> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.zerve.ai/self-managed/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.zerve.ai/self-managed/configuration/postgres.md).

# Postgres

Zerve uses [Postgres](https://www.postgresql.org/) (version 16+) as its primary database. Several deployment options are supported.

## Bundled Postgres

The chart can install Postgres on your cluster for you. It is meant for evaluation and testing only: a single replica, with no high availability, backups or TLS.

Setting `postgres.enabled: true` creates the database, but the services still read `POSTGRES_*` from their own environment and secrets. The chart ships a values file with that wiring already in place, so layer it on top of your own values and keep it last:

```
helm upgrade --install zerve . -f my-values.yaml -f examples/bundled-postgres.yaml
```

Besides enabling Postgres, it points every service at the bundled instance and defers the migration Jobs to `post-install`/`post-upgrade`, so they don't run before the database exists.

For production, we recommend an external Postgres managed outside the cluster. Fully managed services such as AWS RDS and Aurora are supported.

## External Postgres

The most common setup is a single database host with one logical database per Zerve service. It requires the following values in the Helm chart:

```yaml
# my-values.yaml
global:
  workload:
    common:
      secrets:
        POSTGRES_PASSWORD:
          secretName: zerve-creds
          key: db_password                        # optional, defaults to POSTGRES_PASSWORD
      env:
        POSTGRES_HOST: "postgres.acme.internal"
        POSTGRES_USERNAME: "zerve"
        POSTGRES_PORT: 5432                       # optional
```

Values under `global` propagate to all backend workloads.

Create the four databases on the host before installing. Each service defaults `POSTGRES_DB` to its own name — `asset_service`, `canvas_service`, `executor_service` and `user_service` — so no service needs `POSTGRES_DB` set unless you name the databases differently.

Organizations running mission-critical workloads that require higher availability may prefer a dedicated database host per Zerve service. Zerve has four independent backend services, each of which can be pointed at its own host:

```yaml
# my-values.yaml
asset:
  workloads:
    common:
      secrets:
        POSTGRES_PASSWORD:
          secretName: zerve-asset-creds
          key: db_password
      env:
        POSTGRES_HOST: "asset-postgres.acme.internal"
        POSTGRES_USERNAME: "zerve"

user:
  workloads:
    common:
      secrets:
        POSTGRES_PASSWORD:
          secretName: zerve-user-creds
          key: db_password
      env:
        POSTGRES_HOST: "user-postgres.acme.internal"
        POSTGRES_USERNAME: "zerve"

executor:
  workloads:
    common:
      secrets:
        POSTGRES_PASSWORD:
          secretName: zerve-executor-creds
          key: db_password
      env:
        POSTGRES_HOST: "executor-postgres.acme.internal"
        POSTGRES_USERNAME: "zerve"

canvas:
  workloads:
    common:
      secrets:
        POSTGRES_PASSWORD:
          secretName: zerve-canvas-creds
          key: db_password
      env:
        POSTGRES_HOST: "canvas-postgres.acme.internal"
        POSTGRES_USERNAME: "zerve"
```


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