Run Multiple Postgres Instances Peacefully

Running multiple databases on a single Linux machine often leads to port collisions, authentication headaches ("Peer authentication failed"), and backup gaps. This skill implements a battle-tested operational pattern for developers who need to host multiple isolated Postgres environments—such as pgvector, TimescaleDB, and vanilla Postgres—side-by-side without version conflicts or high managed-database bills.

What it does

The skill generates a hard-coded infrastructure folder (postgres-multi/) containing everything needed to manage your database fleet:

• Port Registry: A canonical mapping to prevent port collisions between services.
• Multi-Instance Configs: Templates for both Debian-managed clusters and Docker containers (pgvector, TimescaleDB, vanilla).
• Hardened Security: Automatic 127.0.0.1 binding and SCRAM-SHA-256 authentication setup to prevent credential-spraying.
• Unified Backups: A central shell script that iterates through your registry to perform gzipped nightly dumps with auto-pruning.
• Fix Scripts: One-shot utilities to resolve common "peer authentication" issues and check port availability.

Why use this skill?

Unlike a generic AI prompt, this skill enforces strict operational standards: it ensures every volume is app-prefixed to prevent accidental data deletion, insists on non-root app roles, and provides a documented upgrade path for when the next Postgres major version ships. It transforms a messy "db-on-a-box" setup into a professional, registry-backed database platform.