Skip to main content

​
PostgreSQL Drivers

Drizzle ORM supports multiple PostgreSQL drivers, each optimized for different deployment environments and use cases.

​
node-postgres (pg)

The traditional PostgreSQL driver for Node.js with robust connection pooling.

​
Installation

npm install drizzle-orm pg
npm install -D @types/pg

​
Basic Usage

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/node-postgres';
import { Pool } from 'pg';

const pool = new Pool({
  host: 'localhost',
  port: 5432,
  user: 'postgres',
  password: 'password',
  database: 'mydb',
});

const db = drizzle(pool);

​
Connection Pool Configuration

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/node-postgres';
import { Pool } from 'pg';

const pool = new Pool({
  host: 'localhost',
  port: 5432,
  user: 'postgres',
  password: 'password',
  database: 'mydb',
  max: 20, // Maximum pool size
  idleTimeoutMillis: 30000,
  connectionTimeoutMillis: 2000,
});

const db = drizzle(pool);

​
Accessing the Client

const db = drizzle(pool);

// Access underlying pg client
db.$client.query('SELECT NOW()');

​
postgres.js

A modern, fast PostgreSQL driver with excellent TypeScript support.

​
Installation

npm install drizzle-orm postgres

​
Basic Usage

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/postgres-js';
import postgres from 'postgres';

const client = postgres({
  host: 'localhost',
  port: 5432,
  database: 'mydb',
  username: 'postgres',
  password: 'password',
});

const db = drizzle(client);

​
Advanced Options

import postgres from 'postgres';
import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/postgres-js';

const client = postgres({
  host: 'localhost',
  port: 5432,
  database: 'mydb',
  username: 'postgres',
  password: 'password',
  max: 10,
  idle_timeout: 20,
  connect_timeout: 10,
  prepare: true, // Use prepared statements
});

const db = drizzle(client);
postgres.js automatically handles date parsing. Drizzle overrides default parsers to return raw values for consistent date handling.

​
Neon Serverless

WebSocket-based PostgreSQL driver optimized for Neon’s serverless databases.

​
Installation

npm install drizzle-orm @neondatabase/serverless

​
Basic Usage

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/neon-serverless';
import { Pool } from '@neondatabase/serverless';

const pool = new Pool({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL });
const db = drizzle(pool);

​
With WebSocket Polyfill

Required for environments without native WebSocket support: 
import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/neon-serverless';
import { Pool, neonConfig } from '@neondatabase/serverless';
import ws from 'ws';

// Option 1: Set globally
neonConfig.webSocketConstructor = ws;
const pool = new Pool({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL });
const db = drizzle(pool);

// Option 2: Pass in config
const db = drizzle({
  connection: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
  ws,
});

​
Neon HTTP

HTTP-based PostgreSQL driver for edge environments and serverless functions.

​
Installation

npm install drizzle-orm @neondatabase/serverless

​
Basic Usage

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/neon-http';
import { neon } from '@neondatabase/serverless';

const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL);
const db = drizzle(sql);

​
Advanced Options

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/neon-http';
import { neon } from '@neondatabase/serverless';

const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL, {
  fullResults: true,
  arrayMode: false,
  fetchOptions: {
    priority: 'high',
  },
});

const db = drizzle(sql);

​
Row-Level Security with Auth Token

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/neon-http';
import { neon } from '@neondatabase/serverless';
import { users } from './schema';

const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL);
const db = drizzle(sql);

// Use auth token for RLS
const authToken = 'user-jwt-token';
const results = await db
  .$withAuth(authToken)
  .select()
  .from(users);

​
Batch Queries

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/neon-http';
import { neon } from '@neondatabase/serverless';
import { users, posts } from './schema';

const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL);
const db = drizzle(sql);

const batchResults = await db.batch([
  db.select().from(users),
  db.select().from(posts),
]);
Neon HTTP is designed for edge environments. For long-running Node.js servers, use Neon Serverless or node-postgres instead.

​
Vercel Postgres

Optimized PostgreSQL driver for Vercel deployments.

​
Installation

npm install drizzle-orm @vercel/postgres

​
Basic Usage

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/vercel-postgres';
import { sql } from '@vercel/postgres';
import * as schema from './schema';

// Uses default @vercel/postgres client
const db = drizzle({ schema });

// Or explicitly pass the client
const db = drizzle(sql, { schema });

​
Environment Variables

Vercel automatically provides these environment variables: 
POSTGRES_URL="..."
POSTGRES_PRISMA_URL="..."
POSTGRES_URL_NON_POOLING="..."
POSTGRES_USER="..."
POSTGRES_HOST="..."
POSTGRES_PASSWORD="..."
POSTGRES_DATABASE="..."

​
Vercel Edge Functions

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/vercel-postgres';
import * as schema from './schema';

const db = drizzle({ schema });

export const runtime = 'edge';

export async function GET() {
  const users = await db.select().from(schema.users);
  return Response.json(users);
}

​
Choosing a Driver

Recommended: node-postgres or postgres.js
  • Connection pooling for optimal performance
  • Battle-tested in production environments
  • Full PostgreSQL feature support
import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/node-postgres';
import { Pool } from 'pg';

const pool = new Pool({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL });
const db = drizzle(pool);

​
Mock Database for Testing

All drivers support creating mock instances for testing: 
import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/node-postgres';
import * as schema from './schema';

const mockDb = drizzle.mock({ schema });

// Use in tests without a real database connection
Mock databases are useful for unit testing query builders but don’t execute actual SQL.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us