Connect to PostgreSQL

Host, port, URI, SSL, and provider-specific notes for Supabase, Neon, Railway, Render, and AWS RDS.

For: everyone. PostgreSQL is QueryDeck's primary engine.

QueryDeck talks to PostgreSQL through libpq, the same client library that ships with the official psql tool. Anything psql can connect to, QueryDeck can connect to.

Required fields

Field	Default	Notes
Host	none	DNS name or IP. Use `localhost` for a local server.
Port	`5432`	Override only if your server runs on a non-standard port.
User	none	Often `postgres` for self-hosted, or a provider-issued username.
Password	none	Stored in macOS Keychain.
Database	`postgres`	The database name on the server, not the instance name.

Paste a connection string

If your provider hands you a URI, paste it into the "Connection String" field. QueryDeck parses these formats:

postgres://user:password@host:5432/database
postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database?sslmode=require

postgres:// and postgresql:// are interchangeable. Query parameters like sslmode, connect_timeout, and application_name are honored.

Provider-specific notes

Supabase

Supabase gives you two connection strings: a direct one and a connection pooler. Both work in QueryDeck.

In your Supabase project, open Settings → Database.
Copy the "Connection string" under either "Direct connection" or "Connection pooling".
Paste it into QueryDeck. Replace [YOUR-PASSWORD] with your real database password.
SSL mode is enforced. QueryDeck sets require automatically.

The pooler hostname looks like aws-0-eu-central-1.pooler.supabase.com. The direct hostname looks like db.<project-ref>.supabase.co. Use the pooler for short-lived queries and the direct connection for migrations.

Neon

Neon connection strings include the database branch name. Copy from the Neon dashboard and paste. SSL is required. Neon does not need an SSH tunnel.

postgres://user:password@ep-name-123.eu-central-1.aws.neon.tech/main?sslmode=require

Railway

Railway exposes a public TCP proxy for Postgres. Copy the "Postgres Connection URL" from the Railway dashboard and paste. SSL is recommended.

Render

Render gives you both an internal and external connection string. Use the external one from your laptop. SSL mode is require.

AWS RDS

Use the endpoint shown in the RDS console as the host. Default username is postgres. SSL mode is verify-full if your security policy requires it, otherwise require is sufficient.

If your RDS instance has no public access, connect through a bastion host. See SSH tunnels.

DigitalOcean Managed Databases

DigitalOcean uses a custom CA. The connection string from the dashboard includes the SSL mode. Paste it and QueryDeck handles the rest.

Self-hosted PostgreSQL

Fill the fields by hand. If your pg_hba.conf requires SSL, set the SSL mode to require. If you allow trust or peer auth on localhost, leave SSL at prefer or disable.

SSL modes

QueryDeck supports the five standard libpq SSL modes:

Mode	Use when
`disable`	Local dev only, never over the network.
`allow`	Try without SSL first, fall back to SSL. Rare.
`prefer`	Try SSL first, fall back without. Default for many setups.
`require`	Demand SSL but don't verify the certificate. Most cloud providers.
`verify-full`	Demand SSL and validate the certificate against a CA. Enterprise.

Full reference: SSL/TLS modes.

Schemas

PostgreSQL connections show every schema in the sidebar tree, with public expanded by default. Switch the active schema from the dropdown above the table list, or qualify table names directly in your queries (SELECT * FROM analytics.events).