page:guides:django:database connection

Connect Postgres for Django

Summary

Connect a Django app to PostgreSQL on Ample. Read DATABASE_URL at runtime with dj-database-url with psycopg: when you supply one with --env it is delivered encrypted and takes precedence; when you supply none and the app needs PostgreSQL, Ample auto-provisions a managed PostgreSQL 16 database and injects its connection string.

Representative Queries

• Connect Postgres for Django
• Where can I host Connect Postgres built with Django?
• I need driver setup, connection settings, secret handling and a real connection test.

Resource Requirements

• primitive:compute
• primitive:postgres

Infrastructure Requirements

1. Compute
   Managed PostgreSQL 16 runs in its own microVM and is auto-provisioned when an app needs a database and no DATABASE_URL is supplied.
2. Postgres
   Apps run in isolated x86_64 Firecracker microVMs that auto-pause when idle and wake on request; sizes are the priced VM sizes.

Framework and Workload

• Framework: Django
• Workload: Connect Postgres

Release Status

• Status: published
• Support Status: verified
• Execution Status: ready

Prerequisites

• dj-database-url with psycopg reading the DATABASE_URL environment variable at runtime
• Either a production DATABASE_URL to pass with --env, or nothing (auto-provision)
• An Ample account token with servers:write and databases:read

Workflow Steps

1. Read the URL at runtime Open connections from the DATABASE_URL environment variable inside the app; never commit credentials and never connect at build time.
2. Choose the source of the database Pass --env DATABASE_URL=... for an existing database, or omit it to let Ample provision a managed one on first deploy and reuse it on redeploys.
   Command: ample deploy . --name --public --start "python3 run.py"
3. Test the connection through the app Expose a route (/db) that runs a trivial query and returns postgres=ok.
4. Verify Fetch the live URL and run the success checks below. On failure read the build log, then the runtime log, fix the cause and deploy again; do not blind-retry.
   Command: ample logs --kind build

Limitations

• Verified on the node-22 template at s-1vcpu-1gb; other templates and sizes are not verified by this recipe.
• Region, compliance attestations and request-duration limits are unknown and not claimed.
• Apps auto-pause when idle and wake on the next request; always-on is an operator setting, not a plan feature.
• Managed PostgreSQL 16 only; extensions, connection limits and backup or restore procedures are not verified.
• Apps and their managed databases are placed together; cross-node shared databases are unsupported.

Cost Estimate

• Currency: USD
• Monthly Amount: 10.0
• Note: Apps and managed databases auto-pause when idle; the estimate is the always-on monthly price of the tested sizes. Plan quotas and budgets apply.

Cost Breakdown

• App server:
  Size: s-1vcpu-1gb
  Quantity: 1.0
  Monthly Amount: 5.0
• Managed PostgreSQL database:
  Size: s-1vcpu-1gb
  Quantity: 1.0
  Monthly Amount: 5.0

Examples

• Django + PostgreSQL canary
  Auto-provisioned managed database with a real query.

  Source Ref: tests/deploy-canaries/django-postgres

Success Checks

1. Database route reports a live connection
   Kind: http_get
   Path: /db
   Expect: postgres=ok

Evidence Summary

1. Canary run
   Summary: Django 5 project with dj-database-url and psycopg: the managed PostgreSQL database was auto-provisioned, python3 manage.py migrate ran as the release command, and /db and /migrated reported postgres=ok and the migrated marker.
   Observed At: 2026-09-20T01:42:25Z
   Implementation Revision: 199ff1dfd52683832ae75d3f98b53a7a4bff7f96-dirty (CLI e3181f5)
   Expires At: 2027-03-19T01:42:25Z
2. Canary run
   Summary: Node app needing PostgreSQL with no DATABASE_URL: a managed database was auto-provisioned and /db reported postgres=ok.
   Observed At: 2026-09-19T23:55:33Z
   Implementation Revision: 1764076-tls-account-903d345
   Expires At: 2027-03-18T23:55:33Z