Deploy and Host

Deploy this repository as a new service on Railway. The service runs PostgreSQL in a container and persists data to a volume. Configure POSTGRES_PASSWORD, POSTGRES_VERSION, POSTGRES_USER, POSTGRES_DB, and POSTGRES_CONFIG in the service variables.

About Hosting

This template is hosted as a Docker-based service on Railway. PostgreSQL runs from the official Docker image; the version is chosen via the POSTGRES_VERSION build variable. Data is stored in a volume mounted at /var/lib/postgresql/data. Use Railway's TCP Proxy if you need to connect from outside Railway.

Why Deploy

Choose your PostgreSQL version – Set POSTGRES_VERSION (e.g. 16, 15, 14, 17) instead of being locked to a single version.
Memory presets – Use POSTGRES_CONFIG to choose between low, normal, or high memory profiles, or define custom settings.
Simple setup – Set POSTGRES_PASSWORD and optionally the database name; no extra config required.
Persistent data – Attach a volume at /var/lib/postgresql/data so data survives redeploys (data lives in the pgdata subdirectory).
General-purpose database – Official PostgreSQL image with UTF-8 defaults, suitable for most applications.

Memory Presets

Control PostgreSQL memory usage via the POSTGRES_CONFIG variable:

Preset	RAM (idle)	Use case
`low`	~100-200MB	Development, low-traffic apps, cost savings
`normal`	~300-400MB	Standard production workloads
`high`	~500-700MB	High-traffic, performance-critical apps

If POSTGRES_CONFIG is not set, PostgreSQL uses its built-in defaults.

Shortname Reference

Shortname	PostgreSQL Option	Description
`sb`	shared_buffers	Main shared memory cache
`ecs`	effective_cache_size	Planner estimate of OS cache available
`wm`	work_mem	Memory per sort/hash operation
`mwm`	maintenance_work_mem	Memory for VACUUM, CREATE INDEX, etc.
`mc`	max_connections	Maximum simultaneous connections
`wb`	wal_buffers	WAL buffer size
`mbc`	max_wal_size	Maximum WAL size before checkpoint
`mwc`	max_worker_processes	Background worker processes
`mpw`	max_parallel_workers	Maximum parallel workers

You can also pass custom settings: POSTGRES_CONFIG=sb=64MB,mc=75,mwm=48MB or use full PostgreSQL option names: POSTGRES_CONFIG=shared_buffers=64MB,max_connections=50

Common Use Cases

Backend database for web apps (Node, Python, Ruby, Go, etc.)
Development or staging PostgreSQL when you need a specific major version (e.g. 15 or 16)
Low-memory PostgreSQL for hobby projects or cost-sensitive deployments
Any project that needs PostgreSQL with a configurable version on Railway

Dependencies for

This template provides a PostgreSQL server. Your application (or other services) depend on it for database storage.

Deployment Dependencies

POSTGRES_PASSWORD (required) – Superuser password for PostgreSQL. Use ${{secret(32)}} in the template so Railway generates a random password on first deploy; the container will not start without it.
Volume – Add a volume mounted at /var/lib/postgresql/data for persistent data. Without it, data is lost on redeploy. Do not point PGDATA at the mount root; this image sets PGDATA=/var/lib/postgresql/data/pgdata for Railway compatibility.
POSTGRES_VERSION (optional) – Docker image tag (e.g. 16, 15, 14, 17). Default: 16.
POSTGRES_USER (optional) – Superuser name. Default: postgres.
POSTGRES_DB (optional) – Database name created on first run. Default: railway.
POSTGRES_CONFIG (optional) – Memory preset (low, normal, high) or custom config. If not set, PostgreSQL uses its defaults.