Neon · Const

Connection string direct

A direct Neon connection string connects straight to Postgres without the pooler. In the Connect modal, disable Connection pooling to obtain it; use it for migrations, pg_dump, and LISTEN/NOTIFY.

How it works

A direct connection string targets Neon’s Postgres endpoint without the connection pooler. Obtain it from the Connect modal by disabling Connection pooling; the resulting URL contains the role, password, hostname, and database name.

Syntax

postgresql://user:password@host/database?sslmode=require&channel_binding=require

Returns

A PostgreSQL connection URL for the selected Neon branch, compute, database, and role.

Key points

In the Connect modal, disable the pooling option to switch from the default pooled URL to a direct URL.
The URL carries the credentials and database endpoint information needed to connect to the selected Neon database.
A direct hostname is identified by the absence of -pooler; a hostname containing that suffix routes through pooling.
Direct connections suit schema migrations, database dumps, and notification features that depend on direct session behavior.
For application traffic with many simultaneous clients, the pooled variant is generally the appropriate connection choice.

Common mistakes

The Console initially displays a pooled URL, so turn off Connection pooling before copying a direct string.
Do not substitute the pooled URL for operations that require direct, session-oriented database access.

Example: Use a direct Neon connection string

const connectionString = process.env.DATABASE_URL_UNPOOLED;
if (!connectionString) throw new Error("DATABASE_URL_UNPOOLED is required");
console.log(connectionString);

Reads a direct Neon connection string from an environment variable for use by migrations or other session-dependent tooling.

When to use it

Run migrations directly against Postgres

Schema changes

Use pg_dump and other administrative tools

Database administration

Use LISTEN/NOTIFY and similar session-aware operations

Session-dependent features

Interview questions

QHow do you distinguish a direct Neon connection string from a pooled one?

A direct connection goes straight to Postgres rather than through Neon’s pooler. Its hostname does not contain the -pooler suffix.

Follow-up: When should an application prefer the pooled endpoint? Use it when the application opens many concurrent connections, such as serverless workloads.

QHow do you obtain a direct connection string in Neon?

Open the project in the Neon Console, click Connect, select the branch, compute, database, and role, then disable Connection pooling and copy the URL.

Follow-up: What does the connection string identify? It includes the role, password, hostname, and database name.

QWhat are common uses for a direct connection?

Use a direct string for migrations, pg_dump, and LISTEN/NOTIFY, because these operations need direct or session-aware database behavior.

Follow-up: Why not use the pooled URL for every operation? Pooling changes connection handling and is intended primarily for high-concurrency application traffic.

Connection pooling
pooled connection string
Connect to your branch
pg_dump
LISTEN/NOTIFY

Source: Where can I find my database connection string in Neon? - Neon FAQs. Checked 2026-10-16.