Knowledge base · Getting started

Connect your first project

From sign-in to first backup in about three minutes: what you need from Supabase (or any other PostgreSQL), and what happens after you click Connect.

What you need

1. A Supabase project. Any plan, including Free.
2. The project ref: the 20-letter id in your dashboard URL, supabase.com/dashboard/project/<ref>.
3. The Postgres connection string from Project Settings → Database → Connection string. Use the direct connection or the session pooler (port 5432). The transaction pooler on port 6543 cannot run pg_dump; VaultKeep rejects it during validation.
4. Optional: Storage S3 access keys (Storage → S3 access keys) if you want your Storage buckets backed up too. Storage sync is included in Pro and Team.

Least-privilege tip: backups only need read access. Create a dedicated read-only role and use its connection string; pg_dump works fine with it.

Not on Supabase?

VaultKeep backs up any PostgreSQL 15 or newer that is reachable from the internet: Amazon RDS, Neon, Render, Fly, a VPS, and so on. Pick Other PostgreSQL as the platform when connecting; there is no project ref, and Storage bucket sync does not apply. Use a direct connection (or a session-mode pooler), add ?sslmode=require if the server enforces TLS, and allow VaultKeep's connections through the server's firewall. Everything else, including scheduling, weekly verified restores, retention and one-click restore, works the same.

Steps

1. Sign in at vaultkeep.dev/login. There is no password; we email you a link that is valid for 15 minutes.
2. An organization is created for you. Rename it in Settings if you like.
3. Click Connect project, give it a name, choose the platform, paste the ref (Supabase only) and the connection string, and continue. Add Storage keys on the second step if you want them.
4. If you have added a backup destination, choose it here; otherwise backups go to VaultKeep-managed storage.
5. Click Connect project. Credentials are sealed with AES-256-GCM before they are stored.

What happens next

• Validation (about 30 seconds). The job runner connects with your credentials, detects the Postgres version and database size, and checks the Storage keys if you gave them. The project shows active or error with a plain-language reason (see Connection problems).
• A default schedule is created: daily on paid plans, weekly on Free, at 03:00 UTC, with the plan's maximum retention. Change it under the project's Schedule tab.
• The first backup runs at the next scheduled window. To run one now, open the project and click Back up now.
• Weekly verification is on by default: every Sunday, in the hour after your backup window, the latest backup is restored into a throwaway Postgres and checked. See Verified restores.

Plan limits

A database above the plan's size cap fails at backup time with a clear message; upgrade or contact us for larger databases.

Still stuck? Email support@vaultkeep.dev with your project name (never your connection string) and we'll take a look.