Deploy and Host Blazor + PostgreSQL Starter on Railway

A production-ready full-stack template combining Blazor Server with PostgreSQL database. Build modern web applications with C# and .NET 9, featuring Entity Framework Core, automatic database migrations, and a working CRUD demo. Deploy in 2 minutes with zero configuration required.

About Hosting Blazor + PostgreSQL Starter

Deploying Blazor + PostgreSQL Starter involves a multi-stage Docker build that compiles your .NET 9 application and provisions a PostgreSQL database. Railway automatically connects the services, runs Entity Framework Core migrations on startup, and configures health monitoring. The template includes a working CRUD demo at /database that demonstrates real-time database operations with type-safe LINQ queries. Public networking is pre-configured with automatic SSL, and the app scales vertically with your traffic. The entire stack—Blazor Server UI, ASP.NET Core backend, SignalR real-time updates, and PostgreSQL database—deploys together in a single click.

Common Use Cases

• Data-driven dashboards and analytics - Real-time charts, metrics, and business intelligence with live database updates
• E-commerce and inventory management - Product catalogs, shopping carts, order processing, and stock tracking
• CRM and business applications - Customer management, contact databases, sales pipelines, and workflow automation
• Content management systems - Blogs, documentation sites, wikis, and publishing platforms with PostgreSQL storage
• User management and authentication - Registration, login, profile management with ASP.NET Identity and database storage
• Ticketing and support systems - Issue tracking, help desk applications, and customer support portals

Dependencies for Blazor + PostgreSQL Starter Hosting

• .NET 9 Runtime - Provided via mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:9.0 Docker image
• PostgreSQL Database - Automatically provisioned by Railway with DATABASE_URL environment variable
• Entity Framework Core - Included in the project for ORM and database migrations
• SignalR - Built into Blazor Server for real-time UI updates

Deployment Dependencies

• Blazor Documentation - Official Microsoft Blazor guides and tutorials
• Entity Framework Core Docs - Database migrations and LINQ query documentation
• PostgreSQL on Railway - Railway's PostgreSQL setup and management guide
• .NET 9 Release Notes - Latest .NET features and improvements
• Railway Docker Builds - Understanding Railway's Docker build process

Implementation Details

Automatic Database Connection: The template automatically converts Railway's DATABASE_URL to Entity Framework Core format:

var connectionString = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("DATABASE_URL");
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(connectionString))
{
    connectionString = ConvertToEFConnectionString(connectionString);
    builder.Services.AddDbContext(options =>
        options.UseNpgsql(connectionString));
}

Auto-Migrations on Startup: Database schema is created/updated automatically on each deployment:

using (var scope = app.Services.CreateScope())
{
    var db = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService();
    db.Database.Migrate();
}

Sample CRUD Service: Type-safe database operations with DbContext factory for Blazor:

public class SampleItemService
{
    private readonly IDbContextFactory _contextFactory;
    
    public async Task> GetAllItemsAsync()
    {
        await using var context = await _contextFactory.CreateDbContextAsync();
        return await context.SampleItems
            .OrderByDescending(x => x.CreatedAt)
            .ToListAsync();
    }
    
    public async Task AddItemAsync(string name)
    {
        await using var context = await _contextFactory.CreateDbContextAsync();
        var item = new SampleItem { 
            Name = name, 
            CreatedAt = DateTime.UtcNow 
        };
        context.SampleItems.Add(item);
        await context.SaveChangesAsync();
        return item;
    }
}

Working CRUD Demo Page: Visit /database after deployment to see the PostgreSQL integration in action with a fully functional Create, Read, Update, Delete interface.

Health Check Endpoint: Built-in health monitoring at /health for Railway's health checks:

builder.Services.AddHealthChecks();
app.MapHealthChecks("/health");

Adding Your Own Models:

1. Create your model class in the Data folder
2. Add DbSet to AppDbContext.cs
3. Create migration: dotnet ef migrations add AddYourModel
4. Push to GitHub - Railway automatically runs the migration on deploy

Multi-Stage Docker Build: The Dockerfile uses three stages (build, publish, runtime) to optimize image size by ~60%, resulting in faster deployments and lower resource usage.

Why Deploy Blazor + PostgreSQL Starter on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying Blazor + PostgreSQL Starter on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.

Additional Benefits:

• Instant Deployment - Push to GitHub and Railway automatically builds and deploys both app and database
• Auto-Scaling - Scale vertically as your traffic and data grow with zero downtime
• Built-in Monitoring - Health checks, deployment logs, and database metrics out of the box
• Zero Configuration - Database connection strings and PORT variables automatically configured
• Cost-Efficient - Pay only for what you use with Railway's usage-based pricing