#6161st of 173 in Backends, databases and hosting
postgrest
REST API server generated directly from an existing PostgreSQL schema
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- Stars
- 27.8k
- License
- MIT
- Last commit
- Nov 2026
- Last release
- Oct 2026
- Language
- Haskell
Missed the latest GitHub check; these facts may be older.
Overview
PostgREST is a Haskell server, built on Warp and Hasql, that exposes tables and views of an existing PostgreSQL database as a RESTful API. Authentication uses JSON Web Tokens, and authorization is delegated to PostgreSQL roles, with JSON serialization and validation done in SQL. It is stateless and can be scaled horizontally.
Who it is for: Developers who want a REST API over an existing PostgreSQL database
Strengths
- Authorization lives in database roles, giving one source of truth for security
- Stateless server with a connection pool, so it scales horizontally
- Generates OpenAPI documentation that Swagger-UI can render
- API versioning through database schemas and views over underlying tables
Weaknesses
- Works only with PostgreSQL, no other databases
- Business logic must be written as SQL constraints, views and functions
- Verifies JWTs but has no built-in user management or login
- No built-in file storage, realtime or admin UI, unlike full backend platforms
What it needs
- no GPU
- Needs PostgreSQL
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