Connection Guide

Quick connect

Copy your connection string from the dashboard and use it directly:

Python
Node.js
Go
psql

pip install psycopg2-binary

import psycopg2

conn = psycopg2.connect("postgresql://user:[email protected]:5432/mydb?sslmode=require")
cur = conn.cursor()
cur.execute("SELECT 1")
print(cur.fetchone())
conn.close()

npm install pg

const { Client } = require('pg');

const client = new Client({
  connectionString: 'postgresql://user:[email protected]:5432/mydb?sslmode=require',
  ssl: { rejectUnauthorized: false }
});

await client.connect();
const res = await client.query('SELECT 1');
console.log(res.rows[0]);
await client.end();

go get github.com/jackc/pgx/v5

conn, err := pgx.Connect(context.Background(),
    "postgresql://user:[email protected]:5432/mydb?sslmode=require")
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
defer conn.Close(context.Background())

psql "postgresql://user:[email protected]:5432/mydb?sslmode=require"

Connection details

Find your connection credentials in the Rivestack dashboard under the Connection tab of your database or cluster.

Parameter	Description	Example
Host	Your unique endpoint	`rs-abc12345.eu-central.db.rivestack.io`
Port	PostgreSQL port	`5432`
Database	Database name	`mydb`
Username	Database user	`myuser`
Password	User password	(from dashboard)
SSL Mode	Always required	`require`

Connection string

postgresql://username:password@host:5432/dbname?sslmode=require

Click the copy button next to each field in the dashboard to copy values to your clipboard.

SSL / TLS

All Rivestack connections require SSL. Unencrypted connections are rejected. Set sslmode=require in your connection string or driver configuration. No CA certificate download is needed — Rivestack uses certificates signed by a trusted public CA.

Connect with psql

psql "host=rs-abc12345.eu-central.db.rivestack.io port=5432 dbname=mydb user=myuser sslmode=require"

You’ll be prompted for your password. To include it inline:

psql "postgresql://myuser:[email protected]:5432/mydb?sslmode=require"

Language examples

Python
Node.js
Go

Using psycopg2

pip install psycopg2-binary

import psycopg2

conn = psycopg2.connect(
    host="rs-abc12345.eu-central.db.rivestack.io",
    port=5432,
    dbname="mydb",
    user="myuser",
    password="mypassword",
    sslmode="require"
)

cur = conn.cursor()
cur.execute("SELECT version()")
print(cur.fetchone())

cur.close()
conn.close()

Using SQLAlchemy

pip install sqlalchemy psycopg2-binary

from sqlalchemy import create_engine

engine = create_engine(
    "postgresql://myuser:[email protected]:5432/mydb",
    connect_args={"sslmode": "require"}
)

with engine.connect() as conn:
    result = conn.execute("SELECT version()")
    print(result.fetchone())

Using pg (node-postgres)

npm install pg

const { Client } = require('pg');

const client = new Client({
  host: 'rs-abc12345.eu-central.db.rivestack.io',
  port: 5432,
  database: 'mydb',
  user: 'myuser',
  password: 'mypassword',
  ssl: { rejectUnauthorized: false }
});

await client.connect();
const res = await client.query('SELECT version()');
console.log(res.rows[0]);
await client.end();

Using a connection string

const { Client } = require('pg');

const client = new Client({
  connectionString: 'postgresql://myuser:[email protected]:5432/mydb?sslmode=require',
  ssl: { rejectUnauthorized: false }
});

await client.connect();

Using Prisma

Set your DATABASE_URL in .env:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://myuser:[email protected]:5432/mydb?sslmode=require"

Using pgx

go get github.com/jackc/pgx/v5

package main

import (
    "context"
    "fmt"
    "log"

    "github.com/jackc/pgx/v5"
)

func main() {
    connStr := "postgresql://myuser:[email protected]:5432/mydb?sslmode=require"

    conn, err := pgx.Connect(context.Background(), connStr)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    defer conn.Close(context.Background())

    var version string
    err = conn.QueryRow(context.Background(), "SELECT version()").Scan(&version)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(version)
}

Using database/sql

package main

import (
    "database/sql"
    "fmt"
    "log"

    _ "github.com/lib/pq"
)

func main() {
    connStr := "host=rs-abc12345.eu-central.db.rivestack.io port=5432 user=myuser password=mypassword dbname=mydb sslmode=require"

    db, err := sql.Open("postgres", connStr)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    defer db.Close()

    var version string
    err = db.QueryRow("SELECT version()").Scan(&version)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(version)
}

HA cluster connections

For HA clusters, connections are routed through a load balancer that automatically directs traffic to the primary node.

Port	Target
`5432`	Primary (read-write)
`5001`	Replicas (read-only)
`5002`	Synchronous replicas
`5003`	Asynchronous replicas

For most applications, connect to port 5432. The load balancer handles failover automatically — your application reconnects to the new primary without changing connection details.

Connection limits

Tier	Max Connections
Free	5
HA Cluster	100

Troubleshooting

Connection refused

Verify your host, port, and credentials are correct.
Ensure you’re using sslmode=require.
Check that your host and port are correct.

SSL errors

All connections require SSL. Make sure your client is configured with sslmode=require. You do not need to download a CA certificate.

Too many connections

Free tier databases are limited to 5 connections. HA clusters support up to 100. Close idle connections or use connection pooling in your application.

Getting Started

Features

Resources

Quick connect

Connection details

Connection string

SSL / TLS

Connect with psql

Language examples

Using psycopg2

Using SQLAlchemy

Using pg (node-postgres)

Using a connection string

Using Prisma

Using pgx

Using database/sql

HA cluster connections

Connection limits

Troubleshooting

Getting Started

Features

Resources

​Quick connect

​Connection details

​Connection string

​SSL / TLS

​Connect with psql

​Language examples

​Using psycopg2

​Using SQLAlchemy

​Using pg (node-postgres)

​Using a connection string

​Using Prisma

​Using pgx

​Using database/sql

​HA cluster connections

​Connection limits

​Troubleshooting

Quick connect

Connection details

Connection string

SSL / TLS

Connect with psql

Language examples

Using psycopg2

Using SQLAlchemy

Using pg (node-postgres)

Using a connection string

Using Prisma

Using pgx

Using database/sql

HA cluster connections

Connection limits

Troubleshooting