Is It Possible to Install Custom PostgreSQL Extensions on Fly.io? 🤔

Questions / Help
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Hi! :raised_hands:

I’m currently working on a project that requires using the Temporal Tables extension in PostgreSQL, and I’m wondering if it’s possible to install custom extensions on Fly.io’s managed PostgreSQL databases?

I’ve experienced that Fly.io offers great support for Elixir applications, but I’m running into a roadblock because Temporal Tables isn’t available by default in the Fly.io database.

For context:

  • Temporal Tables allow us to track historical versions of data, making it easy to query past states of data without manually managing timestamps.
  • It’s a really powerful feature for applications that need to store and query time-varying data.

I’m curious if anyone has experience installing custom extensions or if there are any workarounds available for using this feature on Fly.io’s PostgreSQL. Or, if it’s not currently possible, do you have any suggestions on how best to approach this while leveraging Fly.io’s infrastructure for Elixir apps?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :blush:

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Fly doesn’t have a managed Postgres database (yet). If you’re referring to Fly Postgres, you’ll have to generate a custom image where you install the extensions you need.

If you’re referring to the Supabase integration, then it may be possible using their SQL Editor. Their docs say this:

Supabase is pre-configured with over 50 extensions. You can also install your own SQL extensions directly in the database through our SQL editor.

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Yes, I was referring to Fly Postgres. Thank you very much for the clarification!

I have been considering switching to Neon’s serverless Postgres for production, but unfortunately, they don’t support the installation of the extension either.

Given the complexity involved in installing the extension, I am exploring an alternative approach that doesn’t rely on extensions, using this repository: GitHub - nearform/temporal_tables: Postgresql temporal_tables extension in PL/pgSQL, without the need for external c extension.

I wanted to share this here in case someone else encounters a similar issue in the future.

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