# Connect Supabase Postgres to Directus
> Configure a self-hosted Directus instance to use Supabase Postgres via the session pooler and verify the setup.
**← Back to Supabase Integration**
This guide covers connecting a self-hosted Directus instance to a Supabase PostgreSQL database. Supabase provides the database; Directus runs separately on your own host using Docker Compose.
## Before You Start
This guide sets up two separate things that work together:
- **Supabase** hosts your PostgreSQL database. It provides the database only. It does not run Directus.
- **Directus** runs on a separate host using Docker Compose. This can be your local machine for development, or a server or cloud platform (such as Railway, Render, or a VPS) for production. See [Self-hosting: Deploying](/self-hosting/deploying) for options.
You will need:
- A [Supabase](https://supabase.com) project with PostgreSQL available
- A machine or host where you can run [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) and Docker Compose
- Network access from that host to Supabase Postgres on port **5432**
## Get your connection details from Supabase
This guide uses the **Session pooler** connection. It works on any host regardless of IPv4 or IPv6 support, which makes it the right default for local Docker Desktop setups and most production environments.
1. Open the [Supabase Dashboard](https://supabase.com/dashboard) and select your project.
2. Click the green **Connect** button in the top navigation bar.
3. In the "Connect to your project" modal, find the **Session pooler** connection and copy the host, port, database, and user values.
## Configure Directus with Docker Compose
Enter your Session pooler connection details into the fields below to generate a ready-to-use `docker-compose.yml`.
Set `PUBLIC_URL` to the URL clients use to reach Directus. Add other required variables for your environment (see [General](/configuration/general) and [Self-hosting: Deploying](/self-hosting/deploying)).
## SSL settings
Do not set `DB_SSL=true` when connecting through Supabase's session pooler. The pooler uses Supabase's own CA certificate, which is not in Node's default bundle. Setting `DB_SSL=true` causes a `SELF_SIGNED_CERT_IN_CHAIN` error and the connection fails.
Use the nested SSL variables instead:
- **Local development**: set `DB_SSL__REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=false`. The generated files above already do this.
- **Production**: download [Supabase's CA certificate](https://supabase.com/docs/guides/database/connecting-to-postgres#ssl-connections), set `DB_SSL__CA_FILE` to the path of that file, and keep `DB_SSL__REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=true`. See [Database](/configuration/database) for the full variable reference.
**Row Level Security (RLS)**
Directus connects to PostgreSQL with **one** database user and issues queries with that user's privileges. Supabase **RLS policies do not apply** to data accessed through Directus in the same way they do for the Supabase client scoped to an end-user JWT.
Do not rely on RLS to enforce access control for content edited in Directus. Configure [Directus permissions and roles](/guides/auth/access-control) and API tokens instead.
## Verify the connection
1. Start the stack: `docker compose up` (or your orchestrator equivalent)
2. Watch logs for successful startup and database migration messages
3. Open Directus at `PUBLIC_URL`, complete onboarding if prompted, and sign in
4. In the Data Studio, confirm collections load and create a test item in a non-system collection when you have one
## Optional: Directus Labs starters
[Directus Labs starters](https://github.com/directus-labs/starters) ship a Docker Compose stack that includes Directus, Redis, and a local Postgres container. To use Supabase Postgres instead, keep Directus and Redis and point Directus at Supabase using environment variables. You do not need to fork the starters repository. These are local edits only.
The compose file and `.env` live in the starter's `directus` folder (for example `cms/directus/docker-compose.yaml`), not the frontend app root.
### 1. Set up your .env
In the same folder as `docker-compose.yaml`, copy `.env.example` to `.env` and add or update these values with your Supabase connection details. To fill these in automatically, use the configurator above: switch to the **.env** tab, enter your connection details, and copy or download the result.
```bash
# Supabase Postgres — paste values from the Session pooler in the Supabase Connect modal
DB_HOST=aws-0-YOUR_REGION.pooler.supabase.com
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=postgres
DB_USER=postgres.YOUR_PROJECT_REF
DB_PASSWORD=YOUR_DATABASE_PASSWORD
DB_SSL__REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=false
# Directus URL — must match the address you open in the browser
PUBLIC_URL=http://localhost:8055
```
Keep all other variables from `.env.example` (`DIRECTUS_SECRET`, `ADMIN_*`, `CORS_*`, Redis and cache settings) unless you intentionally need to change them.
### 2. Edit docker-compose.yaml
Three things need to change. The diff below shows what to remove (red) and what to add (green). Leave everything else as it is.
```diff
name: directus-template
services:
- database:
- image: postgis/postgis:16-master
- platform: linux/amd64
- volumes:
- - ./data/database:/var/lib/postgresql/data
- environment:
- POSTGRES_USER: ${DB_USER}
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
- POSTGRES_DB: ${DB_DATABASE}
- healthcheck:
- test: ['CMD', 'pg_isready', '-U', '${DB_USER}', '-d', '${DB_DATABASE}', '-h', 'localhost']
- interval: 10s
- timeout: 5s
- retries: 5
- start_interval: 5s
- start_period: 30s
-
cache:
image: redis:6
directus:
image: directus/directus:11.17.4
depends_on:
- database:
- condition: service_healthy
cache:
condition: service_healthy
environment:
DB_CLIENT: 'pg'
- DB_HOST: 'database'
- DB_PORT: '5432'
+ DB_HOST: ${DB_HOST}
+ DB_PORT: ${DB_PORT}
DB_DATABASE: ${DB_DATABASE}
DB_USER: ${DB_USER}
DB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
+
+ DB_SSL__REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED: ${DB_SSL__REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED}
CACHE_ENABLED: ${CACHE_ENABLED}
```
### 3. Start the stack
From the `directus` folder:
```bash
docker compose up -d
```
Then follow the starter README to complete setup.
## Next Steps
- [Use Supabase Storage with Directus](/guides/integrations/supabase/use-supabase-storage-with-directus)
- [Database configuration reference](/configuration/database)
- [Self-hosting: Deploying](/self-hosting/deploying)