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You can create a PostgreSQL cluster using doctl, the API, or the Control Panel.

We currently support PostgreSQL major versions 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18. Clusters are provisioned with the latest supported minor release within a major version. To view available major versions for new clusters, use the /v2/databases/options response.

Create a Database Cluster Using Automation

You can create a database cluster using the DigitalOcean CLI (doctl) or the API.

Create a Database Cluster via CLI

To create a database using doctl, you need to provide values for the --engine, --region, and --size flags. Use the doctl databases options engines, doctl databases options regions, and doctl databases options slugs commands, respectively, to get a list of available values.

Create a Database Cluster via API

To create a database using the API, you need to provide values for the engine, region, and size fields, which specify the database’s engine, its datacenter, and its configuration (number of CPUs, amount of RAM, and hard disk space). Use the /v2/databases/options endpoint to get a list of available values.

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
  -d '{"name": "backend", "engine": "pg", "version": "14", "region": "nyc3", "size": "db-s-2vcpu-4gb", "num_nodes": 2, "storage_size_mib": 61440, "tags": ["production"], "do_settings": {"service_cnames": ["db.example.com", "database.myapp.io"]}}' \
  "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/databases"

import (
    "context"
    "os"

    "github.com/digitalocean/godo"
)

func main() {
    token := os.Getenv("DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN")

    client := godo.NewFromToken(token)
    ctx := context.TODO()

    createRequest := &godo.DatabaseCreateRequest{
        Name:       "backend",
        EngineSlug: "pg",
        Version:    "14",
        Region:     "nyc3",
        SizeSlug:   "db-s-2vcpu-4gb",
        NumNodes:   2,
        StorageSizeMiB : 61440,
        DOSettings: &godo.DOSettings{
            ServiceCnames: []string{"db.example.com", "database.myapp.io"},
        },
    }

    cluster, _, err := client.Databases.Create(ctx, createRequest)
}

import os
from pydo import Client

client = Client(token=os.environ.get("DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN"))

create_req = {
  "name": "backend",
  "engine": "pg",
  "version": "14",
  "region": "nyc3",
  "size": "db-s-2vcpu-4gb",
  "num_nodes": 2,
  "storage_size_mib": 61440,
  "tags": [
    "production"
  ],
  "do_settings": {
    "service_cnames": [
      "db.example.com",
      "database.myapp.io"
    ]
  }
}

create_resp = client.databases.create_cluster(body=create_req)

Create a Database Cluster Using the Control Panel

To create a database cluster, go to the Databases page, and then click Create Database. Or click Create at the top of any page and choose Managed Database from the Data Services section of the menu.

Choose a Database Engine

On the Create Database Cluster page, under the Choose a database engine section, select PostgreSQL, and then choose a version, if available. The database engine and version can’t be changed after creation.

Choose a Database Configuration

In the Choose a database configuration section, select one of the following options:

• Basic - Shared CPU: CPU processing power is shared among neighboring Droplets on the same host. Best for low-traffic or development workloads.

  If you select this option, choose the type of disk under CPU options.

• General Purpose - Dedicated CPU: Provides the full processing power of a single vCPU at all times. Best for most workloads that need consistent CPU performance.

• Storage-Optimized - Dedicated CPU: Provides the full processing power of a single vCPU at all times. Best for workloads that require more storage and support more concurrent connections.

Under Select a plan, choose an option. Each option shows its combined monthly cost and included resources, such as vCPUs and memory.

After creation, you can increase your cluster’s compute size (number or size of nodes) at any time.

Choose a Storage Size

In the Choose a storage size section, you can increase storage in 10 GiB increments, up to the maximum shown under Storage range. Additional storage you add to the cluster costs $0.21 per GiB per month.

You can increase or decrease storage at any time, but you can’t reduce it below the amount currently in use (or below what’s required by backups and growth).

In the Autoscale storage section, select Enable Storage Autoscaling to automatically increase storage when disk utilization on any node in the cluster reaches the specified threshold. The threshold is based on the worst-performing node in the cluster, not the average across nodes. Click Customize to set a custom threshold and storage increment. The system bills this increase as additional storage.

Autoscaling takes several minutes, depending on the cluster size. It runs without downtime, and you don’t need to take any action.

When autoscaling occurs, the specified storage increment is added to each node in the cluster, not distributed across the cluster. The total added storage is the increment multiplied by the number of nodes.

In the Maximize uptime for critical workloads section (available for all plans except the smallest, 1 vCPU / 1 GiB RAM / 10 GiB), you can add up to two standby nodes. Standby nodes ensure that your data stays available by giving your cluster high availability and failover.

Choose a Datacenter Region

In the Choose a datacenter region section, select a datacenter for your cluster.

The list shows the datacenters where you currently use the most resources. The number on the right shows the total resources in each datacenter. Hover over the number to see which resources are in that datacenter.

For the best performance, create your database in the same datacenter as your other DigitalOcean resources. After creation, you can relocate your cluster to another datacenter.

Each region has one or more datacenters, each with its own VPC network. Keeping resources in the same datacenter ensures they share the private networking interface, which reduces latency and prevents traffic from being routed over the public internet.

Finalize and Create

In the Finalize and Create section, enter a unique name for the cluster and select a project to add it to. After creation, you can move the cluster to another project, but its name can’t be changed.

When finished, click Create Database Cluster.

Clusters typically take five minutes or more to provision, but you can complete important configuration tasks such as restricting inbound connections while you wait.