Migrate Render PostgreSQL: Transactional workflows

Move PostgreSQL data from Render PostgreSQL to Ample, one component at a time. Destination verified on Ample: an optimistic version check and an event row written in the same transaction, a stale update rejected, and a history query over the application-owned events (history=2 conflict=rejected).
Source procedure: Take a logical backup with pg_dump -Fc using the external connection string. Not migrated automatically: Render's automatic backups and read replicas have no equivalent on the managed database.
Cutover: Freeze writes with the user's go-ahead, take the final dump, restore, validate, redeploy with the managed DATABASE_URL, keep the Render 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 Render PostgreSQL: Transactional workflows
• Where can I host Transactional workflows?
• I need a component-scoped export/import or reconfiguration procedure for Transactional workflows, 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

Transactional workflows
Migration Source: Render PostgreSQL
Release Status: published
Support Status: verified
Execution Status: unbound
Docs Only: true

Prerequisites

• Authorized access to the Render PostgreSQL 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 Render PostgreSQL provides beyond the component you are moving. Out of scope here: Render's automatic backups and read replicas have no equivalent on the managed database.
2. Source step 1
   Take a logical backup with pg_dump -Fc using the external connection string
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.

   ample database create --name <database_name> --engine postgres
   

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/transactional-workflows).
7. Cut over
   Freeze writes with the user's go-ahead, take the final dump, restore, validate, redeploy with the managed DATABASE_URL, keep the Render 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.

Limitations

• Documentation only: nothing is executed automatically and no execution binding is offered.
• The source-side procedure is documented from Render PostgreSQL's standard tooling and was not executed in this catalog's evidence; the destination side was verified with the pattern fixture.
• No full source-product parity is claimed: Render's automatic backups and read replicas have no equivalent on the managed database.
• Verified on the node-22 template at s-1vcpu-1gb; region, compliance and request-duration limits are unknown.
• Managed PostgreSQL 16 only; extensions, connection limits and backup or restore procedures on the managed side are not verified beyond the pattern checks.

Cost Estimate

• Currency: USD
• Monthly Amount: 10.0
• Authoritative: true
• Basis: size prices from pricing.toml (loaded by the API) at build revision 1ac5595375130d45290090e82ed0f554ccd45405-dirty

Components

• 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

Note: Destination always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps auto-pause when idle. Source costs are unknown to Ample.

Next Actions

• Browse the catalog index: GET /v1/catalog
• Search published recipes by intent, stack and constraints: POST /v1/catalog/search
• Prepare a side-effect-free deployment plan for an authorized project: POST /v1/catalog/plan
• Read existing agent authentication setup: GET /mcp/setup
• Browse Render PostgreSQL: GET /v1/catalog/nodes/migration%3Arender-postgresql
• Browse Transactional workflows: GET /v1/catalog/nodes/pattern%3Atransactional-workflows
• Browse Migrate Postgres: GET /v1/catalog/nodes/intent%3Amigrate-postgres

Evidence Summary

• Kind: canary_run
  Summary: 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.
  Observed At: 2026-09-21T02:34:39Z
  Implementation Revision: 1d28ae0-dirty (CLI 0.1.21)
  Expires At: 2027-03-20T02:34:39Z
  Scope: {"checks":["/p/transactional-workflows"],"destinationOnly":true,"template":"node-22"}

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.