# PostgreSQL database

For the application database, Fabricate requires PostgreSQL 16 or later.

We recommend that you host the PostgreSQL database on a managed service such as [Amazon RDS](https://aws.amazon.com/rds/) or [Google Cloud SQL](https://cloud.google.com/sql). However, you can also host the database on the same machine.

## Creating the database and user <a href="#database-create" id="database-create"></a>

```
create user fabricate WITH PASSWORD '<your password>';
create database fabricate owner fabricate;
alter user fabricate with SUPERUSER;
```

When Fabricate starts, it automatically creates the database tables.

## Configuring the connection to the database <a href="#database-env-var" id="database-env-var"></a>

After you create your database, in `.env`, to configure the connection to the database, set the following environment variables:

{% code overflow="wrap" %}

```
FABRICATE_DATABASE_NAME="fabricate"
FABRICATE_DATABASE_USERNAME="fabricate"
FABRICATE_DATABASE_PASSWORD="<your password>"
FABRICATE_DATABASE_HOST="<database hostname>" # for example, fabricate.abcdefghijkl.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com
```

{% endcode %}


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