There are different ways to view the list of all tables. In this guide, we will study three different ways to view the tables - Using psql command, using SQL query, and Using PgAdmin tool. We will understand the whole step-by-step process with the help of an example

Let’s get started

Using psql command

Step 1 - Connect the terminal to your desired Postgres database. Follow our guide to see the whole process, click here

Step 2 - To display the list of tables present in the database, run \dt command

\dt

It will show the list of all tables present in that database along with the Schema, Type, and Owner of that tables.

To get more information about tables, use \dt+ command

\dt+

That’s how you can show tables in Postgres

This command will give the details of Persistence, Access method, Size, and Description of tables

Using PgAdmin

PgAdmin software can also serve as a tool to list down the tables present in database. Let’s take a look at the steps

Step 1 - Open PgAdmin tool on your device

Step 2 - In the Object Explorer present on the left sidebar, expand the Servers and direct to your desired database

Step 3 - Right click on the Schemas option and select the Query Tool feature

Step 4 - You can type and run SQL queries in the Query tool. To list down all the tables present in the desired database, run this query -

SELECT tablename FROM pg_tables WHERE schemaname = 'public';

Step 5 - Click Execute (present on the top horizontal menu), or you can press F5 key to execute the query

It will list down all the tables present in that database and the output will be displayed in the Data Output section.

Make sure to replace the name of schema from public to any of your desired schema if the tables are present in a different schema.

Using SQL query

There is a SQL query which uses Postgres’ information_schema views. These views contain metadata about tables in Postgres, and you can query them to enumerate and display a comprehensive list of tables.

Step 1 - Open your terminal and connect it to your desired Postgres database. Follow our guide to see the whole process, click here

Step 2 - Now run this SQL query to get the list of all tables present in the database

SELECT table_name FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema = 'public';

You can replace public with the another schema name if applicable

Conclusion

In this guide we have discussed three popular methods to display the list of all tables present in a Postgres database.

To keep learning more interesting stuff, check out our well-structured documentation of pgAdmin and psql

If you want to enhance your knowledge of Postgres even more, we highly encourage you to check out our others guides present on the website.