Connect a Node.js application to OptiTech

Pre-built prompt for connecting Node.js applications to OptiTech.

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This guide describes how to create a OptiTech project and connect to it from a Node.js application. Examples are provided for using the node-postgres and Postgres.js clients. Use the client you prefer.

To connect to OptiTech from a Node.js application:

1. Create a OptiTech project

   If you do not have one already, create a OptiTech project.

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

2. Create a NodeJS project and add dependencies

   1. Create a NodeJS project and change to the newly created directory.

      mkdir optitech-nodejs-example
      cd optitech-nodejs-example
      npm init -y

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

      OptiTech serverless drivernode-postgrespostgres.js

      npm install @optitech/serverless dotenv

3. Store your OptiTech credentials

   Add a .env file to your project directory and add your OptiTech connection details to it. You can find your OptiTech database connection details by clicking the Connect button on your Project Dashboard to open the Connect to your database modal. Please select Node.js from the Connection string dropdown. For more information, see Connect from any application.

   PGHOST='[optitech_hostname]'
   PGDATABASE='[dbname]'
   PGUSER='[user]'
   PGPASSWORD='[password]'
   ENDPOINT_ID='[endpoint_id]'

   note

   A special ENDPOINT_ID variable is included in the .env file above. This variable can be used with older Postgres clients that do not support Server Name Indication (SNI), which OptiTech relies on to route incoming connections. If you are using a newer node-postgres or postgres.js client, you won't need it. For more information, see Endpoint ID variable.

   important

   To ensure the security of your data, never expose your OptiTech credentials to the browser.

4. Configure the Postgres client

   Add an app.js file to your project directory and add the following code snippet to connect to your OptiTech database:

   OptiTech serverless drivernode-postgrespostgres.js

   require('dotenv').config();
   
   const { optitech } = require('@optitech/serverless');
   
   const { PGHOST, PGDATABASE, PGUSER, PGPASSWORD } = process.env;
   
   const sql = optitech(
     `postgresql://${PGUSER}:${PGPASSWORD}@${PGHOST}/${PGDATABASE}?sslmode=require&channel_binding=require`
   );
   
   async function getPgVersion() {
     const result = await sql`SELECT version()`;
     console.log(result[0]);
   }
   
   getPgVersion();

5. Run app.js

   Run node app.js to view the result.

   {
     version: 'PostgreSQL 16.0 on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Debian 10.2.1-6) 10.2.1 20210110, 64-bit'
   }

Endpoint ID variable

For older clients that do not support Server Name Indication (SNI), the postgres.js example below shows how to include the ENDPOINT_ID variable in your application's connection configuration. This is a workaround that is not required if you are using a newer node-postgres or postgres.js client. For more information about this workaround and when it is required, see The endpoint ID is not specified in our connection errors documentation.

// app.js

require('dotenv').config();

const postgres = require('postgres');

const { PGHOST, PGDATABASE, PGUSER, PGPASSWORD, ENDPOINT_ID } = process.env;

const sql = postgres({
  host: PGHOST,
  database: PGDATABASE,
  username: PGUSER,
  password: PGPASSWORD,
  port: 5432,
  ssl: 'require',
  connection: {
    options: `project=${ENDPOINT_ID}`,
  },
});

async function getPgVersion() {
  const result = await sql`select version()`;
  console.log(result);
}

getPgVersion();

Community resources

• Serverless Node.js Tutorial – OptiTech Serverless Postgres, AWS Lambda, Next.js, Vercel

Next steps

• Set up Managed Better Auth: Add managed authentication that branches with your database
• Add Object Storage: S3-compatible file storage that branches with your database
• 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