Database Overview

Forge databases are services. They live inside projects, have deployments, variables, logs, data tools, settings, domains where applicable, and backups.

Engines

Forge can provision all major database engines alongside specialized vector and object storage:

Engine	Default port	Category	Notes
PostgreSQL	5432	Relational	Supports logical replication and backups.
TimescaleDB	5432	Time-series	PostgreSQL-family with TimescaleDB extension handling.
MySQL	3306	Relational	Supports browsing, SQL console, row editing, backups, and restore.
Redis	6379	In-memory	Supports key browsing/editing and backups.
MongoDB	27017	Document	Supports collection browsing/editing and backups.
ClickHouse	8123	Analytical	Supports browsing and SQL console.
Qdrant	6333	Vector	Vector database for AI embeddings, semantic search, and RAG pipelines. Supports collection browsing and backups.
MinIO	9000	Object storage	S3-compatible object storage. Use for file uploads, static assets, or as a drop-in replacement for AWS S3 in development. Bucket browsing, console UI on port 9001.

Qdrant — Vector Database

Qdrant is a high-performance vector search engine. Use it for:

• Storing and querying AI embeddings (OpenAI, Cohere, etc.)
• Semantic search and recommendation systems
• RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) pipelines
• Similarity matching across text, images, or any vectorized data

Forge provisions Qdrant as a Docker container with a persistent volume. Variables QDRANT_URL and QDRANT_API_KEY are autogenerated and available to app services in the same project.

MinIO — S3-Compatible Object Storage

MinIO is an S3-compatible object store that runs on your own infrastructure. Use it for:

• File uploads and user-generated content
• Static asset hosting
• Development S3 replacement (no AWS bill)
• Backup target for applications

Forge provisions MinIO with a web console on port 9001. Variables S3_ENDPOINT_URL, S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID, S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, and S3_BUCKET are autogenerated and available to app services in the same project. The console is accessible at the service’s public hostname on port 9001.

Created Variables

When you create a database service, Forge generates engine-specific variables such as POSTGRES_DB, POSTGRES_USER, POSTGRES_PASSWORD, REDIS_PASSWORD, MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD, QDRANT_API_KEY, MINIO_ROOT_USER, or MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD.

App services in the same project can use database variable suggestions instead of manually copying generated values.

Deploying Databases

Database deployment ensures the Docker image, container, persistent volume, environment variables, runtime network, public hostname route, and engine-specific settings are present.

Database services are not hot-swapped like app services. They use persistent volumes, and redeploying may briefly interrupt clients.

Public Access

When a root domain is configured, Forge can create public database hostnames. The hostname and host port are shown in the database service settings.

Use public access for admin tools, migrations, or external clients that cannot join the Docker runtime network. Keep it disabled when everything talks privately from app services on the same server.

Data Tools

Database services can expose:

• Table or collection browsing.
• Row, document, or Redis key editing where supported.
• SQL console for relational engines.
• Qdrant collection browser and vector search console.
• MinIO bucket browser via the web console (port 9001).
• Data import for PostgreSQL-compatible and Redis services.
• Backups and restores for supported backup engines.

Backup Coverage

Supported backup engines:

• PostgreSQL and TimescaleDB: pg_dump custom format.
• MySQL: mysqldump SQL.
• MongoDB: mongodump gzip archive.
• Redis: RDB dump.
• Qdrant: snapshot export.
• MinIO: bucket-level mc mirror to disk or R2.

ClickHouse backups are not available yet.