---
title: "Deploy Flask REST API + PostgreSQL CRUD"
description: "A production-ready Flask REST API with CRUD, PostgreSQL, pagination."
category: "Starters"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/flask-rest-api-postgresql-crud-boilerpla
---

# Deploy Flask REST API + PostgreSQL CRUD

A production-ready Flask REST API with CRUD, PostgreSQL, pagination.

**[Deploy Flask REST API + PostgreSQL CRUD on Railway](https://railway.com/template/flask-rest-api-postgresql-crud-boilerpla)**

- **Creator:** Clement Ochieng's Projects
- **Category:** Starters
- **Total deploys:** 3

## Template content

### flask-restapi-postgresql

- **Source:** Oclemy/flask-restapi-postgresql

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host Flask REST API + PostgreSQL CRUD Boilerplate on Railway

Flask REST API + PostgreSQL CRUD Boilerplate is a production-ready, single-file Python REST API built with Flask and SQLAlchemy. It provides full CRUD operations, pagination, health checks, CORS support, and automatic PostgreSQL integration — ready to deploy in one click with zero configuration.

## About Hosting Flask REST API + PostgreSQL CRUD Boilerplate

Hosting this boilerplate involves deploying a Flask web server alongside a PostgreSQL database. Railway handles both seamlessly — the Postgres plugin auto-injects `DATABASE_URL` into the environment, and the app picks it up at startup. Gunicorn serves the app in production behind Railway's built-in proxy and HTTPS. The boilerplate auto-creates database tables on first boot, so there's no manual migration step. Nixpacks detects the Python project and installs dependencies from `requirements.txt` automatically. Scaling, logging, and restarts are managed by Railway, making it ideal for beginners who want a working API without managing infrastructure.

## Common Use Cases

- Backend API for apps that need persistent data storage and retrieval
- Starter template for students learning REST API design, HTTP methods, and database-backed web services
- Rapid prototyping of CRUD-driven projects before building out a full application

## Dependencies for Flask REST API + PostgreSQL CRUD Boilerplate

- Python 3.10+
- PostgreSQL (provided by Railway's Postgres plugin)

### Deployment Dependencies

- [Flask](https://flask.palletsprojects.com/) — lightweight Python web framework
- [Flask-SQLAlchemy](https://flask-sqlalchemy.readthedocs.io/) — ORM for database models
- [Flask-Migrate](https://flask-migrate.readthedocs.io/) — Alembic-based schema migrations
- [Flask-CORS](https://flask-cors.readthedocs.io/) — cross-origin request handling
- [Gunicorn](https://gunicorn.org/) — production WSGI server
- [psycopg2-binary](https://www.psycopg.org/) — PostgreSQL adapter for Python

### Implementation Details

The entire API lives in a single `main.py` file for simplicity. Railway's Postgres URLs use the `postgres://` scheme, so the app auto-rewrites it to `postgresql://` for SQLAlchemy compatibility:

```python
if app.config["SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI"].startswith("postgres://"):
    app.config["SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI"] = app.config[
        "SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI"
    ].replace("postgres://", "postgresql://", 1)
```

Tables are created automatically on startup via `db.create_all()`, eliminating the need for manual migrations on first deploy.

## NOTE

On visiting the URL after going live, you will not see a GUI, this is a REST API. Here is what you will see:

```json
{"endpoints":{"health":"/health","item":"/api/items/","items":"/api/items"},"service":"Flask REST API Boilerplate","status":"running"}
```

## Why Deploy Flask REST API + PostgreSQL CRUD Boilerplate 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 Flask REST API + PostgreSQL CRUD Boilerplate 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.

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