误删Mac .lproj文件导致psql输出字符编码异常求助

Hey there, I’ve run into similar locale-related hiccups on Mac before, so let’s work through fixing this psql output issue step by step. Those <E2><94><80> sequences are actually UTF-8 byte representations of the table border characters (like ─ and │)—the problem comes from broken system locale settings after deleting those .lproj localization files, not psql itself (which is why reinstalling didn’t resolve it).

Here’s what you can try:

1. Check Terminal’s Character Encoding #

First, make sure your Terminal is configured to use UTF-8, since that’s what psql relies on to render border characters correctly:

• Open Terminal, go to Terminal > Settings > Profiles
• Select your active profile, then navigate to the Advanced tab
• Under "Character Encoding", choose Unicode (UTF-8)
• Close and reopen Terminal to apply the change

2. Reset Locale Environment Variables #

The deleted .lproj files likely messed up your system’s locale configuration. Let’s force UTF-8 for your shell:

• Temporary test: Run these commands in Terminal, then launch psql to see if it fixes the issue:

  export LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8
  export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
  

• Permanent fix: Edit your shell config file (depending on whether you use bash or zsh):
  • For zsh (default on newer Macs): Open ~/.zshrc in a text editor, add the two lines above, then run source ~/.zshrc to apply.
  • For bash: Edit ~/.bash_profile or ~/.bashrc instead, then run source ~/.bash_profile.

3. Rebuild System Localization Cache #

If adjusting locale variables alone doesn’t work, we can rebuild Mac’s localization database to fix missing .lproj-related data:

• Run this command in Terminal (you’ll need your admin password):

  sudo /usr/libexec/locale-gen
  

• Additionally, go to System Settings > General > Language & Region, drag "English" to the top of the language list, then restart your Mac. This forces the system to reload core localization settings.

4. Reset Psql’s Configuration (Optional) #

If the above steps don’t help, try resetting psql’s user-specific config to rule out any custom settings interfering:

• Delete the psql config file (if it exists):

  rm ~/.psqlrc
  

• Launch psql again—it will use default output formatting settings.

After trying these steps, your psql table borders should show up as the proper │ and ─ characters instead of the garbled byte sequences.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者MTR