PostgreSQL
Last modified on July 30, 2025
Overview
A datasource consists of a database resource and the credentials used to access it. This guide describes how to add PostgreSQL or PostgreSQL (mTLS) as a datasource in the StrongDM Admin UI.
The mutual TLS (mTLS) version of this datasource Type is available if you need certificates to reach the Postgres port, rather than username and password. This is of particular importance with GCP-hosted Postgres, for which it is the default expected behavior.
Prerequisites
To add a datasource, make sure you have met the following prerequisites:
- Properly configure an account for your database resource. If you choose to store credentials for the resource with StrongDM, have those credentials ready. When not using StrongDM, set up a Secret Store integration and be able to enter the location of the secrets required to access the resource.
- The hostname or endpoint you enter for your resource must be accessible by at least one gateway or relay. To verify this, log in to the gateway or relay and use the
nc -zv <YOUR_HOSTNAME> <YOUR_PORT>Netcat command. For example, usenc -zv testdb-01.fancy.org 5432. If your gateway server can connect to this hostname, you can proceed.
Netcat is a network analysis tool for checking various hostnames and ports by either sending data (a ping) or checking for listeners on ports. The command in the aforementioned example uses the
-z flag to check for listeners without sending data and the -v flag to show verbose output. If you do not have Netcat, you can use a package manager such as APT (Advanced Package Tool) to install it. On Linux-based distributions, run apt-get install netcat.Add a Datasource
To add your new MySQL database as a StrongDM datasource, use the following steps.
- Log in to the StrongDM Admin UI.
- Go to Infrastructure > Datasources.
- Click Add datasource.
- Select PostgreSQL or PostgreSQL (mTLS) as the Datasource Type and set other configuration properties for MySQL or MySQL (mTLS) for your new database resource.
- Complete all required fields.
- Click Create to save the resource.
- Click the resource name to view status, diagnostic information, and setting details.
PostgreSQL Resource Properties
| Property | Requirement | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Display Name | Required | Meaningful name to display the resource throughout StrongDM; exclude special characters like quotes (") or angle brackets (< or >) |
| Datasource Type | Required | Select PostgreSQL |
| Proxy Cluster | Required | Defaults to “None (use gateways)”; if using proxy clusters, select the appropriate cluster to proxy traffic to this resource |
| Hostname | Required | Hostname for the resource; must be accessible to a gateway or relay |
| Port | Required | Port to use when connecting to the resource; default port value is 5432 |
| Connectivity Mode | Required | Select either Virtual Networking Mode, which lets users connect to the resource with a software-defined, IP-based network; or Loopback Mode, which allows users to connect to the resource using the local loopback adapter in their operating system |
| IP Address | Optional | If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, an IP address value in the range 100.64.0.1 to 100.127.255.252 (default 100.64.100.100); optionally change the default value for Virtual Networking Mode to your preferred IP address value, as long as it’s a valid IP address defined by your organization settings; edit either on this form or later on the Admin UI’s Port Overrides page after the resource is created; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, the IP address value must be within the range of 127.0.0.1 to 127.0.0.34 |
| Port Override | Optional | If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1 and 65535 that is not already in use by another resource; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1024 to 64999 that is not already in use by another resource; when left empty, the system assigns the default port to this resource; preferred port also can be modified later from the Port Overrides settings |
| DNS | Optional | If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a unique hostname alias for this resource; when set, causes the desktop app to display this resource’s human-readable DNS name (for example, k8s.my-organization-name) instead of the bind address that includes IP address and port (for example, 100.64.100.100:5432) |
| Database | Required | Database name you would like to connect to using this datasource |
| Secret Store | Optional | Credential store location; defaults to Strong Vault |
| Username | Required | Username to utilize when connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type |
| Password | Required | Password for the user connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type |
| Username (path) | Required | Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type |
| Password (path) | Required | Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type |
| Override Database | Optional | By default, StrongDM will limit all connections to the configured PostgreSQL database; uncheck the box to disable this option |
| Resource Tags | Optional | Datasource tags consisting of key-value pairs <KEY>=<VALUE> (for example, env=dev) |
PostgreSQL mTLS Resource Properties
| Property | Requirement | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Display Name | Required | Meaningful name to display the resource throughout StrongDM; exclude special characters like quotes (") or angle brackets (< or >) |
| Datasource Type | Required | Select PostgreSQL (mTLS) |
| Hostname | Required | Hostname for the resource; must be accessible to a gateway or relay |
| Port | Required | Port to use when connecting to the resource; default port value is 5432 |
| Connectivity Mode | Required | Select either Virtual Networking Mode, which lets users connect to the resource with a software-defined, IP-based network; or Loopback Mode, which allows users to connect to the resource using the local loopback adapter in their operating system; this field is shown if Virtual Networking Mode is enabled for your organization |
| IP Address | Optional | If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, an IP address value in the configured Virtual Networking Mode subnet in the organization network settings; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, an IP address value in the configured Loopback IP range in the organization network settings (by default, 127.0.0.1); if not specified, an available IP address in the configured IP address space for the selected connectivity mode will be automatically assigned; this field is shown if Virtual Networking Mode and/or multi-loopback mode is enabled for your organization |
| Port Override | Optional | If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1 and 65535 that is not already in use by another resource with the same IP address; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1024 to 64999 that is not already in use by another resource with the same IP address; when left empty with Virtual Networking Mode, the system assigns the default port to this resource; when left empty for Loopback Mode, an available port that is not already in use by another resource is assigned; preferred port also can be modified later from the Port Overrides settings |
| DNS | Optional | If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a unique hostname alias for this resource; when set, causes the desktop app to display this resource’s human-readable DNS name (for example, k8s.my-organization-name) instead of the bind address that includes IP address and port (for example, 100.64.100.100:5432) |
| Database | Required | Database name you would like to connect to using this datasource |
| Secret Store | Optional | Credential store location; defaults to Strong Vault |
| Username | Required | Username to utilize when connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type |
| Password | Required | Password for the user connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type |
| Username (path) | Required | Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type |
| Password (path) | Required | Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type |
| Server CA | Required | This field is shown when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization, or when it is and StrongDM is the selected Secret Store type; paste the server certificate (plaintext or Base64-encoded), or import a PEM file |
| Server CA (path) | Required | If Secret Store integration is configured for your organization and you selected a Secret Store type that is not StrongDM, enter the path to the secret in your Secret Store (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName); the key argument is optional |
| Client Certificate | Required | This field is shown when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization, or when it is and StrongDM is the selected Secret Store type; paste the client certificate (plaintext or Base64-encoded), or import a PEM file |
| Client Certificate (path) | Required | If Secret Store integration is configured for your organization and you selected a Secret Store type that is not StrongDM, enter the path to the secret in your Secret Store (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName); the key argument is optional |
| Client Key | Required | This field is shown when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization, or when it is and StrongDM is the selected Secret Store type; paste the client key (plaintext or Base64-encoded), or import a PEM file |
| Client Key (path) | Required | If Secret Store integration is configured for your organization and you selected a Secret Store type that is not StrongDM, enter the path to the secret in your Secret Store (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName); the key argument is optional |
| Override Database | Optional | By default, StrongDM will limit all connections to the configured PostgreSQL database; uncheck the box to disable this option |
| Resource Tags | Optional | Datasource tags consisting of key-value pairs <KEY>=<VALUE> (for example, env=dev) |
Secret Store options
By default, datasource credentials are stored in StrongDM. However, these credentials can also be saved in a secrets management tool.
Non-StrongDM options appear in the Secret Store dropdown if they are created under Network > Secret Stores. When you select another Secret Store type, its unique properties display. For more details, see Configure Secret Store Integrations.
Resource status
After a resource is created, the Admin UI displays that resource as unhealthy until the healthchecks run successfully. When the resource is ready, the Health icon indicates a positive, green status.
When the resource does not display a positive status, click the resource name to go to the Diagnostics tab and check for errors.