postgrest
PostgREST automatically generates a fully RESTful API directly from your PostgreSQL database schema, eliminating the need to write custom API code. It handles authentication via JWT, delegates authorization to database roles, and delivers subsecond response times by offloading computation to SQL.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | PostgREST/postgrest |
| Owner | PostgREST |
| Primary language | Haskell |
| License | MIT — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 27.4k |
| Forks | 1.2k |
| Open issues | 390 |
| Latest release | v14.14 (2026-06-29) |
| Last updated | 2026-07-07 |
| Source | https://github.com/PostgREST/postgrest |
What postgrest is
A Haskell-based HTTP server that introspects PostgreSQL schemas and exposes tables and views as REST endpoints with automatic OpenAPI documentation. It uses connection pooling, the PostgreSQL binary protocol, and delegates filtering, aggregation, authorization, and JSON serialization to the database layer.
Get the postgrest source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/PostgREST/postgrest.gitcd postgrest# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Schema design becomes API contract; carefully plan table structures, views, and stored procedures early, as API surface is derived directly from database objects.
- Authentication is JWT-based by default; plan token generation, refresh logic, and integration with identity providers (OAuth2, SAML) before deployment.
- Row-level security (RLS) policies must be defined in PostgreSQL and tested thoroughly; misconfiguration can inadvertently expose data across users.
- Connection pooling and query complexity require monitoring; validate that database can handle expected QPS and that N+1 query patterns are avoided through proper view design.
- Staging and version management via database schemas; plan schema migration workflows and consider using tools like Flyway or Liquibase for reproducible deployments.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Complex business logic outside the database — If your API requires non-trivial procedural logic, state machines, or orchestration beyond SQL expressions and stored procedures, PostgREST's database-centric model may become limiting; consider a traditional application framework.
- Non-PostgreSQL data sources — PostgREST is tightly coupled to PostgreSQL. If you need to expose APIs over MongoDB, DynamoDB, REST endpoints, or heterogeneous sources, this tool does not apply.
- Heavy customization of API behavior — PostgREST generates endpoints automatically from schema. If you need fine-grained request/response transformation, custom error handling, or endpoint-specific logic, you will need to supplement with middleware or custom code.
- Unfamiliar with PostgreSQL permissions and RLS — Effective use requires confident authoring of database roles, policies, and functions. Teams without strong PostgreSQL expertise may face a learning curve in modeling authorization correctly.
License & commercial use
Licensed under the MIT License, a permissive open-source license that allows use, modification, and distribution for any purpose, including commercial, with minimal restrictions.
MIT License explicitly permits commercial use. No license fee, royalty, or commercial support requirement is imposed. However, commercial support, hosting, and consulting are available through sponsors (e.g., Supabase, Cybertec). Review the MIT terms to confirm compliance with your internal policy.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Strong |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Low |
| DEV.co fit | Strong |
| Assessment confidence | High |
PostgREST does not introduce authentication mechanisms on its own; it relies on JWTs and delegates authorization to PostgreSQL roles and RLS policies. Security posture depends entirely on correct configuration of database permissions, RLS policies, and JWT secret management. Ensure the PostgreSQL instance is network-isolated, enforce SSL/TLS for connections, rotate secrets regularly, and audit role definitions. The README mentions authentication and authorization but does not detail vulnerability disclosure policy or past security incidents; review security advisories independently.
Alternatives to consider
Directus
No-code/low-code CMS and API platform for SQL databases; offers GUI for schema and permission management, better for non-technical users, but less performant than PostgREST and more opinionated about data modeling.
Hasura
GraphQL-first API engine for PostgreSQL and other databases; more flexible for complex queries and real-time subscriptions, but heavier footprint and different query language than REST.
Custom REST framework (Express, FastAPI, Spring)
Provides maximum flexibility for business logic and custom endpoints, but requires significantly more development effort, maintenance burden, and operational overhead compared to PostgREST.
Build on postgrest with DEV.co software developers
PostgREST eliminates boilerplate REST code by leveraging PostgreSQL as the source of truth. Let's evaluate if schema-driven API generation fits your architecture and help you plan a secure, scalable deployment.
Talk to DEV.coRelated on DEV.co
Explore the category and the services that help you build with it.
postgrest FAQ
Can I add custom business logic beyond what the database supports?
How is authentication handled?
Does it scale to production workloads?
Can I use it with databases other than PostgreSQL?
Custom software development services
DEV.co helps companies turn open-source tools like postgrest into production software. Our software development services cover the full lifecycle — architecture, web development, integration, and maintenance — delivered by software developers and web developers who ship. Engage our software development agency to implement or customize it for your open-source databases stack.
Ready to accelerate your API development?
PostgREST eliminates boilerplate REST code by leveraging PostgreSQL as the source of truth. Let's evaluate if schema-driven API generation fits your architecture and help you plan a secure, scalable deployment.