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Use Knex with Astro and Postgres

Connect a Astro app to a free EasyHost Postgres database using Knex, from install to deployment.

Last updated November 9, 2026

Create the database

npx ezhst db create main
npx ezhst db info --json
npx ezhst env set DATABASE_URL="postgresql://..."

The connection string uses a public host with TLS, so it works from your laptop too. Put it in your local .env for development.

Install Knex

npm i knex pg

Create the client

src/lib/db.ts
import knex from "knex";

export const db = knex({
  client: "pg",
  connection: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  pool: { min: 0, max: 5 },
});

Run knex migrate:latest from your machine with DATABASE_URL pointing at EasyHost. Pool settings count against the limit of 20 connections.

Add export const prerender = false to endpoints when your output is static, so they run per request.

Query it from a route

src/pages/api/users.ts
import { db } from "../../lib/db";
export const GET = async ({ request }: { request: Request }) => {
  const rows = await db("users").select("id", "email").limit(20);
  return Response.json(rows);
};

Run migrations

Run migrations from your machine, with DATABASE_URL set to the EasyHost connection string.

npx knex migrate:latest

Commit the migration files so every environment applies the same changes.

Deploy

npx ezhst deploy

Each database allows 20 concurrent connections, and Astro shares them across requests. See the Astro hub for every Astro guide, or free Astro hosting for what is included. See also the Postgres product page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Postgres free for my Astro app?

Yes. Each EasyHost project can have one Postgres 16 database with no expiry date.

Can I use Knex locally against the same database?

Yes. The connection string works from outside EasyHost. A separate development database is safer once you have real data.

Start for free

Install the skill, choose Global or Local, then tell your agent to deploy. No credit card, no config files.

npx ezhst skill install