Migrate Supabase database: JSON document metadata | Ample
INFRASTRUCTURE
What it needs
- Postgres: verified (Managed PostgreSQL 16 runs in its own microVM and is auto-provisioned when an app needs a database and no DATABASE_URL is supplied.)
PREREQUISITES
Before you start
- Authorized access to the Supabase database 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
TESTED CONFIGURATION
Exactly what was tested
- build:
npm run build --if-present - install:
npm install - runtime:
node - size:
s-1vcpu-1gb - start:
npm run start - template:
node-22
STEP BY STEP
How to do it
- 1
Inventory the source
List what Supabase database provides beyond the component you are moving. Out of scope here: Supabase Auth, Storage, Realtime, Edge Functions and row-level security policies tied to Supabase roles are not migrated by a database move.
- 2
Source step 1
Take a logical backup with pg_dump -Fc using the direct (non-pooled) connection string
- 3
Source step 2
Check extensions and Supabase-managed schemas (auth, storage, realtime) in the dump; only your application schema moves
- 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 <db-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/json-document-metadata).
- 7
Cut over
Freeze writes at the source with the user's go-ahead, take the final dump, restore, validate counts and checksums, redeploy the app with the managed DATABASE_URL, keep the Supabase project 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
Tested examples
- Express pattern fixture (destination) (
tests/deploy-canaries/express-patterns): Verified destination basis: JSON document metadata.
SUCCESS CHECKS
How to know it worked
- destination app responds on its public URL (
/on the live URL, expect ample canary express patterns) - json-document-metadata check from the destination example (
/p/json-document-metadataon the live URL, expect see the pattern fixture checks) - data or object counts and checksums match the source
LIMITATIONS
Know the limits
- Documentation only: nothing is executed automatically and no execution binding is offered.
- The source-side procedure is documented from Supabase database'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: Supabase Auth, Storage, Realtime, Edge Functions and row-level security policies tied to Supabase roles are not migrated by a database move.
- 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
Cost estimate
Estimated 10.00 USD per month (size prices from pricing.toml at build revision a1b8c38919e59cd035ebabaced73cf84ece24371).
- app server x1
s-1vcpu-1gb: 5.00 USD - managed PostgreSQL database x1
s-1vcpu-1gb: 5.00 USD
Destination always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps auto-pause when idle. Source costs are unknown to Ample.
EVIDENCE
Verification evidence
- canary_run on 2026-09-21T02:34:39Z at revision
1d28ae0-dirty (CLI 0.1.21): 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 (a jsonb column with a GIN index queried by path and containment, with an aggregate over matching documents (json=ok)). The source-side export from Supabase database is documented from the vendor's standard tooling and was not executed by this catalog's evidence. (expires 2027-03-20T02:34:39Z)
EXECUTION
Execution binding
No execution binding. This recipe is documentation only; nothing is executed automatically.
NEXT ACTIONS
Typed next actions
- Browse the catalog index (
GET /v1/catalogon the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required) - Search published recipes by intent, stack and constraints (
POST /v1/catalog/searchon the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required) - Prepare a side-effect-free deployment plan for an authorized project (
POST /v1/catalog/planon the api origin; authentication required, approval not required) - Read the existing agent authentication setup (
GET /mcp/setupon the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required) - Browse Supabase database (
GET /v1/catalog/nodes/migration%3Asupabase-databaseon the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required) - Browse JSON document metadata (
GET /v1/catalog/nodes/pattern%3Ajson-document-metadataon the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required) - Browse Migrate Postgres (
GET /v1/catalog/nodes/intent%3Amigrate-postgreson the api origin; authentication not required, approval not required)
Actions describe possible next steps. They are typed data, not commands, and grant no permission. Public discovery never provisions anything; planning requires your own authenticated token and approval happens in your client.