Setup CockroachDB in 5 Minutes on OSX

Introduction

This tutorial will provide a straightforward example of how to install the CockroachDB on a Mac OSX in five minutes. Before beginning, a Mac machine running Apple’s OS X is required and a cursory working knowledge of terminal commands is highly recommended in order to setup CockroachDB in 5 minutes on OSX.

Prerequisites

• A Mac computer running Apple’s OS X
• While most of the commands in this tutorial can be copied and pasted, having at least a cursory working knowledge of the terminal commands is highly recommended.

Using the Binary Version of CockroachDB

As there may be issues when trying to use the Homebrew application, the binary version of CockroachDB for Mac is highly recommended.

Begin by executing the following command from the terminal:

The results should resemble something that looks like the following:

• The previous command downloaded the binary version of Cockroach to the current directory, however, the program will not run in this location.
• Execute the cp (copy) command, as shown below, to copy the binary file from the current directory from where it was downloaded /usr/local/bin. This will allow for the CockroachDB commands to be executed form any directory.

Verify the Installation by Starting a Cluster

Now that the binary file is in the proper location, start a cluster to confirm the program is properly installed.

The CockroachDB demo provides two different options for starting a Secure or Insecure cluster. The easiest way is to start an Insecure cluster as this is simply a developmental environment that is used only for testing purposes. Execute the following command to start a cluster:

Because the developmental environment was opened intentionally, disregard the warning, displayed below, about running in an Insecure mode.

The information that confirms the cluster has been started follows the warning, as shown here:

This was the final step in verifying that the CockroachDB was successfully setup.

Conclusion

This tutorial demonstrated how quick and easy it is to setup the CockroachDB in 5 minutes on OSX on a local development environment. Remember to download the binary version of the CockroachDB for Mac as there may be issues with the Homebrew application. Once the CockroachDB is downloaded it will need to be moved from the current directory with a simple cp (copy) command. Bear in mind, when starting an Insecure cluster to verify the CockroachDB installation, a warning will be displayed.

As with most systems, configuration and administration become increasingly more complex when moving into a production environment. If you are thinking about using CockroachDB for managing your data, Object Rocket is here to assist you with both the setup and migration of your data from an existing system. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Object Rocket to discuss setting up the CockroachDB or with any other database-management issue.