Summary: Connecting Astro to Lakebase Postgres requires the Astro Node adapter for on-demand (SSR) rendering so pages query the database at request time rather than only at build time. The guide covers driver options including node-postgres, postgres.js, and the Neon serverless driver, and shows query patterns for both .astro page components and server endpoint API routes.

Learn how to make server-side queries to Postgres from .astro files or API routes.

Pre-built prompt for connecting Astro to Neon using the Neon serverless driver View prompt

Astro builds fast content sites, powerful web applications, dynamic server APIs, and everything in-between. This guide describes how to create a database on Neon and access it from an Astro site or application.

To create a Neon project and access it from an Astro site or application:

If you do not have one already, create a Neon project. Save your connection details including your password. They are required when defining connection settings.

1. Navigate to the Projects page in the Neon Console.
2. Click New Project.
3. Specify your project settings and click Create Project.

1. Create an Astro project if you do not have one. For instructions, see Getting Started, in the Astro documentation.

2. Add project dependencies using one of the following commands:

   node-postgres

   npm install pg

   postgres.js

   npm install postgres

   Neon serverless driver

   npm install @neondatabase/serverless

Astro requires an adapter to query databases at request time. Run:

npx astro add node

This enables on-demand rendering (also known as server-side rendering or SSR) so your pages can fetch fresh data on each request.

Note: This adapter is required for real-time database queries in production. Without it, your database is queried only once at build time, and production will serve static data. Development mode (npm run dev) rebuilds pages automatically and does not require the adapter.

Add a .env file to your project directory and add your Neon connection string to it. You can find the connection string for your database by clicking the Connect button in the Console nav to open the Connect to your branch modal. For more information, see Connect from any application.

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://<user>:<password>@<endpoint_hostname>.neon.tech:<port>/<dbname>?sslmode=require&channel_binding=require"

Create a reusable database client that you can import throughout your application. This approach centralizes your database configuration and follows best practices for code organization.

Create a new file at src/lib/neon.ts (or src/lib/neon.js) with the following code:

node-postgres

import { Pool } from 'pg';

export const pool = new Pool({
  connectionString: import.meta.env.DATABASE_URL,
  ssl: true
});

postgres.js

import postgres from 'postgres';

export const sql = postgres(import.meta.env.DATABASE_URL, { ssl: 'require' });

Neon serverless driver

import { neon } from '@neondatabase/serverless';

export const sql = neon(import.meta.env.DATABASE_URL);

There are multiple ways to make server side requests with Astro. See below for two of those options: Page Components (.astro files) and Server Endpoints (API Routes).

In your .astro page components (for example, src/pages/index.astro), you can query the database in the frontmatter section (between the --- fences). Import the database client from your utility file:

node-postgres

---
import { pool } from '../lib/neon';

const client = await pool.connect();

let data = null;

try {
  const response = await client.query('SELECT version()');
  data = response.rows[0].version;
} finally {
  client.release();
}
---

{data}

postgres.js

---
import { sql } from '../lib/neon';

const response = await sql`SELECT version()`;
const data = response[0].version;
---

{data}

Neon serverless driver

---
import { sql } from '../lib/neon';

const response = await sql`SELECT version()`;
const data = response[0].version;
---

{data}

Note: You can also initialize the database connection directly in each .astro file, but using a shared utility file is recommended for maintainability and code organization.

When you run npm run dev you can expect to see something like the following when you visit localhost:4321:

PostgreSQL 17.7 on aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Debian 12.2.0-14+deb12u1) 12.2.0, 64-bit

In your server endpoints (API Routes) in Astro application, import the database client from your utility file:

node-postgres

// File: src/pages/api/index.ts

import { pool } from '../../lib/neon';

export async function GET() {
  const client = await pool.connect();
  let data = {};
  try {
    const { rows } = await client.query('SELECT version()');
    data = rows[0];
  } finally {
    client.release();
  }
  return new Response(JSON.stringify(data), { headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' } });
}

postgres.js

// File: src/pages/api/index.ts

import { sql } from '../../lib/neon';

export async function GET() {
  const response = await sql`SELECT version()`;
  return new Response(JSON.stringify(response[0]), {
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  });
}

Neon serverless driver

// File: src/pages/api/index.ts

import { sql } from '../../lib/neon';

export async function GET() {
  const response = await sql`SELECT version()`;
  return new Response(JSON.stringify(response[0]), {
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  });
}

When you run npm run dev you can expect to see something like the following when you visit the localhost:4321/api route:

{ version: 'PostgreSQL 17.7 on aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Debian 12.2.0-14+deb12u1) 12.2.0, 64-bit' }

• Set up Managed Better Auth: Add managed authentication that branches with your database
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• Deploy a Function: Run backend compute next to your database, no separate hosting needed
• Call an LLM with AI Gateway: Access foundation models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and more with one credential

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