Si estás usando Mac con brew
Para empezar:
brew services start postgresql
Para detener:
brew services stop postgresql
Usando pg_ctl
Para empezar:
pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres -l /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log start
Para detener:
pg_ctl -D /usr/local/var/postgres -l /usr/local/var/postgres/server.log stop