Managed Databases

You can run Postgres, Redis, MySQL, or MongoDB on Beam. Each database includes a durable disk, generated credentials, and a TLS connection.

CLI kind	Engine	Default disk	Connection variable
`postgres`	Postgres 16	10Gi	`DATABASE_URL`
`redis`	Redis 7	5Gi	`REDIS_URL`
`mysql`	MySQL 8	10Gi	`DATABASE_URL`
`mongo`	MongoDB 7	10Gi	`DATABASE_URL`

Create a Database

beam db postgres create web-db
beam db redis create cache
beam db mysql create analytics-db
beam db mongo create documents-db
beam db list

Each command creates a separate database with 1 CPU and 512 MB of memory. Names must be unique in your workspace. Use --cpu, --memory, --database, or --username to customize it. To supply a password, use --password-from-env VARIABLE_NAME or --password-stdin. Databases are also available in the dashboard and through MCP’s create_database tool.

Connect an App

Pass the database URL as an environment reference:

beam deploy --dockerfile Dockerfile --name web --port 8000 \
  --env DATABASE_URL='${{db.web-db.DATABASE_URL}}' \
  --env REDIS_URL='${{db.cache.REDIS_URL}}'

Python apps accept the same references in env:

from beam import function

@function(env={"DATABASE_URL": "${{db.web-db.DATABASE_URL}}"})
def inspect_configuration():
    import os
    return {"database_configured": bool(os.environ.get("DATABASE_URL"))}

For an existing app, edit its environment variables in the dashboard or use MCP’s connect_services. Both deploy a new version.

Connect from Your Machine

Print a connection command for Postgres or Redis:

beam db postgres connect web-db --psql
beam db redis connect cache --redis-cli

Run the printed command with psql or redis-cli installed. The output contains credentials. For other clients, use beam db KIND credentials NAME. Redis also supports connect --node-redis and --ioredis for TLS connection examples.

Serverless or Always On

Databases shut down after 300 idle seconds by default. To avoid cold starts, keep one replica running:

beam db postgres scale web-db --always-on
beam db postgres scale web-db --serverless
beam db postgres scale web-db --cpu 2 --memory 2Gi

Use --min-replicas 1 at creation for always-on mode. Each database has one writable replica; clients should reconnect after restarts or resource changes.

Credentials and Lifecycle

beam db postgres status web-db
beam logs web-db --since 30m
beam db postgres rotate web-db

Rotation restarts the database and apps using its generated secrets. Update any connection strings you copied manually. beam db postgres delete web-db deletes the service and credentials, but keeps the durable disk. Use beam disk list to find it. See disk snapshots for backups.

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Managed Databases

Create a Database

Connect an App

Connect from Your Machine

Serverless or Always On

Credentials and Lifecycle

​Create a Database

​Connect an App

​Connect from Your Machine

​Serverless or Always On

​Credentials and Lifecycle

Create a Database

Connect an App

Connect from Your Machine

Serverless or Always On

Credentials and Lifecycle