Uninstall TimescaleDB

You can uninstall TimescaleDB without uninstalling PostgreSQL. Choose your platform below.

Docker

If you installed TimescaleDB using Docker, you can completely remove the TimescaleDB container, image, and optionally the data volumes.

1. Stop the running container

   docker stop timescaledb

   If you named your container differently when you created it, replace timescaledb with your container name.

2. Remove the container

   docker rm timescaledb

   This removes the container but preserves the data volume and the Docker image.

3. List and remove the Docker image

   1. See which TimescaleDB images you have installed:

      docker images | grep timescale

      You see something like:

      timescale/timescaledb-ha               pg18      1ec79f20f47d   9 hours ago    6.2GB

   2. Remove the TimescaleDB image:

      TimescaleDB-HA

      docker rmi timescale/timescaledb-ha:pg18

      TimescaleDB light

      docker rmi timescale/timescaledb:latest-pg18

      Replace pg18 with your PostgreSQL version.

4. (Optional) Remove the data

   Warning

   This step permanently deletes all your database data. Only proceed if you’re sure you no longer need this data or have backed it up.

   List all Docker volumes:

   docker volume ls

   If you used a named volume when creating your container, remove it:

   docker volume rm <volume-name>

   If you used a host directory mount (with the -v </a/local/data/folder>:/pgdata flag), you can manually delete that directory:

   rm -rf </a/local/data/folder>

Kubernetes

If you deployed TimescaleDB on Kubernetes, you can completely remove all associated resources including the StatefulSet, Service, PersistentVolumeClaim, Secret, and application deployments.

1. Back up any important data from your TimescaleDB instance

   kubectl exec -it timescaledb-0 -- pg_dump -U postgres postgres > backup.sql

2. If you created a test pod during installation, delete it

   kubectl delete pod test-pod

3. Remove any application deployments that connect to TimescaleDB

   kubectl delete deployment tigerdata-app

4. Remove the service that exposes TimescaleDB within the cluster

   kubectl delete service timescaledb

5. Delete the StatefulSet managing the TimescaleDB pods

   kubectl delete statefulset timescaledb

   This terminates the TimescaleDB pod.

6. Delete the PersistentVolumeClaim

   Warning

   Deleting the PersistentVolumeClaim permanently deletes all your database data. Ensure you have backed up any data you need before proceeding.

   kubectl delete pvc tigerdata-pvc

7. Remove the Kubernetes secret containing database credentials

   kubectl delete secret tigerdata-secret

8. (Optional) Delete the namespace

   If you created a dedicated namespace for TimescaleDB, you can remove it as well.

   Warning

   Only delete the namespace if you’re certain no other resources are using it. This will delete all resources in the namespace.

   kubectl delete namespace tigerdata

Linux

Take the following steps to uninstall TimescaleDB based on your distribution:

Debian

1. Drop the TimescaleDB extension from your databases

   1. Connect to each database where TimescaleDB is enabled and remove the extension:

      sudo -u postgres psql -d <database_name>

   2. At the psql prompt:

      DROP EXTENSION timescaledb CASCADE;

   Repeat this for all databases with TimescaleDB enabled. To exit psql, type \q.

   Warning

   Using CASCADE will drop all TimescaleDB-specific objects including hypertables, continuous aggregates, and retention policies. Ensure you have backed up any data you want to keep.

2. Remove TimescaleDB from shared_preload_libraries

   Edit the PostgreSQL configuration file:

   sudo vi /etc/postgresql/18/main/postgresql.conf

   Find the line with shared_preload_libraries and remove timescaledb from the list. For example, change:

   shared_preload_libraries = 'timescaledb'

   to:

   shared_preload_libraries = ''

   If there are other extensions in the list, keep them and only remove timescaledb.

3. Restart PostgreSQL

   sudo systemctl restart postgresql

4. Uninstall the TimescaleDB package

   sudo apt remove timescaledb-2-postgresql-18

   Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

5. Remove the TimescaleDB repository configuration

   sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/timescaledb.list
   sudo rm /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/timescaledb.gpg
   sudo apt update

6. Remove dependencies

   Remove unused dependencies installed with TimescaleDB:

   Warning

   This step may also remove PostgreSQL as a dependency.

   sudo apt autoremove

Ubuntu

1. Drop the TimescaleDB extension from your databases

   1. Connect to each database where TimescaleDB is enabled and remove the extension:

      sudo -u postgres psql -d <database_name>

   2. At the psql prompt:

      DROP EXTENSION timescaledb CASCADE;

   Repeat this for all databases with TimescaleDB enabled. To exit psql, type \q.

   Warning

   Using CASCADE will drop all TimescaleDB-specific objects including hypertables, continuous aggregates, and retention policies. Ensure you have backed up any data you want to keep.

2. Remove TimescaleDB from shared_preload_libraries

   Edit the PostgreSQL configuration file:

   sudo vi /etc/postgresql/18/main/postgresql.conf

   Find the line with shared_preload_libraries and remove timescaledb from the list. For example, change:

   shared_preload_libraries = 'timescaledb'

   to:

   shared_preload_libraries = ''

   If there are other extensions in the list, keep them and only remove timescaledb.

3. Restart PostgreSQL

   sudo systemctl restart postgresql

4. Uninstall the TimescaleDB package

   sudo apt remove timescaledb-2-postgresql-18

   Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

5. Remove the TimescaleDB repository configuration

   sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/timescaledb.list
   sudo rm /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/timescaledb.gpg
   sudo apt update

6. Remove dependencies

   Remove unused dependencies installed with TimescaleDB:

   Warning

   This step may also remove PostgreSQL as a dependency.

   sudo apt autoremove

Red Hat

1. Drop the TimescaleDB extension from your databases

   1. Connect to each database where TimescaleDB is enabled and remove the extension:

      sudo -u postgres psql -d <database_name>

   2. At the psql prompt:

      DROP EXTENSION timescaledb CASCADE;

   Repeat this for all databases with TimescaleDB enabled. To exit psql, type \q.

   Warning

   Using CASCADE will drop all TimescaleDB-specific objects including hypertables, continuous aggregates, and retention policies. Ensure you have backed up any data you want to keep.

2. Remove TimescaleDB from shared_preload_libraries

   Edit the PostgreSQL configuration file:

   sudo vi /var/lib/pgsql/18/data/postgresql.conf

   Press / to search, type shared_preload_libraries, and press Enter. Press i to edit. Find the line with shared_preload_libraries and remove timescaledb from the list. For example, change:

   shared_preload_libraries = 'timescaledb'

   to:

   shared_preload_libraries = ''

   If there are other extensions in the list, keep them and only remove timescaledb. Press Esc, then type :wq and press Enter to save.

3. Restart PostgreSQL

   sudo systemctl restart postgresql-18

   Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

4. Uninstall the TimescaleDB package

   sudo dnf remove timescaledb-2-postgresql-18

   Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

5. Remove the TimescaleDB repository configuration

   sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/timescale_timescaledb.repo

6. Remove dependencies

   Remove unused dependencies installed with TimescaleDB:

   Warning

   This step may also remove PostgreSQL as a dependency.

   sudo dnf autoremove

Fedora

1. Drop the TimescaleDB extension from your databases

   1. Connect to each database where TimescaleDB is enabled and remove the extension:

      sudo -u postgres psql -d <database_name>

   2. At the psql prompt:

      DROP EXTENSION timescaledb CASCADE;

   Repeat this for all databases with TimescaleDB enabled. To exit psql, type \q.

   Warning

   Using CASCADE will drop all TimescaleDB-specific objects including hypertables, continuous aggregates, and retention policies. Ensure you have backed up any data you want to keep.

2. Remove TimescaleDB from shared_preload_libraries

   Edit the PostgreSQL configuration file:

   sudo vi /var/lib/pgsql/18/data/postgresql.conf

   Press / to search, type shared_preload_libraries, and press Enter. Press i to edit. Find the line with shared_preload_libraries and remove timescaledb from the list. For example, change:

   shared_preload_libraries = 'timescaledb'

   to:

   shared_preload_libraries = ''

   If there are other extensions in the list, keep them and only remove timescaledb.

3. Restart PostgreSQL

   sudo systemctl restart postgresql-18

   Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

4. Uninstall the TimescaleDB package

   sudo dnf remove timescaledb-2-postgresql-18

   Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

5. Remove the TimescaleDB repository configuration

   sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/timescale_timescaledb.repo

6. Remove dependencies

   Remove unused dependencies installed with TimescaleDB:

   Warning

   This step may also remove PostgreSQL as a dependency.

   sudo dnf autoremove

Rocky

1. Drop the TimescaleDB extension from your databases

   1. Connect to each database where TimescaleDB is enabled and remove the extension:

      sudo -u postgres psql -d <database_name>

   2. At the psql prompt:

      DROP EXTENSION timescaledb CASCADE;

   Repeat this for all databases with TimescaleDB enabled. To exit psql, type \q.

   Warning

   Using CASCADE will drop all TimescaleDB-specific objects including hypertables, continuous aggregates, and retention policies. Ensure you have backed up any data you want to keep.

2. Remove TimescaleDB from shared_preload_libraries

   Edit the PostgreSQL configuration file:

   sudo vi /var/lib/pgsql/18/data/postgresql.conf

   Press / to search, type shared_preload_libraries, and press Enter. Press i to edit. Find the line with shared_preload_libraries and remove timescaledb from the list. For example, change:

   shared_preload_libraries = 'timescaledb'

   to:

   shared_preload_libraries = ''

   If there are other extensions in the list, keep them and only remove timescaledb. Press Esc, then type :wq and press Enter to save.

3. Restart PostgreSQL

   sudo systemctl restart postgresql-18

   Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

4. Uninstall the TimescaleDB package

   sudo dnf remove timescaledb-2-postgresql-18

   Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

5. Remove the TimescaleDB repository configuration

   sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/timescale_timescaledb.repo

6. Remove dependencies

   Remove unused dependencies installed with TimescaleDB:

   Warning

   This step may also remove PostgreSQL as a dependency.

   sudo dnf autoremove

macOS

Uninstall self-hosted TimescaleDB with Homebrew or MacPorts.

Homebrew

1. Drop the TimescaleDB extension from your databases

   At the psql prompt, remove the TimescaleDB extension:

   DROP EXTENSION timescaledb CASCADE;

   Repeat this for all databases with TimescaleDB enabled. To exit psql, type \q.

2. Remove TimescaleDB from shared_preload_libraries

   Edit the PostgreSQL configuration file:

   sudo vi /opt/homebrew/var/postgresql@17/postgresql.conf

   Find the line with shared_preload_libraries and remove timescaledb from the list. For example, change:

   shared_preload_libraries = 'timescaledb'

   to:

   shared_preload_libraries = ''

   If there are other extensions in the list, keep them and only remove timescaledb.

3. Restart PostgreSQL

   brew services restart postgresql@17

4. Uninstall TimescaleDB

   brew uninstall timescaledb-tools timescaledb

5. Remove all the dependencies and related files

   brew untap timescale/tap

MacPorts

1. Drop the TimescaleDB extension from your databases

   At the psql prompt, remove the TimescaleDB extension:

   DROP EXTENSION timescaledb CASCADE;

2. Remove TimescaleDB from shared_preload_libraries

   At the command prompt, remove timescaledb from shared_preload_libraries in the postgresql.conf configuration file:

   nano /opt/homebrew/var/postgresql@14/postgresql.conf
   shared_preload_libraries = ''

3. Save the changes to the postgresql.conf file
4. Restart PostgreSQL

   port reload postgresql

5. Uninstall TimescaleDB and the related dependencies

   port uninstall timescaledb --follow-dependencies

Windows

If you installed TimescaleDB on Windows using a package manager, you can uninstall it without removing PostgreSQL.

1. Drop the TimescaleDB extension from your databases

   1. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and connect to each database where TimescaleDB is enabled:

      psql -U postgres -d <database_name>

   2. At the psql prompt, remove the extension:

      DROP EXTENSION timescaledb CASCADE;

   Repeat this for all databases with TimescaleDB enabled. To exit psql, type \q.

   Warning

   Using CASCADE will drop all TimescaleDB-specific objects including hypertables, continuous aggregates, and retention policies. Ensure you have backed up any data you want to keep.

2. Remove TimescaleDB from shared_preload_libraries

   1. Open your PostgreSQL configuration file. The default location is:

      C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\<version>\data\postgresql.conf

      You may need to run the editor as Administrator.

   2. Find the line with shared_preload_libraries and remove timescaledb from the list. For example, change:

      shared_preload_libraries = 'timescaledb'

      to:

      shared_preload_libraries = ''

      If there are other extensions in the list, keep them and only remove timescaledb.

   3. Save the file.

3. Restart PostgreSQL

   Restart-Service postgresql-x64-18

   Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

4. Remove TimescaleDB binaries

   Manually remove the TimescaleDB files from your PostgreSQL installation directory.

   1. Remove TimescaleDB library files. You may need to run PowerShell as Administrator:

      Remove-Item "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\18\lib\timescaledb*.dll"

      Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

   2. Remove TimescaleDB extension files:

      Remove-Item -Recurse "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\18\share\extension\timescaledb*"

      Replace 18 with your PostgreSQL version if different.

   Note

   If you encounter permission errors, ensure you’re running PowerShell as Administrator.