Neon PostgreSQL

Use Neon as your managed PostgreSQL database for FastReact. Neon is a serverless Postgres provider with a generous free tier and affordable scaling.

Why Neon?

• Serverless - Scales to zero when idle, no wasted compute
• Generous free tier - 0.5 GB storage, 1 compute unit free
• Branching - Create database branches for dev/staging (like git branches!)
• Affordable - $19/month for production use
• Standard Postgres - Works with any Postgres client

Cost Estimate

• Free tier: $0/month (great for development)
• Launch plan: $19/month (production-ready)

Setup

1. Create Neon Account

Sign up at neon.tech and create a new project.

2. Get Connection String

1. In your Neon dashboard, select your project
2. Click Connect or Connection Details
3. Copy the connection string (starts with postgresql://)

3. Configure FastReact

Add to backend/.env:

FR_DB_URL=postgresql://username:password@ep-xxx.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/neondb?sslmode=require
FR_DB_SCHEMA=your_schema_name

4. Run Migrations

cd backend/db
./sqitch.sh prod deploy

Neon Database Branches

Neon's branching feature is perfect for FastReact:

# Create a branch for staging
neon branches create --name staging

# Use different connection strings per environment
# dev: main branch
# staging: staging branch
# prod: production branch

Connection Pooling

For production, use Neon's built-in connection pooler (PgBouncer) by adding -pooler to your endpoint:

FR_DB_URL=postgresql://username:password@ep-xxx-pooler.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/neondb?sslmode=require

Key Features

• Autoscaling compute
• Point-in-time recovery (14 days)
• Database branching
• Read replicas (paid plans)
• Built-in connection pooling
• Standard PostgreSQL 16

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For more: Neon Documentation