# 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.  
   ```bash
   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.