---
title: "Plain Postgres"
description: "Use any managed or self-hosted PostgreSQL service through a standard DATABASE_URL."
---

# Plain Postgres

Any provider that gives you a standard PostgreSQL connection URL works with
the framework. This includes managed services such as Railway, Render, Fly.io,
and Amazon RDS, as well as a self-hosted Postgres server.

## Configure the app

Set `DATABASE_URL` in the server environment:

```bash
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://app_user:YOUR_PASSWORD@db.example.com:5432/app
```

The framework uses its standard Postgres driver for non-Neon URLs. Your
provider must allow the deployed app to reach the database and should use TLS
for production connections.

If your provider offers separate pooled and direct endpoints, use the pooled
endpoint for runtime traffic and the direct endpoint for migrations.

The framework limits connections per process pool. Set
`AGENT_NATIVE_DB_POOL_MAX` to override that limit for both Neon and standard
PostgreSQL clients. The default is 20 for long-lived Node.js processes and is
smaller for serverless functions. Add the maximum across warm processes, app
instances, and database URLs when checking your database's connection budget.
This setting does not combine pools across processes. For self-hosted
PostgreSQL with many app processes, consider transaction pooling with
PgBouncer.

## Migrations

Run production migrations in the release or deployment step. Follow the
embedded migration guidance in the [database guide](/docs/server-database#migrations),
and never run `drizzle-kit push` against a production database.

## What's next

- [Database](/docs/server-database) - schema, migrations, and connection rules
- [Deployment](/docs/deployment) - choose a runtime and deployment preset