Postgres.app is designed to run from /Applications. Beginning with Postgres.app version 2.6, you can start it from other locations, but some features might not work correctly.
Linking software with libraries provided by Postgres.app will not work.
This means installing the ruby gem pg or the Python library psycopg2 will not work.
Building custom extensions that are not included with Postgres.app will not work
on macOS 12 and earlier, automatic start of PostgreSQL servers won’t work
It is possible to lauch Postgres.app directly from the disk image, with the limitations above, and two extra limitations:
automatic updates do not work if the app is launched from the disk image
automatc starting of PostgreSQL servers in the background does not work if the app is launched from the disk image
all the limitations above apply as well
For more details, see issue #693