Run a PostgreSQL Sidecar

PostgreSQL is the most common database sidecar in StartOS packages. The pattern covers password generation in init, the daemon definition with health check, and backup/restore using the SDK’s built-in pg_dump support.

Solution

Generate a password in setupOnInit and store it in a file model. In setupMain, create a PostgreSQL subcontainer with sdk.useEntrypoint(['--listen_addresses=127.0.0.1']) and pass credentials via env vars. Health-check with pg_isready. The app daemon connects via localhost:5432 and declares requires: ['postgres']. For backups, use sdk.Backups.withPgDump() which handles dump and restore automatically.

Reference: Main · Initialization · File Models

Examples

See startos/main.ts and startos/backups.ts in: btcpayserver, immich, nextcloud, spliit, mcaptcha