How it works
PostgreSQL is a free, open-source database. Running it yourself means installing it, choosing settings, upgrading it, taking backups and fixing the server when it fails at night. A managed service does that work and sells you the result.
Take Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL as an example. It handles PostgreSQL software installation and upgrades, storage management, replication for high availability and read throughput, and backups for disaster recovery. It can restore a database instance to any point in time within the retention period you set, up to 35 days, and offers Multi-AZ deployments for higher availability and durability. You see none of that. You see an address, a user and a password.
# one string carries user, password, host, port, database $ export DATABASE_URL="postgresql://app:••••@db.example.com:5432/shop" $ psql "$DATABASE_URL" -c "select count(*) from orders;" count ------- 1284
The database is still ordinary Postgres, so any tool that speaks Postgres works with it. That also means you can leave: a pg_dump file loads into Postgres anywhere.
Run it yourself, or have it managed
| Docker on your server | A cloud provider's managed Postgres | Uno database | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set up by | You or the agent, with commands | A form or an API call | One call; you approve it |
| Password | You make it and keep it safe | Set in the console or by API | Uno makes it and writes it to .env |
| Backups | Your own pg_dump | Automatic, with point-in-time restore on some services | A backup is a copy of the whole disk, not a pg_dump file; the schedule is optional |
| Reach it from | That computer, unless you open a port | Depends on the provider: a public address or a private network | Your Uno computers only |
| Price | Inside your server's price | Fly: from $38 a month | Inside your plan's memory and disk |
The trade-off: a managed database usually costs more than the same Postgres in Docker, and you may get less say over settings. In return nobody has to remember the upgrade or the backup. The guide shows both ways in a minute each.
Do you need it?
Take managed Postgres when
- The data matters. Orders, accounts, anything you cannot rebuild.
- Two programs share it. An app on one computer and an agent on another read the same tables.
- You do not want a night shift. Upgrades and restores are someone else's task.
Skip it when
- It is a prototype on one machine. Postgres in Docker, or a SQLite file, is enough.
- You only look things up by key. A key-value store or one table does it.
- You store big files. Put them in S3 object storage and keep only the link in the database.
Managed Postgres in Uno
Ask the agent in Uno Work for a database, or press Create in the console, or call the API. The database is ready in a minute or two, on its own small computer. The connection string goes into the project's .env as DATABASE_URL, mode 0600, and the agent never sees the password. Reachable from your account's Uno computers on an internal address, not from the internet. A database needs a paid plan; the free trial computer is refused.
Plus: $20 a month
What your database sits on
The same Linux and the same disks as your computer. Here is what comes with it.
It sleeps when idle and keeps its memory
With nothing to do for 10 minutes it falls asleep with every program still in memory. A visitor, a bot message or you wake it. Every hour asleep earns you a boost.
An AI agent sets it up for you
Tell Uno what you need in a chat. It installs, configures and starts it on your computer, and you watch every command it runs. Or bring Claude Code or Codex with your own subscription.
Fast where it counts
NVMe disks and DDR5 with error correction (ECC). On 16 vCPU an Uno computer scores like a MacBook Air M4 in Geekbench 6: a second MacBook in the cloud for $70 a month.
A clean address of your own
Traffic can leave through a static address of a regular internet provider in one of 8 countries, used only by your account. Fewer captchas for your agent's browser.
Nothing happens unseen
Every time Uno itself touches your computer, it goes to your access log: who, when and why.
Pick the plan your app and its database live in
The database takes its memory and disk from the plan. Move up any time; your computers and data come with you.
Small
A Telegram bot, a VPN, a small backend
$5/ month
- 1 vCPU · 1 GB
- 15 GB disk
- 25 GB cloud storage
- 5 boosts a month
Plus
Agents that work with your laptop closed
$20/ month
- 4 vCPU · 4 GB
- 40 GB disk
- 100 GB cloud storage
- Uno Work in the cloud
Pro
A product in production, a second MacBook
$70/ month
- 16 vCPU · 16 GB
- 120 GB disk
- 300 GB cloud storage
- Speed of a MacBook Air M4
Max
A team and many agents at once
$200/ month
- 32 vCPU · 48 GB
- 300 GB disk
- 1,024 GB cloud storage
- 5 public IPv4
Add Uno AI to any plan: 40 h of AI work a month on Small, 100 h on Plus, unlimited on Max. Today: GLM-5.3 Flash and MiMo v2.6 Pro. Or sign in with your own Claude or ChatGPT.
Questions
Is managed Postgres different from regular Postgres?
Can I move my data out later?
pg_dump and load it with pg_restore into any Postgres. Keep your own dump from time to time, whoever hosts the database.