Deploying Hasura GraphQL engine with a Database for PostgreSQL

Hasura

GraphQL

PostgreSQL

Reviewed on June 02, 2025

The Hasura GraphQL Engine is a GraphQL server and provides developers with real-time GraphQL APIs for Postgres applications. The application allows you to configure webhook triggers on database events and helps you build GraphQL apps backed by Postgres or incrementally move to GraphQL for existing applications using Postgres.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to get started with Hasura GraphQL Engine using a pre-built Docker container on your local computer, linked to a managed Scaleway Database for PostgreSQL.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

• A Scaleway account logged into the console
• Owner status or IAM permissions allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization
• A Scaleway Database for PostgreSQL
• Installed Docker on your local computer
• Basic understanding of Docker, PostgreSQL, and GraphQL

Linking Hasura GraphQL engine with a Database for PostgreSQL

Hasura provides a pre-configured repository to deploy the application in a few simple steps in a Docker container.

1. Download the latest docker-run.sh script from Hasura’s repository:

   wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hasura/graphql-engine/stable/install-manifests/docker-run/docker-run.sh

2. Update the docker-run.sh script with your PostgreSQL database credentials:

   Open the file in a text editor and locate the HASURA_GRAPHQL_DATABASE_URL environment variable. Replace postgres://username:password@hostname:port/dbname with your database credentials. Choose a value for youradminsecret that you will use to log in to the Hasura console in the next section.

   #! /bin/bash
   docker run -d -p 8080:8080 \
         -e HASURA_GRAPHQL_DATABASE_URL=postgres://youruser:yourpassword@yourhost:5432/dbname \
         -e HASURA_GRAPHQL_ENABLE_CONSOLE=true \
         -e HASURA_GRAPHQL_ADMIN_SECRET=youradminsecret \
         hasura/graphql-engine:latest

   Note

   If your database password contains special characters like @, !, or #, ensure they are URL-encoded. The default dbname is rdb.

3. Run the script:

   chmod +x docker-run.sh
   ./docker-run.sh

4. Verify the Hasura container is running:

   docker ps

   The output should show the Hasura container running on port 8080.

5. Access the Hasura Console by opening http://localhost:8080/console in your browser. You need to use the HASURA_GRAPHQL_ADMIN_SECRET value to log in.

Setting Up Your first tables and queries

1. Create tables in the Hasura Console:

   • Click Data -> Create Table.
   • Define the author and book tables with the following schema:
     author (
       id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
       name TEXT
     )
     
     book (
       id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
       title TEXT,
       summary TEXT,
       rating INT,
       author_id INT REFERENCES author(id)
     )

2. Insert sample data by going to the Insert Row tab for each table and add sample data.

3. Use the GraphQL tab in the Hasura Console to query data. For example:

   {
     book {
       id
       title
       summary
       rating
       author {
         name
       }
     }
   }

   The response will include data from your database.

4. Add a new author using a mutation:

   mutation addAuthor {
     insert_author(objects: [{ name: "John Doe" }]) {
       returning {
         id
         name
       }
     }
   }

   The response will include the new author's ID and name.

Conclusion

You have successfully deployed Hasura GraphQL Engine 3.0 using Docker, linked it to a Scaleway Database for PostgreSQL, and run your first GraphQL queries.

For further learning, explore the Hasura documentation or Scaleway’s PostgreSQL resources.