Database

Paperclip uses PostgreSQL via Drizzle ORM. There are three ways to run the database, from simplest to most production-ready.

1. Embedded PostgreSQL — zero config

If you don't set DATABASE_URL, the server automatically starts an embedded PostgreSQL instance and manages a local data directory.

pnpm dev

That's it. On first start the server:

1. Creates a ~/.paperclip/instances/default/db/ directory for storage
2. Ensures the paperclip database exists
3. Runs migrations automatically for empty databases
4. Starts serving requests

Data persists across restarts in ~/.paperclip/instances/default/db/. To reset local dev data, delete that directory.

If you need to apply pending migrations manually, run:

pnpm db:migrate

When DATABASE_URL is unset, this command targets the current embedded PostgreSQL instance for your active Paperclip config/instance.

Issue reference mentions follow the normal migration path: the schema migration creates the tracking table, but it does not backfill historical issue titles, descriptions, comments, or documents automatically.

To backfill existing content manually after migrating, run:

pnpm issue-references:backfill
# optional: limit to one company
pnpm issue-references:backfill -- --company <company-id>

Future issue, comment, and document writes sync references automatically without running the backfill command.

This mode is ideal for local development and one-command installs.

Docker note: the Docker quickstart image also uses embedded PostgreSQL by default. Persist /paperclip to keep DB state across container restarts (see doc/DOCKER.md).

2. Local PostgreSQL (Docker)

For a full PostgreSQL server locally, use the included Docker Compose setup:

docker compose up -d

This starts PostgreSQL 17 on localhost:5432. Then set the connection string:

cp .env.example .env
# .env already contains:
# DATABASE_URL=postgres://paperclip:paperclip@localhost:5432/paperclip

Run migrations:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://paperclip:paperclip@localhost:5432/paperclip \
  pnpm db:migrate

Start the server:

pnpm dev

3. Hosted PostgreSQL (Supabase)

For production, use a hosted PostgreSQL provider. Supabase is a good option with a free tier.

Setup

1. Create a project at database.new
2. Go to Project Settings > Database > Connection string
3. Copy the URI and replace the password placeholder with your database password

Connection string

Supabase offers two connection modes:

Direct connection (port 5432) — use for migrations and one-off scripts:

postgres://postgres.[PROJECT-REF]:[PASSWORD]@aws-0-[REGION].pooler.supabase.com:5432/postgres

Connection pooling via Supavisor (port 6543) — use for the application:

postgres://postgres.[PROJECT-REF]:[PASSWORD]@aws-0-[REGION].pooler.supabase.com:6543/postgres

Configure

For the application runtime, use a direct PostgreSQL connection unless the database client has explicit prepared-statement configuration for your pooling mode:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres.[PROJECT-REF]:[PASSWORD]@aws-0-[REGION].pooler.supabase.com:5432/postgres

If you later run the app with a pooled runtime URL, set DATABASE_MIGRATION_URL to the direct connection URL. Paperclip uses it for startup schema checks/migrations and plugin namespace migrations, while the app continues to use DATABASE_URL for runtime queries:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres.[PROJECT-REF]:[PASSWORD]@aws-0-[REGION].pooler.supabase.com:6543/postgres
DATABASE_MIGRATION_URL=postgres://postgres.[PROJECT-REF]:[PASSWORD]@aws-0-[REGION].pooler.supabase.com:5432/postgres

If your hosted database requires transaction-pooling-only connections, use a direct or session-pooled connection for Paperclip until runtime pooling support is documented in this guide. Do not edit database client source files as part of deployment setup.

Push the schema

# Use the direct connection (port 5432) for schema changes
DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres.[PROJECT-REF]:[PASSWORD]@...5432/postgres \
  pnpm db:migrate

Free tier limits

• 500 MB database storage
• 200 concurrent connections
• Projects pause after 1 week of inactivity

See Supabase pricing for current details.

Switching between modes

The database mode is controlled by DATABASE_URL:

Your Drizzle schema (packages/db/src/schema/) stays the same regardless of mode.

Plugin database namespaces

The plugin runtime tracks plugin-owned database namespaces and migrations in plugin_database_namespaces and plugin_migrations. Hosted deployments that separate runtime and migration connections should set DATABASE_MIGRATION_URL; plugin namespace migration work uses the migration connection when present.

Backups

Paperclip supports automatic and manual logical database backups. These dumps include non-system database schemas such as public, the Drizzle migration journal, and plugin-owned database schemas. See doc/DEVELOPING.md for the current paperclipai db:backup / pnpm db:backup commands and backup retention configuration.

Database backups do not include non-database instance files such as local-disk uploads, workspace files, or the local encrypted secrets master key. Back those paths up separately when you need full instance disaster recovery.

Secret storage

Paperclip stores secret metadata and versions in:

• company_secrets
• company_secret_versions

For local/default installs, the active provider is local_encrypted:

• Secret material is encrypted at rest with a local master key.
• Default key file: ~/.paperclip/instances/default/secrets/master.key (auto-created if missing).
• CLI config location: ~/.paperclip/instances/default/config.json under secrets.localEncrypted.keyFilePath.
• Backup/restore requires both the database metadata and the local master key file; either artifact alone is insufficient.
• The server best-effort enforces 0600 key file permissions and provider health reports permission warnings.

Optional overrides:

• PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY (32-byte key as base64, hex, or raw 32-char string)
• PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_MASTER_KEY_FILE (custom key file path)

Strict mode to block new inline sensitive env values:

PAPERCLIP_SECRETS_STRICT_MODE=true

You can set strict mode and provider defaults via:

pnpm paperclipai configure --section secrets

Inline secret migration command:

pnpm paperclipai secrets migrate-inline-env --company-id <company-id> --apply

# direct database maintenance fallback
pnpm secrets:migrate-inline-env --apply

Hosted AWS provider notes live in SECRETS-AWS-PROVIDER.md.