{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "title": "Postgres on enumerator.dev", "icon": "", "home_page_url": "https://enumerator.dev/", "feed_url": "https://enumerator.dev/feed.json", "items": [ { "id": "https://enumerator.dev/how-to-migrate-data-from-one-postgres-instance-to-another/", "title": "How to Migrate Data From One Postgres Instance to Another", "content_html": "

My first version of willow.camp ran a Postgres instance on the same container as the app. Before going to production, I had to migrate the data from the local Postgres instance to the managed instance.

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I had a whopping 50-some records in the database. So, of course, could have used the willow_camp_cli to migrate them, but I wanted to do it the hard way. Because sometimes the hard way is fun. At least, it’s fun when it’s much lower stakes than working on a large production app.

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Here is how I migrated the data from one database to another using an SSH tunnel, pg_dump and pg_restore.

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Maintenance Mode

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I had all of two real-life users when I did this. So I didn’t need maintenance mode, but I went ahead and used it anyway. hatchbox has a maintenance mode toggle in the UI that I turned on.

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Set Up a New User

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Digital Ocean sets up a managed database with a root user. I wanted to create an app-specific user with access to the necessary databases.

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I connected to the managed database using psql and created a user, granting the necessary permissions.

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PGPASSWORD=CLUSTER_PASSWORD psql \\\n  -U cluster_admin \\\n  -h digitaloceanhost.com \\\n  -p 25060 \\\n  -d defaultdb\n
CREATE USER "willow-camp" WITH PASSWORD 'NEW_PASSWORD';\n\n-- Grant connect permission to the database\nGRANT CONNECT ON DATABASE defaultdb TO "willow-camp";\n\n-- Grant usage on the schema\nGRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO "willow-camp";\n\n-- Grant table permissions (choose what you need)\nGRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO "willow-camp";\n\n-- Grant permissions on sequences (for auto-increment/serial columns)\nGRANT USAGE, SELECT ON ALL SEQUENCES IN SCHEMA public TO "willow-camp";\n\n-- Grant permissions on future tables (optional)\nALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES IN SCHEMA public GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON TABLES TO "willow-camp";\nALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES IN SCHEMA public GRANT USAGE, SELECT ON SEQUENCES TO "willow-camp";\n

Export Data from the Old Database

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To do this, I created an SSH tunnel to the hatchbox instance that hosted my app and database. Then, I used pg_dump to export the data. -L in the command below sets up port forwarding so that my local port 5432 points to the hatchbox server where Postgres is running.

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ssh -L 5432:localhost:5432 deploy@10.0.1.100\n

Then I created a pg_dump on my local machine through the tunnel. Note that localhost:5432 now points through the tunnel to the hatchbox database.

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pg_dump -Fc "postgresql://app_user:PASSWORD@localhost:5432/myapp_production" > myapp_primary_20250625_185627.dump\n

Import Data to the New Database

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I made a common mistake here. A pg_dump file includes statements like ALTER TABLE public.ar_internal_metadata OWNER TO user_a1b2c3d4e5f6;, which assigns ownership of a table to a user, but this user only existed in my hatchbox database.

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I worked around ownership issues by using the --no-owner and --no-priviliges options.

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PGPASSWORD=CLUSTER_PASSWORD pg_restore \\\n  -U cluster_admin \\\n  -h digitaloceanhost.com \\\n  -p 25060 \\\n  -d defaultdb \\\n  --no-owner \\\n  --no-privileges \\\n  -v \\\n  myapp_primary_20250625_185627.dump\n

Verify the Data

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Once pg_restore had done its job, I connected to the new database again using the psql command above and issued a few queries to check the data.

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SELECT relname as table_name, n_live_tup as current_rows FROM pg_stat_user_tables ORDER BY current_rows DESC;\n

Connect the App to the New Database

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Finally, I updated the database environment variables in hatchbox, which rebooted the app. I performed a quick rails console check to ensure the database was connected, then I took the app out of maintenance mode.

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Once the app was back up, I could see queries hitting the managed instance in the DigitalOcean UI, and I tore down the old database on my hatchbox server.

\n", "date_published": "2025-07-03T00:57:00+00:00", "url": "https://enumerator.dev/how-to-migrate-data-from-one-postgres-instance-to-another/", "tags": ["postgres","willow-camp"] }, { "id": "https://enumerator.dev/should-i-use-a-managed-postgres-instance/", "title": "Should I use a Managed Postgres Instance?", "content_html": "

I asked myself this question while developing willow.camp and decided to use a managed instance before sharing willow.camp with the world. In this post, I’ll explain my thought process and how it changed as I finished off willow.camp’s blogging features.

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Hatching a New App

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Once I had a rough version of willow.camp coded up, I wanted to deploy it so that I could test features like subdomains, multiple users (real people, not just me and some database seeds), and eventually custom domains.

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I kicked off a new app on hatchbox.io using DigitalOcean. hatchbox wires everything up to deploy a Rails app off the main branch of a GitHub repository. All I needed was a database, so I clicked “PostgreSQL” in hatchbox, so that my Rails app and database would run on the same server. In just a few clicks, willow.camp was up and running with 1 vCPU, 1 GB of RAM, and 25 GB of storage.

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Going to Production

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Once I had most of the features I wanted, I had to make a decision. What do I do if my server crashes? The environment and data are ephemeral. It is easy enough to get the web app up and running again, but I’d lose all the data in my database.

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My requirements for the database were:

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  1. Automated backups at a minimum in a daily interval. Despite making willow.camp for markdown, I end up saving drafts right in the UI.
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  2. Access to backups for a limited period. I don’t need much more than two or three days of backups.
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  3. Preferably, minimal configuration.
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I had three options:

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  1. Take periodic snapshots of the server that I can restore in case of data loss. I didn’t see an automated way to take snapshots, so I dropped this from the list.
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  2. Mount a storage volume: This would separate the storage from the container on which my app was running. This seemed like an okay option to me but I was also wary of managing a single server with the Rails app and Postgres.
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  3. Use a managed Postgres instance: This met all my requirements, but it cost a bit more. I waffled on this and decided to go with it in the end.
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Why I Chose a Managed Postgres Instance

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In the past, I worked on a production app where the app and database were hosted on the same server. It constantly felt like a precarious situation. The database and the app server were competing for resources.

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On willow.camp I only have 1 vCPU and 1 GB of RAM. I could upsize my droplet, but then I’d lose sleep over balancing resources between the two fundamental processes that run the app.

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willow.camp is a tiny app and can easily run with the Rails app and Database on the same small server. I wouldn’t need to lose sleep over it, but I’d be thinking about it all the time.

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I needed peace of mind that the processes would keep running and my data would be safe. Scaling up a single instance to handle the app and database didn’t sound like a fun hobby for me. It certainly wasn’t a fun job when I worked on the production setup like this in the past.

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The resources on this instance are ideal for a small Rails app. With 1 vCPU and 1 GB of RAM, I can run 5 Puma threads. My response time is well under 200 milliseconds (often under 100ms), so it’ll be a while before I need to consider another CPU.

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Choosing a managed Postgres instance gave me peace of mind that my data was safe, my app server and my database had isolated resources, and I had the flexibility to change the app server without affecting the data. The extra $10 a month simplifies my tiny infrastructure and lets me focus on the fun parts of willow.camp.

\n", "date_published": "2025-07-01T13:04:00+00:00", "url": "https://enumerator.dev/should-i-use-a-managed-postgres-instance/", "tags": ["postgres","willow-camp"] } ] }