How to Connect Node.js to PostgreSQL Database and Fetch Data – Step by Step

Updated August 2026 — full tutorial restored for this URL.

This tutorial connects Node.js to PostgreSQL using the official pg driver, with a pool and a small Express endpoint that fetches rows.

1. Install PostgreSQL and create a database
2. Install pg and dotenv
3. Create a connection pool
4. Fetch data in a route
5. Error handling and next steps

1. Install PostgreSQL and create a database

CREATE DATABASE tutorial;
CREATE TABLE users (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  name TEXT NOT NULL,
  email TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL
);
INSERT INTO users(name, email) VALUES ('Kindson', 'kindson@example.com');

2. Install pg and dotenv

npm init -y
npm install express pg dotenv

# .env
DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:password@localhost:5432/tutorial
PORT=3000

3. Create a connection pool

// db.js
require('dotenv').config();
const { Pool } = require('pg');
const pool = new Pool({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL });
module.exports = { pool };

4. Fetch data in a route

// server.js
const express = require('express');
const { pool } = require('./db');
const app = express();

app.get('/users', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const result = await pool.query(
      'SELECT id, name, email FROM users ORDER BY id ASC'
    );
    res.json(result.rows);
  } catch (err) {
    console.error(err);
    res.status(500).json({ error: 'Database error' });
  }
});

app.listen(process.env.PORT, () => console.log('listening'));

5. Error handling and next steps

• Always use parameterized queries ($1) for user input.
• Call pool.end() on graceful shutdown in long-running workers.
• For Docker, point DATABASE_URL host to the Compose service name postgres.