Migrate Heroku Postgres: Relational records

Move PostgreSQL data from Heroku Postgres to Ample, one component at a time. Destination verified on Ample: a workspace-scoped table, an explicit state machine (draft to review to published) that rejects invalid transitions, and a cross-workspace read that returns nothing (transitions=true isolation=true). Source procedure: Take a logical backup with heroku pg:backups:capture and download it, or pg_dump -Fc against the credentials from heroku pg:credentials:url. Not migrated automatically: Heroku Postgres followers, forks, rollback (PITR) and dataclips have no equivalent on the managed database. Cutover: Put the app in maintenance mode with the user's go-ahead, take the final backup, restore, validate, redeploy with the managed DATABASE_URL, keep the Heroku database until confirmed. Rollback: keep the source untouched until you confirm; nothing at the source is changed or deleted by this guide.

Representative Queries

• Migrate Heroku Postgres: Relational records
• Where can I host Relational records?
• I need a component-scoped export/import or reconfiguration procedure for Relational records, with compatibility checks, verification and rollback.

Resource Requirements

• primitive:postgres

Infrastructure Requirements

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

Workload

Relational records

Migration Source

Heroku Postgres

Prerequisites

• Authorized access to the Heroku Postgres source and its export tooling
• An inventory of every component in scope and out of scope
• A validated backup or copy before any cutover
• An Ample account token with servers:write, databases:read

Workflow Steps

1. Inventory the source: List what Heroku Postgres provides beyond the component you are moving. Out of scope here: Heroku Postgres followers, forks, rollback (PITR) and dataclips have no equivalent on the managed database.
2. Source step 1: Take a logical backup with heroku pg:backups:capture and download it, or pg_dump -Fc against the credentials from heroku pg:credentials:url
3. Source step 2: Check the Postgres major version and extensions against the managed engine (PostgreSQL 16)
4. Source step 3: Restore into a scratch managed database first and compare row counts
5. Provision and restore: Deploy the app once so a managed PostgreSQL 16 database exists (or create one with ample database create --engine postgres), then restore the dump with pg_restore using its connection string; keep migrations idempotent.
6. Validate before cutover: Run the app's own checks and, for data, compare counts and checksums; the example checks are the pattern self-tests (/p/relational-records).
7. Cut over: Put the app in maintenance mode with the user's go-ahead, take the final backup, restore, validate, redeploy with the managed DATABASE_URL, keep the Heroku database until confirmed.
8. Rollback: Point DNS or configuration back to the source. The source was never modified; deletion is a separate, user-executed step after validation.

Examples

• Express pattern fixture (destination): Verified destination basis: relational records. (sourceRef: tests/deploy-canaries/express-patterns)

Success Checks

• Destination app responds on its public URL
• Relational-records check from the destination example
• Data or object counts and checksums match the source

Limitations

• Documentation only: nothing is executed automatically and no execution binding is offered.
• Verified on the node-22 template at s-1vcpu-1gb; region, compliance and request-duration limits are unknown.

Cost Estimate

• Monthly Amount: $10.00
• Components:
  • App Server: size s-1vcpu-1gb, quantity 1.0, monthly amount $5.00
  • Managed PostgreSQL Database: size s-1vcpu-1gb, quantity 1.0, monthly amount $5.00
• Note: Destination always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps auto-pause when idle. Source costs are unknown to Ample.

Evidence Summary

• Canary Run: Destination side verified: the Express pattern fixture deployed on Ample (npm install, npm run build --if-present, npm run start on the node-22 template) and its checks passed.

Last Verified At

2026-09-21T02:34:39Z

Unknowns

• Region availability is unknown until a verified region fact is recorded
• Compliance attestations are unknown; none are claimed.