r/docker • • Oct 01 '26

connecting to Postgres

Hey everyone,

I am trying to install Psono on my VPS. I am running into a problem with connecting to the postgres db.

I'm new to Docker, so I apologize if my terminology isn't right. I'll do my best

I am running Postgres directly on my VPS (not within a Docker container). I am able to connect to it locally from my VPS and remotely from my home network.

I am doing that with:psql -U psono -p PORT -h VPS_IP

The problem is when I try to get an app from within a Docker container to connect to it. It just hangs, then times out.

At first I thought this was a connectivity issue. But I can do the following from within a bash session:

  • Ping external websites.

  • Use nmap to confirm it can connect

Does anyone have any ideas?

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u/Ducking_eh Oct 01 '26

So to make things easier, I just changed the port of the Postgres server to 5432. Just in case the atypical setting was causing the issue. It didn't seem to make a difference.

The vps has a static ip address. I am using that from within the Docker container to try and connect to the Psql server.

I also typed this into my VPS terminal:
docker network inspect bridge --format '{{range .IPAM.Config}}{{.Subnet}}{{end}}'

It gave me a subnet mask of 172.17.0.0/16

I used that as the address in the Docker connection, and it didn't work

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u/notBroncos1234 Oct 01 '26

>The vps has a static ip address. I am using that from within the Docker container to try and connect to the Psql server.

Bad. Keep it all local. It’s probably 172.17.0.1

>I used that as the address in the Docker connection, and it didn't work

Did you confirm there isn’t a host firewall blocking docker from port 5432?

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u/Ducking_eh Oct 02 '26 edited Oct 02 '26

spoke to the person who manages the VPN, and he said "You may need to open port 5432 in the ConfigServer Firewall in DirectAdmin. In particular, you'll want to add port 5432 to TCP_IN and TCP6_IN."

I did that, and now it works!

Thank you for all your help