Setting Up Pgcli in an Air-Gapped Environment

The terminal waits. You type a query, hit enter, and get results instantly. No bloat, no delay. Pgcli in an air-gapped environment can be that fast—if you set it up right.

An air-gapped system has no direct internet connection. That makes installing and updating tooling harder, but not impossible. Pgcli, the command-line client for PostgreSQL with autocomplete and syntax highlighting, works well in isolated networks when you package it correctly.

Start by downloading all dependencies on a machine with internet access. You need Python, pip, and the pgcli package itself. Also fetch psycopg, the PostgreSQL adapter Pgcli relies on, along with any OS-level libraries like libpq. Store these files in a local directory, then move them into the air-gapped environment via secure media.

Install Pgcli using pip with the --no-index flag to prevent online lookups:

pip install --no-index --find-links /path/to/dependencies pgcli

Verify pgcli --help runs without errors. Connect to your PostgreSQL database with a local or internal network connection. Autocomplete and formatting will work exactly as they do online, because Pgcli is self-contained after installation.

To keep your air-gapped Pgcli secure and current, schedule regular dependency fetches from a connected mirror. Test updates in a staging environment before rolling out. This minimizes risk while preserving productivity in isolated systems.

Performance in air-gapped operations depends on preparation. When Pgcli and its dependencies are staged correctly, engineers avoid downtime and keep workflows sharp.

See it live with hoop.dev—deploy a full Pgcli environment in minutes, test commands instantly, and know it will run clean even when the network is cut.