# Connect Postgres for Next.js

Connect a Next.js app to PostgreSQL on Ample from a route handler. Read DATABASE_URL at request time (force-dynamic) with pg; with no DATABASE_URL supplied, Ample auto-provisions a managed PostgreSQL 16 database and injects its connection string as an encrypted environment variable.

## Representative Queries
- Connect Postgres for Next.js
- Where can I host Connect Postgres built with Next.js?
- I need driver setup, connection settings, secret handling and a real connection test.

## Prerequisites
- The pg driver in dependencies and a route handler that reads process.env.DATABASE_URL at request time
- 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. **Keep the database out of the build**  
   Mark the route handler dynamic and open the client per request; next build must not need the database.
2. **Deploy**  
   Omit DATABASE_URL to auto-provision, or pass --env DATABASE_URL=... to use an existing database.  
   Command: `ample deploy . --name  --public`
3. **Test through the app**  
   Fetch the route; it should report postgres=ok after a real query.
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`

## Success Checks
- **Database route reports a live connection**  
   - Kind: http_get  
   - Path: /api/db  
   - Expect: postgres=ok

## 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.
- Connection pooling across serverless-style invocations is not applicable; the app is one long-lived process.

## Cost Estimate
- **Currency**: USD  
- **Monthly Amount**: 10.0  
- **Components**:  
  - App server (s-1vcpu-1gb): $5.00/month  
  - Managed PostgreSQL database (s-1vcpu-1gb): $5.00/month  
- **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.

## Examples
- **Next.js + pg canary**  
  Route handler /api/db with an auto-provisioned managed database.  
  Source Ref: tests/deploy-canaries/next-postgres-basic

## Formats
- [HTML](/content/guides/next-js/database-connection/index.html)  
- [Markdown](/content/guides/next-js/database-connection.md)  
- [JSON](https://api.ample.computer/v1/catalog/recipes/page%3Aguides%3Anext-js%3Adatabase-connection)

## Next Actions
- **Browse the catalog index**  
  Action ID: browse-catalog  
- **Search published recipes by intent, stack and constraints**  
  Action ID: search-recipes  
- **Prepare a side-effect-free deployment plan for an authorized project**  
  Action ID: plan:page:guides:next-js:database-connection  
- **Read the existing agent authentication setup**  
  Action ID: auth-setup  
- **Browse Next.js**  
  Action ID: browse:stack:framework-next-js  
- **Browse Connect app to database**  
  Action ID: browse:intent:connect-app-to-database  
- **Browse Relational records**  
  Action ID: browse:pattern:relational-records