SQL Database

Each Invoke project can have a dedicated PostgreSQL database provisioned on demand. Once enabled, the connection is automatically injected into every function invocation — no configuration required.

Enabling the Database

1. Open the Admin Panel and select your project.
2. Go to SQL Database in the sidebar.
3. Click Initialize Database.

Invoke creates:

• An admin user — full DDL + DML (CREATE, ALTER, DROP, INSERT, SELECT…)
• An app user — DML only (SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) — this is what your functions use

Your functions always run as the app user. You can manage your database via the SQL Database console or through a tunnel; both approaches use the admin user.

Connecting from a Function

No environment variables to set. When the database is initialized, Invoke automatically injects the connection details into the function's runtime environment. The PostgreSQL database connection is exposed via a Unix socket in /run/postgresql and /var/run/postgresql.

Below is the recommended way to connect to the database. You can always use your preferred framework or library.

JavaScript

Import sql from 'bun' — it's pre-configured with the injected DATABASE_URL. Use it directly as a tagged template literal, no setup needed.

import { sql } from 'bun'

export default async function handler(req, res) {
  const rows = await sql`SELECT NOW() AS time`
  res.json({ time: rows[0].time })
}

TypeScript

Import sql from 'bun' — it's pre-configured with the injected DATABASE_URL. Use it directly as a tagged template literal, no setup needed.

import { sql } from 'bun'

export default async function handler(req: InvokeRequest, res: InvokeResponse) {
  const rows = await sql`SELECT NOW() AS time`
  res.json({ time: rows[0].time })
}

C#

Use Npgsql with the connection string provided by EnvironmentEx.GetConnectionString().

First, add Npgsql to your project:

dotnet add package Npgsql

using Invoke;
using Npgsql;
using System.Text.Json.Nodes;

public static class Function
{
    [EntryPoint]
    public static async Task EntryPoint(InvokeRequest req, InvokeResponse res)
    {
        await using var dataSource = NpgsqlDataSource.Create(EnvironmentEx.GetConnectionString());
        await using var cmd = dataSource.CreateCommand("SELECT NOW() AS time");
        var time = (DateTime)(await cmd.ExecuteScalarAsync())!;

        res.Status(200).Json(new JsonObject { ["time"] = time.ToString("O") });
    }
}

Creating Tables

Run schema migrations from the SQL Console in the Admin Panel, or from the CLI tunnel (see Connecting with CLI).

CREATE TABLE users (
  id    SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  name  TEXT        NOT NULL,
  email TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

Basic Usage

To learn more about interacting with the SQL database, please refer to the following documentation.

• Bun SQL Usage (JavaScript/TypeScript)
• Npgsql Basic Usage (C#)

Manage your Database

CLI Tunnel

Use the CLI to open a secure tunnel to your database for schema management, migrations, or direct inspection:

invoke sql:connect --project "Default Project"

# Use a custom local port (default: 5433)
invoke sql:connect --project "Default Project" --port 12345

Then connect with psql or any PostgreSQL client (e.g. pgAdmin 4, DataGrip):

psql -h localhost -p 5433

note

The tunnel forwards to your project's database with admin user over the secure WebSocket connection.

See sql:connect in the CLI Reference for the full option list.

SQL Console

The Admin Panel → SQL Database → Console tab lets you run queries directly against your database without leaving the browser. It supports:

• Multi-statement queries
• Session SQL (persistent SET commands per connection)
• Query history (last 50 queries)

note

SQL Console always connect with admin user to your project's database.

Storage Quota

Each project has a storage quota displayed in the SQL Database page. If you approach the limit, INSERT/UPDATE queries will return a storage warning and execution will be denied. Contact your administrator to increase the quota or use DELETE or TRUNCATE to free up storage.