Connect Postgres for Nuxt

Summary

Connect a Nuxt app to PostgreSQL on Ample. Read DATABASE_URL at runtime with pg: 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 Nuxt
• Where can I host Connect Postgres built with Nuxt?
• I need driver setup, connection settings, secret handling and a real connection test.

Prerequisites

• pg 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

Resource Requirements

• primitive:compute
• primitive:postgres

Infrastructure Requirements

Compute

• Status: verified
• Summary: Apps run in isolated x86_64 Firecracker microVMs that auto-pause when idle and wake on request; sizes are the priced VM sizes.

Postgres

• Status: verified
• Summary: Managed PostgreSQL 16 runs in its own microVM and is auto-provisioned when an app needs a database and no DATABASE_URL is supplied.

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
3. Test the connection through the app
   Expose a route (/api/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

Examples

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

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.

Cost Estimate

• Currency: USD
• Monthly Amount: 10.0
• Basis: size prices from pricing.toml
• Components:
  • App server, size: s-1vcpu-1gb, quantity: 1.0, monthlyAmount: 5.0
  • Managed PostgreSQL database, size: s-1vcpu-1gb, quantity: 1.0, monthlyAmount: 5.0
• 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.