Connect Sovrium to PostgreSQL

Sovrium runs on an embedded SQLite database out of the box. When you need concurrent writers, replication, or a managed database, point it at PostgreSQL — no config change, just one environment variable.

Set DATABASE_URL

export DATABASE_URL="postgres://user:password@db.example.com:5432/mydb"
sovrium start app.ts

When DATABASE_URL is set, Sovrium selects the Postgres engine, connects, and applies your schema inside a transaction on boot. Unset it and Sovrium falls back to the zero-config SQLite default.

Verify

The startup summary names the active engine — a boot log that still says SQLite means DATABASE_URL never reached the process. To confirm from the database side, list the tables Sovrium created:

psql "$DATABASE_URL" -c '\dt'

Your configured tables appear there once the app has booted. An empty result means the app connected to a different database than the one you are inspecting. For a deployed app the URL lives on the platform rather than in your shell — reach it through the host's own console (scalingo --app my-app pgsql-console, or docker compose exec db psql -U postgres).

Next

• Database Infrastructure — how the dual-dialect engine picks SQLite vs Postgres.
• Schema Migrations — the boot-time migration that runs on connect.
• Deploy with Docker Compose and PostgreSQL — run both as one stack.