. In this document we are using the RDBMS in its version 17, so note that the location of headers and libraries in the settings below may vary depending on the version of the database system you've chosen.

Finally, you will need to download a fresh copy of pgModeler's source code. See the source download form for more details about retrieving the source code. Once retrieved the source code, extract it (in case of using a tarball) and run all the commands in the below sections from the root folder.

Platform specific requirements

Tweaking the building script (macOS only)

If you are compiling pgModeler on macOS and installed a PostgreSQL version other than the default used in this step-by-step, there is a preliminary adjust to be made before running the main compilation command. You need to configure the location of the PostgreSQL headers and libraries by editing the file DefaultPaths.cmake. Assuming that you've already got the tool's source code, open the mentioned file in your favorite text editor and locate the following lines:

if(APPLE)
	set(PGSQL_INC /Library/PostgreSQL/17/include)
	set(PGSQL_LIBS /Library/PostgreSQL/17/lib/libpq.dylib)

	set(XML2_INC /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/include/libxml2)
	set(XML2_LIBS /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/lib/libxml2.tbd)
else()
...

Building the software

We are now able to run the main building process. This step differs a bit on each operating system and it is described below. All the commands must be executed inside the console and from the root of the pgModeler's source code folder. In Windows system remember to run the commands from the MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit console available under MSYS2 group at start menu.

In the following procedures, to shorten the commands, we are assuming that $QT_ROOT is the full path to the Qt installation which is the same as that one returned by qtpaths command in the section Platform specific requirements above.

Finally, the $CMAKE_ROOT is where the cmake is installed. In the commands below, don't forget to replace the variables with the real paths according to your system otherwise the build will fail.

Resolving dependencies

After successfully compiling the source code and installing the binaries we need to copy some dependencies into the pgModeler's installation folder and run some commands to make the binaries locate them properly. As the previous section, in the steps below replace the variable $INSTALLATION_ROOT by the path were pgModeler is now installed. The variable $PGSQL_ROOT must be replaced by the full path to PostgreSQL's installation folder. The variable $MSYS2_ROOT must be replaced by the full path to MSYS2 installation (only for Windows).

Note to Windows users: Since pgModeler building relies on MSYS2 infrastructure, depending on the version of the latter in your system, the DLLs to be copied in the steps below may not be enough. So, the recommendation is that you run the copy commands below as is and try to run pgModeler in the destination folder. If any error regarding to a missing DLL is reported you can copy that one DLL from MSYS2 folder to pgModeler's installation path. This procedure must be repeated until the software runs without errors. Please, don't forget to report which DLLs are missing so this step-by-step can be updated accordingly.

Running pgModeler

Finally, pgModeler can be started. Just open the installation folder and double click the application pgmodeler.exe (Windows), pgmodeler (Linux) or pgmodeler.app (macOs) and have fun.

Enjoy!

Environment variables

pgModeler uses eleven custom environment variables in order to keep track of its resource files, directories, and executables. You seldom need to use them but if you want to configure different locations of these resources you must specify them before running the tool. Each variable has a special meaning and they are described as follows:

Custom build parameters

This optional section describes how the build process can be customized in such way that the files are generated in different directories other than the default ones. This way pgModeler introduces eleven custom parameters that can be passed to qmake in order to configure the custom output folders. The use of custom build parameters is a good mechanism for package maintainers (in case of Linux distros) to create custom releases that better suits each system's requirements. The details of these parameters and how they can be used is shown in the table below. Note that if you modify the value of any custom parameter you'll need to reflect these changes on the building steps above.

cmake -S . -DPGM_PREFIX=[PATH] -B ./cmake-build --fresh

[ pgModeler build paths ]
* PGM_PREFIX        = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build
* PGM_BINDIR        = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build/bin
* PGM_PRIVATEBINDIR = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build/bin
* PGM_PRIVATELIBDIR = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build/lib/pgmodeler 
* PGM_PLUGINSDIR    = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build/lib/pgmodeler/plugins
* PGM_SHAREDIR      = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build/share/pgmodeler
* PGM_CONFDIR       = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build/conf
* PGM_DOCDIR        = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build/share/pgmodeler
* PGM_LANGDIR       = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build/lang
* PGM_SAMPLESDIR    = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build/samples
* PGM_SCHEMASDIR    = /home/raphael/pgmodeler/build/schemas

[ Dependencies ]
* C compiler         = /usr/bin/clang
* C++ compiler       = /usr/bin/clang++
* PostgreSQL headers = /usr/include/pgsql
* PostgreSQL library = /usr/lib64/libpq.so
* LibXml2 headers    = /usr/include/libxml2
* LibXml2 library    = /usr/lib64/libxml2.so

[ Extra build options ]
* NO_CHECK_CURR_VER  = 
* SNAPSHOT_BUILD     = 
* APPIMAGE_BUILD     = 
* DEMO_VERSION       = 
* PLUS_VERSION       = 
* NO_UPDATE_CHECK    = 
* BUILD_PLUGINS      = ON
* BUILD_PRIV_PLUGINS = 

* To change a variable's value run cmake again from source root and setting the new value, e.g.:
  > cmake -S . -DPGM_PREFIX=/usr/local -B ./cmake-build --fresh

* To proceed with build process run: 
  > cmake --build ./cmake-build --target all

* To install the compiled files run:
  > cmake --install ./cmake-build