Supabase - ApsaraDB RDS - Alibaba Cloud Documentation Center

RDS Supabase is a managed Supabase service provided by ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL. This service lets you quickly build backend services on ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL and is suitable for various scenarios, such as minimum viable product (MVP) validation, AI application development, and Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms.

Function introduction

What is Supabase?

Supabase is an open-source Backend as a Service (BaaS) platform that provides developers with features similar to Firebase. As a fully open-source platform that supports self-hosting, Supabase is built on PostgreSQL and provides core services such as a database, authentication, file storage, and real-time features. It is ideal for developers who need to quickly build application backends.

Supabase provides a complete suite of backend features. You can use the entire suite or select individual components.
The core capabilities of Supabase include database, authentication and authorization, object storage, edge functions, real-time messaging, vectors, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Core capabilities of RDS Supabase

The RDS Supabase service builds on the core capabilities of open-source Supabase. It provides the main features of Supabase and is adapted for the cloud-native architecture of ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL.

Database
- Provides standard PostgreSQL capabilities and additional plugins. It also supports proprietary ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL plugins. For example, you can build AI applications using Supabase with the rds_ai plugin.
- Supports auto-generated data APIs, such as CRUD, RESTful, and GraphQL APIs.
Authentication
Provides a complete user management system that supports multiple authentication methods and can be integrated separately.
Object Storage Service
- The storage service can directly connect to the ApsaraDB RDS cold storage service, which is integrated with Alibaba Cloud Object Storage Service (OSS).
- It is fully compatible with the Alibaba Cloud OSS protocol, allowing you to seamlessly connect applications to OSS.
- Supports advanced features such as resumable uploads and storage compression.
Real-time
- When data changes, it is synchronized in real time to all connected clients.
- Stores and synchronizes the status of all online users across all clients.
- Supports channel subscription and broadcast features.
Vectors and AI
- Vector service
  - Based on the built-in rds pgvector plugin, this service stores, indexes, and accesses embeddings.
  - Storing data in the same database as transactional data simplifies applications and improves performance.
- API integration
  You can easily connect to any large language model (LLM) or embeddings API from providers such as Hugging Face and SageMaker.
- AI assistant
  Includes a built-in Alibaba Cloud Model Studio token to directly provide LLM services through Qwen.

Scenarios

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) validation
Helps entrepreneurs and independent developers quickly release a usable version of their application to accelerate market entry.
- After the prototype design is complete, you can simply configure the table schema to quickly generate a backend service.
- You can quickly integrate Supabase features such as authentication and message subscription to significantly improve product development efficiency.
AI application development
The combination of RDS Supabase and PostgreSQL provides a one-stop solution for AI application development.
- ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL provides multi-modal data storage and retrieval capabilities based on rds pgvector.
- RDS Supabase provides API operations for the application.
- Combined with the rds_ai capability, you can quickly integrate model services from Alibaba Cloud Model Studio and PAI.
SaaS platform
Using RDS Supabase, business teams can quickly develop internal platforms for the entire project lifecycle. This helps enterprises achieve real-time monitoring of project data, collaborative management of content assets, and improved cross-departmental efficiency.

Prerequisites

If you use a Resource Access Management (RAM) user for this feature, the RAM user must have the following permissions. For more information about how to grant permissions, see Grant permissions to a RAM user.

AliyunRDSAIReadOnlyAccess or AliyunRDSAIFullAccess: Read-only or full access permissions to manage AI application development for ApsaraDB RDS.
AliyunVPCFullAccess: Permissions to manage virtual private clouds (VPCs).
AliyunRDSFullAccess: Permissions to manage ApsaraDB RDS.
AliyunRAMReadOnlyAccess: Read-only access permissions for RAM, which allow viewing users, groups, and authorization information.

Billing

ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance fees
You are charged for the ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance that is created with the project. The fees are based on the selected RDS instance type and storage space.
Internet NAT gateway and EIP fees
When you create an RDS Supabase project and enable the Internet NAT gateway, you are charged on a pay-as-you-go basis for the Internet NAT gateway and EIPs.

Important

The General-purpose Supabase service platform is free. You are charged on a pay-as-you-go basis only for RDS PostgreSQL instance fees, Internet NAT gateway fees, and EIP fees.

Notes

Only ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL 17 is supported.
Do not delete or modify the database or the linked account that are automatically created by the RDS Supabase project. Otherwise, the project will become unavailable.

Create an RDS Supabase project

Go to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the navigation pane on the left, click AI Application Development.
Select a region at the top. On the RDS Supabase page, click Create Project.

On the page that appears, configure the parameters for RDS Supabase.

Parameter	Description
RDS Supabase Project Name	Enter a name for the RDS Supabase project as needed.
Region	The region where the RDS Supabase project resides.
Internet NAT Gateway	Enable the Internet NAT gateway. You must enable the Internet NAT gateway when you need to use an external custom model that is accessed over the Internet in the RAG Agent. Important If an Internet NAT gateway is already configured for the vSwitch in the RDS Supabase project network, do not select this parameter. You can check whether an Internet NAT gateway is enabled for the corresponding vSwitch in the NAT Gateway console. Enabling the Internet NAT gateway automatically attaches an EIP and incurs NAT Gateway fees and EIP fees.
VPC	Select a virtual private cloud (VPC) for the RDS Supabase project. If you have already created a VPC that meets your network planning requirements, you can select it directly. If you have not created a VPC that meets your network planning requirements, you can use the default VPC and vSwitch. For more information, see VPCs and vSwitches. If the default VPC and vSwitch do not meet your requirements, create a VPC and vSwitch first. For more information about how to create them, see VPCs and vSwitches.
Primary Zone And Network	Select a primary zone and vSwitch.
Supabase Type	Only General Purpose is supported.
Dashboard Username Dashboard Password	Set the password for the default user supabase.
RAG Agent	Enable RAG Agent. RAG Agent has some built-in models. When you use an external custom model that requires Internet access, you must enable the Internet NAT Gateway for the agent.
Billing Method	Supports Subscription and Pay-as-you-go.
Engine	The database engine version of ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL in the RDS Supabase project. Only PostgreSQL 17 is supported.
SLR Authorization	Authorization is required only for the first use and does not incur any fees. Click Go To Authorization to grant the service-linked roles (AliyunServiceRoleForRds and AliyunServiceRoleForRdsPgsqlOnEcs).
Product Series	Select the product series for the ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance in the RDS Supabase project. Basic Edition: A single-node, read-only instance that is cost-effective and suitable for learning or testing. Fault recovery and restart take a long time. High-availability Edition: Has a primary node and a secondary node to provide high availability for read-only instances. It is suitable for production environments and meets the needs of over 80% of user scenarios.
Category	Select the category for the ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance in the RDS Supabase project. General Purpose: Provides dedicated memory and I/O with shared CPU and storage. It offers a lower price and high cost-effectiveness. Dedicated: Provides dedicated memory, I/O, CPU, and storage. It delivers superior and stable performance. Note The Basic series does not support the Dedicated category.
Instance Type	Select the instance type for the ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance in the RDS Supabase project. Note For supported instance types, see the information in the console. For more information about instance types, see ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance types.
Storage Space	Set the storage space for the ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance in the RDS Supabase project.
Database Password	Set the database password for the ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance in the RDS Supabase project.

After you confirm that the configuration is correct, click Buy Now.
After the project is created, you can view it in the RDS Supabase list.

Log on to the Supabase Dashboard

Go to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the navigation pane on the left, click AI Application Development.
Select a region at the top. In the RDS Supabase list, find the target project and click Configure Whitelist in the Endpoint column.
Note
If you have already configured a whitelist, you can click the Public Endpoint to go to the Supabase logon page.
On the Basic Information page that appears, in the Whitelist Information section, click Add Whitelist Group and add the IP address of the target client to the whitelist.
In the Network Information section, click the Public Endpoint to go to the Supabase logon page.
For more information about how to use Supabase, see Getting Started | Supabase Docs.
Note
- If you log on from an ECS instance that is in the same VPC as the RDS Supabase project, use the Internal Endpoint.
- In the Actions column, click View Details. On the Basic Information page that appears, you can view the detailed information of the instance.

Delete an RDS Supabase project

Go to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the navigation pane on the left, click AI Application Development.
Select a region at the top. In the RDS Supabase list, find the target project and click Delete.
In the dialog box that appears, click OK.
Important
Deleting an RDS Supabase project does not automatically delete the associated ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance, NAT gateway, or EIP. You must manually release the instance, delete the Internet NAT gateway, and release the EIP.

FAQ

How do I view data in the ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL database of an RDS Supabase project?

When you create an RDS Supabase project and an ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance, the system automatically generates a corresponding database. You can log on to this database to view the data.

In the RDS Supabase list, click the Managed Instance ID of the target RDS Supabase project to go to the details page of the ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance.
In the navigation pane on the left, click Databases to view the name of the database and the corresponding account that were automatically created by the RDS Supabase project.
Note
The account password is the Database Password that you set when you created the RDS Supabase project.
In the navigation pane on the left, click Whitelist and SecGroup and configure a whitelist to allow external devices to access the ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance.
Connect to the PostgreSQL database to view the data.

Appendix: Obtain a service API key

Method 1: Call the DescribeInstanceAuthInfo API
Method 2: Obtain the key from the Supabase console
The following steps use Chrome version 139.0.7258.128 as an example.
1. Enable the Insecure origins treated as secure feature in your browser and add the endpoint of the RDS Supabase project to the feature's whitelist.
  1. In Chrome, go to chrome://flags/#allow-insecure-localhost.
  2. In the search box, enter Insecure origins treated as secure, find the feature, and enable it.
  3. Add the endpoint of the RDS Supabase project (for example, the Public Endpoint) to the whitelist of the Insecure origins treated as secure feature, and then restart the browser.
2. Obtain the service API key.
  1. Log on to the RDS Supabase project.
  2. Click the icon in the upper-right corner and select Command menu.
  3. Click Get API keys. On the new page, click Copy service API key.