# Getting Started

Pre-compiled and configured installation packages for pgAdmin 4 are available for a number of desktop environments; we recommend using an installer whenever possible.

In a Server Deployment, the pgAdmin application is deployed behind a webserver or with the WSGI interface. If you install pgAdmin in server mode, you will be prompted to provide a role name and pgAdmin password when you initially connect to pgAdmin. The first role registered with pgAdmin will be an administrative user; the administrative role can use the pgAdmin User Management dialog to create and manage additional pgAdmin user accounts. When a user authenticates with pgAdmin, the pgAdmin tree control displays the server definitions associated with that login role.

In a Desktop Deployment, the pgAdmin application is configured to use the desktop runtime environment to host the program on a supported platform. Typically, users will install a pre-built package to run pgAdmin in desktop mode, but a manual desktop deployment can be installed and though it is more difficult to setup, it may be useful for developers interested in understanding how pgAdmin works.

It is also possible to use a Container Deployment of pgAdmin, in which Server Mode is pre-configured for security.

- Deployment
  - The config.py File
  - Desktop Deployment
  - Server Deployment
  - Container Deployment
- Login Dialog
  - Recovering a Lost Password
  - Avoiding a bruteforce attack
- Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA)
  - About two-factor authentication
  - Setup two-factor authentication
  - Configure two-factor authentication
- User Management Dialog
- Change User Password Dialog
- Lock/Restore Account
- Enabling LDAP Authentication
- Enabling Kerberos Authentication
  - Keytab file for HTTP Service
  - Apache HTTPD Configuration
  - Browser settings to configure Kerberos Authentication
  - PostgreSQL Server settings to configure Kerberos Authentication
  - Master Password
- Enabling OAUTH2 Authentication
  - Redirect URL
  - Master Password
  - Login Page
- Enabling Webserver Authentication
  - Master Password

Note

Pre-compiled and configured installation packages are available for a number of platforms. These packages should be used by end-users whereever possible - the following information is useful for the maintainers of those packages and users interested in understanding how pgAdmin works.

The pgAdmin 4 client features a highly-customizable display that features drag-and-drop panels that you can arrange to make the best use of your desktop environment.

The tree control provides an elegant overview of the managed servers, and the objects that reside on each server. Right-click on a node within the tree control to access context-sensitive menus that provide quick access to management tasks for the selected object.

The tabbed browser provide quick access to statistical information about each object in the tree control, and pgAdmin tools and utilities (such as the Query tool and the debugger). pgAdmin opens additional feature tabs each time you access the extended functionality offered by pgAdmin tools; you can open, close, and re-arrange feature tabs as needed.

Use the Preferences dialog to customize the content and behaviour of the pgAdmin display. To open the Preferences dialog, select Preferences from the File menu.

Help buttons in the lower-left corner of each dialog will open the online help for the dialog. You can access additional Postgres help by navigating through the Help menu, and selecting the name of the resource that you wish to open.

You can search for objects in the database using the Search objects

- User Interface
- Menu Bar
  - The File Menu
  - The Object Menu
  - The Tools Menu
  - The Help Menu
- Toolbar
- Tabbed Browser
- Tree Control
- Preferences Dialog
  - The Browser Node
  - The Dashboards Node
  - The Debugger Node
  - The ERD Tool Node
  - The Graphs Node
  - The Miscellaneous Node
  - The Paths Node
  - The Query Tool Node
  - The Schema Diff Node
  - The Storage Node
- Keyboard Shortcuts
  - Main Browser Window
  - Dialog Tabs
  - Property Grid Controls
  - SQL Editors
  - Query Tool
  - Debugger
  - Inner Tab and Panel Navigation
  - Access Key
- Search objects

Before using pgAdmin to manage objects that reside on a server, you must define a connection to the server; for more information please see Connecting to a Server in the next section.