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Database

SLAW uses PostgreSQL via Drizzle ORM. There are three ways to run the database.

1. Embedded PostgreSQL (default)​

Zero config. If you don't set DATABASE_URL, the server starts an embedded PostgreSQL instance automatically.

pnpm dev

On first start, the server:

  1. Creates ~/.slaw/instances/default/db/ for storage
  2. Ensures the slaw database exists
  3. Runs migrations automatically
  4. Starts serving requests

Data persists across restarts. To reset: rm -rf ~/.slaw/instances/default/db.

The Docker quickstart also uses embedded PostgreSQL by default.

2. Local PostgreSQL (Docker)​

For a full PostgreSQL server locally:

docker compose up -d

This starts PostgreSQL 17 on localhost:5432. Set the connection string:

cp .env.example .env
# DATABASE_URL=postgres://slaw:slaw@localhost:5432/slaw

Push the schema:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://slaw:slaw@localhost:5432/slaw \
  npx drizzle-kit push

3. Hosted PostgreSQL​

For production, use a hosted provider such as Supabase.

  1. Create a project at database.new
  2. Copy the connection string from Project Settings → Database
  3. Set DATABASE_URL in your .env

Use the direct connection (port 5432) for migrations and the pooled connection (port 6543) for the application. If using connection pooling, disable prepared statements in the client (postgres(url, { prepare: false })).

Switching between modes​

DATABASE_URLMode
Not setEmbedded PostgreSQL
postgres://...localhost...Local Docker PostgreSQL
postgres://... (hosted)Hosted PostgreSQL

The Drizzle schema (packages/db/src/schema/) is the same regardless of mode.

Next steps​