Terraform Quickstart: Bonus Project: Provision a Managed PostgreSQL Database on Render

How to use Terraform to set up a Postgres database on Render

Introduction

Render is a developer-friendly cloud platform for running web services and databases. It also supports Infrastructure as Code through the open-source Terraform provider render-oss/render.

In this project, you'll use Terraform to provision a managed PostgreSQL database on Render. This will give you hands-on experience working with a real provider, managing credentials securely, and applying all the fundamentals covered earlier — providers, resources, variables, outputs, and best practices.

📚Do you want to read all lessons in a single pdf? Check out my Terraform Quickstart ebook.

What Provisioning Means

Provisioning a database means defining the setup for a real service your app will use. That includes:

• Name

• Type and version (like PostgreSQL 15)

• Plan: RAM, storage, and connection limits

• Credentials and access control

Render takes care of the infrastructure behind the scenes. You define the settings, and Render builds it for you.

Render includes the setup of the infrastructure underneath, so you don’t need to manage the server.

What You’ll Do

• Set up the render-oss/render provider

• Define a PostgreSQL database resource

• Use variables to make your config reusable

• Output connection strings for later use

• Apply your config and verify the database in Render’s dashboard

Requirements

• A free Render.com account

• Your Render API key

• Terraform (of course)

Hands-on Exercise