Connecting to an existing database (Supabase)

[Manon]

Hi there

I’m new to Directus (just setting up), and I didn’t find the answer in the docs nor in the forum - sorry if it has already been answered!

I already have a Supabase (cloud) project, and I would like to connect Directus to this existing database, to offer a simple way to interact with data for non-tech users.

I created a project on Directus Cloud version, but never saw an option to connect an existing database.
I also tried to self-host Directus with Pikapods: never saw this option either.

I’m pretty sure it is possible to do so (https://directus.io/features/existing-database, Add Directus to an Existing Database), but cannot find the proper way to do it.

How am I supposed to be given this option?
Thank you for your help!

[ahmad_quvor]

Hi Manon

You can only connect an existing database when you self-host Directus, since Directus Cloud manages its own database and doesn’t allow external connections.

If you’re self-hosting, you’ll need to set these environment variables with your Supabase credentials:

DB_CLIENT=
DB_HOST=
DB_PORT=
DB_DATABASE=
DB_USER=
DB_PASSWORD=
DB_SSL=true

You can find these details in your Supabase → Settings → Database → Connection Info section.

Refer to the official docs for more details:

Database | Directus Docs

Once set, start your Directus instance and it should automatically connect to your Supabase database.

Hope that helps!

[Manon]

Thanks a lot, I’ve tried this but I’m not really self-hosting: I’m now managing Directus via Elestio.

In Elestio, I have two ways to access the environment config.

One called ENV that looks like this:

SOFTWARE_VERSION_TAG=v9.26.0
SOFTWARE_PASSWORD=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (here appears the password)
ADMIN_EMAIL=XXXXXXXXX (here appears the email)
ADMIN_PASSWORD=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (here appears the password)
DOMAIN=directus-vnifu-u61462.vm.elestio.app
EMAIL_FROM=directus-vnifu-u61462.vm.elestio.app@vm.elestio.app

There, I added the following lines:

DB_CLIENT=pg
DB_HOST=db.eugngjagsvyhwtmigfye.supabase.co
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=postgres
DB_USER=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (here the database password)
DB_SSL=true

Unfortunately, when restarting the service with this config, I still have an “empty” Directus, with no collections.

The other one called Docker Compose that looks like this:

version: "3.3"
services:
  database:
    image: elestio/postgres:15
    restart: always
    volumes:
      - ./data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - directus
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: "directus"
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${SOFTWARE_PASSWORD}
      POSTGRES_DB: "directus"
  cache:
    image: redis:6
    restart: always
    networks:
      - directus
  directus:
    restart: always
    image: elestio/directus:${SOFTWARE_VERSION_TAG}
    ports:
      - 172.17.0.1:8055:8055
    user: 0:0
    volumes:
      - ./uploads:/directus/uploads
      - ./extensions:/directus/extensions
    networks:
      - directus
    depends_on:
      - cache
      - database
    environment:
      KEY: ${SOFTWARE_PASSWORD}
      SECRET: ${SOFTWARE_PASSWORD}
      PUBLIC_URL: https://${DOMAIN}
      DB_CLIENT: "pg"
      DB_HOST: "database"
      DB_PORT: "5432"
      DB_DATABASE: "directus"
      DB_USER: "directus"
      DB_PASSWORD: ${SOFTWARE_PASSWORD}
      EMAIL_FROM: ${EMAIL_FROM}
      EMAIL_TRANSPORT: "smtp"
      EMAIL_SMTP_HOST: "172.17.0.1"
      EMAIL_SMTP_PORT: 25
      EMAIL_SMTP_SECURE: "false"
      EMAIL_SMTP_IGNORE_TLS: "true"
      CACHE_ENABLED: "true"
      CACHE_STORE: "redis"
      CACHE_REDIS: "redis://cache:6379"
      REDIS: "redis://cache:6379"
      ADMIN_EMAIL: ${ADMIN_EMAIL}
      ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${ADMIN_PASSWORD}
      CACHE_AUTO_PURGE: "true"
      NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED: 0
networks:
  directus:

There, I tried replacing these lines like this:

DB_CLIENT: "pg"
DB_HOST: "db.eugngjagsvyhwtmigfye.supabase.co"
DB_PORT: "5432"
DB_DATABASE: "postgres"
DB_USER: "postgres"
DB_PASSWORD: "XXXXXXXXXX" (with my database password)

But when I restart the service, I get a connection error (ENETUNREACH).

Would you help me identify how to enter the environment variables correctly?