PostgREST on DigitalOcean App Platform

A production-ready template for deploying PostgREST on DigitalOcean App Platform. Automatically generates a RESTful API from your PostgreSQL database schema.

What is PostgREST?

PostgREST transforms your PostgreSQL database directly into a RESTful API. The database schema and permissions define the API endpoints automatically - no backend code required.

Use Cases: Rapid API development, database-first architecture, lightweight data layer for microservices.

What's Included:

• PostgREST Server (automatic REST API generation)
• PostgreSQL Database (managed by App Platform)
• Sample todos table with working endpoints (/welcome, /todos, /todos_stats)

Quick Start

One-Click Deploy

Click the Deploy to DigitalOcean button above for instant deployment with sample data.

Deploy via CLI

Development (includes dev database with sample data):

git clone https://github.com/AppPlatform-Templates/postgrest-appplatform.git
cd postgrest-appplatform
doctl apps create --spec .do/app.yaml

Production (uses your existing database with autoscaling):

# 1. Create a PostgreSQL database
doctl databases create postgrest-db --engine pg --version 16 --region nyc3 --size db-s-1vcpu-1gb

# 2. Deploy the app
doctl apps create --spec .do/production-app.yaml

Your API will be immediately functional with example endpoints at /welcome, /todos, and /todos_stats.

Production features: Autoscaling (1-3 instances), dedicated api schema, anon role for security.

To customize: Fork this repo, update the repo reference in your chosen template (.do/ folder) to point to your fork, then deploy.

Local Development

# Optional: Create .env file for custom credentials
cp .env.example .env

# Start services
docker-compose up
# Access API at http://127.0.0.1:3000

See LOCAL_DEVELOPMENT.md for API examples and troubleshooting.

Customization

Using Sample Data (Default)

The template includes a db-init PRE_DEPLOY job that initializes your database with:

• Sample todos table with example data
• Sample todos_stats view
• Required permissions

Files: config/init.sql (dev) or config/init.production.sql (production)

To customize: Edit these files to add your own tables, views, and functions. The init script runs on every deployment.

Using Your Own Database

The db-init job is optional. To use an existing database with your own schema:

1. Remove the jobs section from .do/app.yaml or .do/production-app.yaml
2. Update environment variables:
   • PGRST_DB_SCHEMAS - your schema name(s)
   • PGRST_DB_ANON_ROLE - database role for API access
3. Deploy - PostgREST auto-generates endpoints from your schema

Note: Production databases should use dedicated schemas (not public) and roles (not default user) for security.

Resources

• PostgREST Documentation
• DigitalOcean App Platform Documentation
• App Spec Reference
• Local Development Guide

Getting Help

• GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
• DigitalOcean Community: community.digitalocean.com
• Support: DigitalOcean Support