Heroku - 9 Heroku postgre part 2

Welcome to the second part of getting started with Heroku Postgres. In this lesson we install everything we need on the local machine to connect to the Heroku Postgres database and work with the code that talks to it. We start on postgresql.org, where we download PostgreSQL by going to the Download page and selecting Windows (or your own operating system), then picking the latest version.

Once the download is finished, we run the installer. You can leave the default components ticked, but it is important to make sure pgAdmin is included, because that is the tool we will use later to connect to Heroku Postgres. During the installation you are asked to choose a password, then you click Next until the wizard completes. After the install finishes it is recommended to restart your machine, otherwise the programs may not work as expected.

Installing Git and the Heroku CLI

Before going further we also need Git, which will be used to push code to Heroku. We go to the Git website, click the download button and run the installer keeping the default settings, which are the recommended ones. The installation is quick. Once Git is ready, we test it by opening a command prompt and typing git: a list of available Git commands appears, confirming the install worked.

The last thing to install is the Heroku CLI. The CLI lets us connect to the Heroku servers and update the code of an existing application: combined with Git, it is what we will use to deploy the test code in the upcoming examples. To download it, search for "Heroku CLI" on Google and follow the official link. Pick the Windows installer (or the one matching your OS), accept the defaults and let the installer finish.

Once the install is done, close the window and open the command prompt again. Typing heroku now shows the list of available Heroku commands, which confirms that the CLI is correctly installed. Everything is ready for the next part of the course, where we will actually use these tools together with Heroku Postgres.