Summary: Neon Data API management covers post-enablement configuration: registering or replacing JWT authentication providers via JWKS URL, and tuning advanced settings such as exposed schemas, anonymous role, and CORS origins. Use this page to switch auth providers, tighten security, or manage the API lifecycle programmatically via the Neon REST API.

Configure schemas, manage authentication providers, and control API access.

Related docs

• Getting started with Data API
• Access control & security
• Troubleshooting
• Neon CLI: data-api command

This page covers managing the Data API after it is enabled. To enable via the Console, see Getting started with Data API. To enable programmatically, see Enable via the Neon API or Enable via the CLI. To disable from the Console, scroll to Disable at the bottom of the Settings tab.

You can configure which authentication provider validates JWT tokens for your Data API requests. Only one provider can be configured at a time. If you enabled the Data API with Managed Better Auth, it is already set as the default provider.

Console

Navigate to Postgres database > Data API and select the Settings tab. The Authentication section shows the current provider.

• Add a provider: If no provider is currently configured, click Add provider and enter the JWKS URL supplied by your auth service (for example, Auth0, Clerk, or Firebase). For help finding your provider's JWKS URL, see Custom authentication providers. Some providers also require a JWT Audience value.
• Replace a provider: To switch to a different provider, remove the current one first, then add the new one using Add provider.
• Remove a provider: Use the provider dropdown menu to remove the current provider.

API

Add an external authentication provider by registering a JWKS URL:

curl -X POST 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/{project_id}/jwks' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "jwks_url": "https://your-provider/.well-known/jwks.json",
    "provider_name": "Auth0",
    "branch_id": "{branch_id}"
  }'

You can also include an optional jwt_audience field if your provider requires it.

To remove a provider, first list the configured JWKS URLs to find the jwks_id:

curl -X GET 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/{project_id}/jwks' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY'

Then delete it:

curl -X DELETE 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/{project_id}/jwks/{jwks_id}' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY'

For the full JWKS specification, see the Neon API Reference.

Warning: Removing an authentication provider invalidates all tokens issued by that provider. Users relying on that provider will receive 401 Unauthorized errors until they authenticate via a valid provider.

Tip: Auth API reference

If you're using Managed Better Auth, there's an interactive API reference for authentication endpoints at your Auth URL with /reference appended (for example, https://ep-example.neonauth.us-east-1.aws.neon.tech/neondb/auth/reference). See Testing with Managed Better Auth for details.

The Advanced settings section on the Settings tab controls the security, performance, and behavior of your Data API endpoint. After making changes, click Save to apply them.

Default: public

Defines which PostgreSQL schemas are exposed as REST API endpoints. By default, only the public schema is accessible. If you use other schemas (for example, api, v1), select them from the drop-down list to add them.

Note: Permissions apply: Adding a schema here exposes the endpoints, but the database role used by the API must still have USAGE privileges on the schema and SELECT privileges on the tables. Refer to Access control for Data API for more details.

Default: Empty

Adds extra PostgreSQL schemas to the search path used for every Data API request. These schemas aren't exposed as REST API endpoints themselves; they're only available for database objects inside your exposed schemas to reference, which is useful for schemas that hold PostgreSQL extensions. Corresponds to the db_extra_search_path field in the API settings object.

Default: anonymous

Specifies the database role used for unauthenticated requests (requests sent without an Authorization header). To allow public access to specific data, configure this role in your database using SQL GRANT statements.

Default: Empty

Enforces a hard limit on the number of rows returned in a single API response. This prevents accidental performance degradation from large queries. Clients should use pagination limits to retrieve data within this threshold. This also prevents unexpected egress costs from large data transfers.

Default: .role

Specifies the path within the JWT token that contains the database role name. The Data API uses this role to execute queries on behalf of the authenticated user. For example, .role extracts the value of the top-level role claim from the token. Corresponds to the jwt_role_claim_key field in the API settings object. This field is required when updating settings via the API.

Default: Empty

Sets the maximum lifetime, in seconds, that a validated JWT is kept in the Data API's cache. Caching validated tokens reduces the number of times the Data API needs to fetch and verify keys from your authentication provider's JWKS URL. Corresponds to the jwt_cache_max_lifetime field in the API settings object.

Default: Empty (Allows all origins)

Controls which web domains are permitted to fetch data from your API via the browser.

• Empty: Allows * (any domain). Useful for development.
• Production: List your specific domains (for example, https://myapp.com) to prevent unauthorized websites from querying your API.

Default: Disabled

When enabled, an auto-generated OpenAPI 3 schema describing your tables, columns, and REST endpoints is available at your Data API URL with /openapi.json appended:

https://your-data-api-endpoint/rest/v1/openapi.json

Important: Authentication required

Accessing the OpenAPI spec requires a valid JWT token, just like other Data API requests. Include the Authorization: Bearer header when fetching the spec:

curl -X GET 'https://your-data-api-endpoint/rest/v1/openapi.json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN'

Default: Disabled

When enabled, the Data API includes Server-Timing headers in each response. These headers show how long different parts of the request took to process (for example, database execution time and internal processing time). You can use this information to debug slow queries, measure performance, and troubleshoot latency issues in your application.

You can manage the Data API programmatically using the Neon API. All Data API endpoints use the following base path:

/projects/{project_id}/branches/{branch_id}/data-api/{database_name}

You can find your project_id and branch_id on the Project settings page in the Neon Console. The database_name is the name of the database you want to expose (for example, neondb). You will also need an API key.

Send a POST request to enable the Data API for a database on a branch. If the Data API is already enabled, this call returns an error.

curl -X POST 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/{project_id}/branches/{branch_id}/data-api/{database_name}' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{}'

Response (201 Created):

{
  "url": "https://ep-example.apirest.us-east-1.aws.neon.tech/neondb/rest/v1"
}

The empty body enables the Data API without an authentication provider. To configure authentication at enable time, change the request body:

• Managed Better Auth: -d '{"auth_provider": "neon_auth", "add_default_grants": true}'

  If Managed Better Auth is not already enabled on the branch, this automatically provisions it. The optional add_default_grants option grants authenticated users permissions on tables in the public schema, matching the default Console behavior. See Managed Better Auth to learn more.

• External provider: -d '{"auth_provider": "external", "jwks_url": "https://your-provider/.well-known/jwks.json"}'

  See Custom authentication providers for supported providers and how to find your JWKS URL.

Optional fields in the enable request body:

• add_default_grants (boolean, default false): When true, grants all permissions on tables in the public schema to authenticated users.
• settings: Include a settings object to configure the Data API in a single request instead of making a separate PATCH call.

Retrieve the current status and configuration of the Data API for a branch.

curl -X GET 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/{project_id}/branches/{branch_id}/data-api/{database_name}' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY'

Response (200 OK):

{
  "url": "https://ep-example.apirest.us-east-1.aws.neon.tech/neondb/rest/v1",
  "status": "active",
  "settings": {
    "db_aggregates_enabled": true,
    "db_anon_role": "anonymous",
    "db_schemas": [
      "public"
    ],
    "jwt_role_claim_key": ".role"
  },
  "available_schemas": [
    "auth",
    "public"
  ]
}

The settings object reflects the current configuration (see Advanced settings for field descriptions). The available_schemas array lists the schemas in your database that can be exposed via the API.

Send a PATCH request to update the configuration. This also refreshes the schema cache. The response is always an empty object ({}), with status 201.

curl -X PATCH 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/{project_id}/branches/{branch_id}/data-api/{database_name}' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{}'

An empty body refreshes the schema cache without changing settings. To update settings, include a settings object in the request body. First retrieve the current settings with a GET request, then send all fields with your changes:

-d '{"settings": {"db_max_rows": 100, "db_schemas": ["public"], "jwt_role_claim_key": ".role", "db_anon_role": "anonymous", "db_aggregates_enabled": true}}'

Important: The settings object replaces the existing settings entirely. It is not merged. Any field you omit is reset to its default. The jwt_role_claim_key field is required.

Remove the Data API from a branch. The response is an empty object ({}), with status 200.

curl -X DELETE 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/{project_id}/branches/{branch_id}/data-api/{database_name}' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY'

Warning: Immediate effect

Disabling the Data API immediately terminates all active connections and blocks all incoming HTTP requests. Any applications, edge functions, or websites relying on the API will stop working instantly. Re-enabling the Data API creates a fresh instance with default settings; the previous configuration is not restored.

For the full Data API specification, see the Neon API Reference.

You can also manage the Data API from the terminal using the Neon CLI. The data-api command requires neon 2.22.2 or later.

Provision the Data API for a database. The --auth-provider option accepts neon_auth or external. For external providers, also pass --jwks-url:

neon data-api create --database neondb --auth-provider neon_auth

Show the current status and configuration:

neon data-api get --database neondb

Update settings using settings flags. By default, flags are merged with the current configuration. Pass --replace to overwrite all settings with only the provided flags:

neon data-api update --database neondb --db-max-rows 1000

To refresh the schema cache without changing settings:

neon data-api refresh-schema --database neondb

Remove the Data API from a database:

neon data-api delete --database neondb

For the full command reference including all options and flags, see Neon CLI command: data-api.

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