vite-plugin-db

vite-plugin-db

This Vite plugin instantly provisions a Postgres instance (via Neon) and injects the connection string into your .env file, so you can start developing immediately.

Note: This package was previously named @neondatabase/vite-plugin-postgres. The old package is now deprecated. If you're upgrading, simply replace it with vite-plugin-db in your imports and package.json.

How it works

• On first vite dev, the plugin checks for a DATABASE_URL (or your configured key) in your .env.
• If not found, it creates a claimable Neon database and writes the connection string to your .env.
• The plugin is a noop in production builds.

Installation

npm add vite-plugin-db

Usage

Add the plugin as the first entry in your Vite config:

import { postgres } from "vite-plugin-db";
import react from "@vitejs/plugin-react";
import { defineConfig } from "vite";

export default defineConfig({
	plugins: [postgres(), react()],
});

Configuration

You can pass an options object to customize the .env file path, the environment variable name, and database seeding:

postgres({
	env: ".env.local", // Path to your .env file (default: ".env")
	envKey: "DATABASE_URL", // Name of the env variable (default: "DATABASE_URL")
	envPrefix: "VITE_", // Prefix for public env vars (default: "VITE_")
	seed: {
		type: "sql-script",
		path: "./schema.sql", // Path to SQL file to execute after database creation
	},
});

Option	Type	Description	Default
env	string	Path to the .env file	.env
envKey	string	Name of the environment variable	DATABASE_URL
envPrefix	string	Prefix for public environment variables	VITE_
seed	object	Configuration for seeding the database	-

seed Options

Property	Type	Description	Default
type	string	Type of seeding (currently only "sql-script")	-
path	string	Path to SQL file to execute after creation	-

What gets written

• The plugin writes both a direct connection string and a pooled connection string to your .env.
• It also provides a claim URL (valid for 7 days) to take ownership of the database with the configured envPrefix (defaults to VITE_ for Vite projects).
• If seed is configured, the specified SQL script will be executed after database creation.

Type Definitions

interface PostgresPluginOptions {
	env: string; // Path to the .env file
	envKey: string; // Name of the environment variable
	envPrefix: string; // Prefix for public environment variables
	seed?: {
		type: "sql-script";
		path: string;
	};
}

FAQ

What if I already have a DATABASE_URL env var?

The plugin will not overwrite it. Remove the variable if you want to generate a new Neon database.

Is this safe to run on CI when building for production?

The plugin is a noop in production mode (vite build), so it won't create databases or modify your .env in CI.

Can I use this with other frameworks?

Yes, this plugin is framework-agnostic. The example uses React, but you can use it with any Vite-compatible framework.

Advanced

If you want to generate claimable databases outside of Vite, use the get-db library directly.

See documentation on Neon for more.