Connect with Node.js

Learn how to connect to PhoenixDB from your Node.js application.

Install Dependencies

Install the pg package:

npm install pg

For TypeScript, also install types: npm install -D @types/pg

Environment Setup

Add your connection string to .env:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:YOUR_PASSWORD@abc123.server1.phoenixdb.space:5432/mydb?sslmode=require"

Basic Connection

Create a connection using the Pool class:

db.js

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

const pool = new Pool({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  ssl: { rejectUnauthorized: false }
});

// Query helper
async function query(text, params) {
  const client = await pool.connect();
  try {
    const result = await client.query(text, params);
    return result;
  } finally {
    client.release();
  }
}

module.exports = { pool, query };

Usage Example

app.js

const { query } = require('./db');

async function main() {
  // Create table
  await query(`
    CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (
      id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
      name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
      email VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
      created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
    )
  `);

  // Insert data
  const result = await query(
    'INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES ($1, $2) RETURNING *',
    ['John Doe', 'john@example.com']
  );
  console.log('Created user:', result.rows[0]);

  // Query data
  const users = await query('SELECT * FROM users');
  console.log('All users:', users.rows);
}

main().catch(console.error);

TypeScript Example

db.ts

import { Pool, QueryResult } from 'pg';

const pool = new Pool({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  ssl: { rejectUnauthorized: false }
});

export async function query<T = any>(
  text: string, 
  params?: any[]
): Promise<QueryResult<T>> {
  const client = await pool.connect();
  try {
    return await client.query<T>(text, params);
  } finally {
    client.release();
  }
}

export default pool;

Connection Pool Best Practices

Use a Single Pool

Create one Pool instance and reuse it throughout your application. Don't create a new pool for each query.

Configure Pool Size

Adjust pool size based on your workload:

const pool = new Pool({ max: 20, min: 5, ... });

Always Release Clients

Use try/finally to ensure clients are released back to the pool, even if an error occurs.