Claimable Postgres

Instant Postgres databases for local development, demos, prototyping, and test environments. No account required. Databases expire after 72 hours unless claimed to a Neon account.

Quick Start

curl -s -X POST "https://pg.new/api/v1/database" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"ref": "agent-skills"}'

Parse connection_string and claim_url from the JSON response. Write connection_string to the project's .env as DATABASE_URL.

For other methods (CLI, SDK, Vite plugin), see Which Method? below.

Which Method?

• REST API: Returns structured JSON. No runtime dependency beyond curl. Preferred when the agent needs predictable output and error handling.
• CLI (npx get-db@latest --yes): Provisions and writes .env in one command. Convenient when Node.js is available and the user wants a simple setup.
• SDK (get-db/sdk): Scripts or programmatic provisioning in Node.js.
• Vite plugin (vite-plugin-db): Auto-provisions on vite dev if DATABASE_URL is missing. Use when the user has a Vite project.
• Browser: User cannot run CLI or API. Direct to https://pg.new.

REST API

Base URL: https://pg.new/api/v1

Create a database

curl -s -X POST "https://pg.new/api/v1/database" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"ref": "agent-skills"}'

The connection_string returned by the API is a pooled connection URL. For a direct (non-pooled) connection (e.g. Prisma migrations), remove -pooler from the hostname. The CLI writes both pooled and direct URLs automatically.

Response:

{
  "id": "019beb39-37fb-709d-87ac-7ad6198b89f7",
  "status": "UNCLAIMED",
  "neon_project_id": "gentle-scene-06438508",
  "connection_string": "postgresql://...",
  "claim_url": "https://pg.new/claim/019beb39-...",
  "expires_at": "2026-01-26T14:19:14.580Z",
  "created_at": "2026-01-23T14:19:14.580Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-01-23T14:19:14.580Z"
}

Check status

curl -s "https://pg.new/api/v1/database/{id}"

Returns the same response shape. Status transitions: UNCLAIMED -> CLAIMING -> CLAIMED. After the database is claimed, connection_string returns null.

Error responses

CLI

npx get-db@latest --yes

Provisions a database and writes the connection string to .env in one step. Always use @latest and --yes (skips interactive prompts that would stall the agent).

Pre-run Check

Check if DATABASE_URL (or the chosen key) already exists in the target .env. The CLI exits without provisioning if it finds the key.

If the key exists, offer the user three options:

1. Remove or comment out the existing line, then rerun.
2. Use --env to write to a different file (e.g. --env .env.local).
3. Use --key to write under a different variable name.

Get confirmation before proceeding.

Options

Alternative package managers: yarn dlx get-db@latest, pnpm dlx get-db@latest, bunx get-db@latest, deno run -A get-db@latest.

Output

The CLI writes to the target .env:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://...              # pooled (use for application queries)
DATABASE_URL_DIRECT=postgresql://...       # direct (use for migrations, e.g. Prisma)
PUBLIC_POSTGRES_CLAIM_URL=https://pg.new/claim/...

SDK

Use for scripts and programmatic provisioning flows.

import { instantPostgres } from 'get-db';

const { databaseUrl, databaseUrlDirect, claimUrl, claimExpiresAt } = await instantPostgres({
  referrer: 'agent-skills',
  seed: { type: 'sql-script', path: './init.sql' },
});

Returns databaseUrl (pooled), databaseUrlDirect (direct, for migrations), claimUrl, and claimExpiresAt (Date object). The referrer parameter is required.

Vite Plugin

For Vite projects, vite-plugin-db auto-provisions a database on `vite de