Claimable Postgres

When to Use

Use this skill when you need provision instant temporary Postgres databases via Claimable Postgres by Neon (neon.new) with no login, signup, or credit card. Supports REST API, CLI, and SDK. Use when users ask for a quick Postgres environment, a throwaway DATABASE_URL for prototyping/tests, or "just give me a DB...

Instant Postgres databases for local development, demos, prototyping, and test environments. No account required. Databases expire after 72 hours unless claimed to a Neon account.

Treat connection and claim URLs as sensitive capabilities: keep them out of public/client environment variables, logs and commits. A name beginning PUBLIC_ does not make a claim link safe to publish. Verify service availability/expiry/quotas from current primary docs and the actual response; do not promise permanent free retention from claiming alone. Inspect seed SQL inertly and verify the new database target before executing.

Quick Start

curl -s -X POST "https://neon.new/api/v1/database" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"ref": "agent-skills"}'

Parse connection_string and claim_url from the JSON response. Write connection_string only to an approved ignored private env file without overwriting existing values.

For other methods (CLI, SDK, Vite plugin), see Which Method? below.

Which Method?

• REST API: Returns structured JSON. No runtime dependency beyond curl. Preferred when the agent needs predictable output and error handling.
• CLI (npx neon-new@latest --yes): Provisions and writes .env in one command. Convenient when Node.js is available and the user wants a simple setup.
• SDK (neon-new/sdk): Scripts or programmatic provisioning in Node.js.
• Vite plugin (vite-plugin-neon-new): Auto-provisions on vite dev if DATABASE_URL is missing. Use when the user has a Vite project.
• Browser: User cannot run CLI or API. Direct to https://neon.new.

REST API

Base URL: https://neon.new/api/v1

Create a database

curl -s -X POST "https://neon.new/api/v1/database" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"ref": "agent-skills"}'

The connection_string returned by the API is a pooled connection URL. For a direct (non-pooled) connection (e.g. Prisma migrations), remove -pooler from the hostname. The CLI writes both pooled and direct URLs automatically.

Response:

{
  "id": "019beb39-37fb-709d-87ac-7ad6198b89f7",
  "status": "UNCLAIMED",
  "neon_project_id": "gentle-scene-06438508",
  "connection_string": "postgresql://...",
  "claim_url": "https://neon.new/claim/019beb39-...",
  "expires_at": "2026-01-26T14:19:14.580Z",
  "created_at": "2026-01-23T14:19:14.580Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-01-23T14:19:14.580Z"
}

Check status

curl -s "https://neon.new/api/v1/database/{id}"

Returns the same response shape. Status transitions: UNCLAIMED -> CLAIMING -> CLAIMED. After the database is claimed, connection_string returns null.

Error responses

CLI

npx neon-new@latest --yes

Provisions a database and writes the connection string to .env in one step. Use a reviewed version pinned for this task; --yes is appropriate only after all defaults and side effects match authorized scope. Do not silently execute an unreviewed latest package.

Pre-run Check

Check if DATABASE_URL (or the chosen key) already exists in the target .env. The CLI exits without provisioning if it finds the key.

If the key exists, offer the user three options:

1. Remove or comment out the existing line, then rerun.
2. Use --env to write to a different file (e.g. --env .env.local).
3. Use --key to write under a different variable name.

Get confirmation before proceeding.

Options