Add a database

Your server's files get wiped when you reinstall or switch to a different application — but your data shouldn't have to go with them. A managed database is storage that lives on a separate, always-on host, so your bot's scores, your app's users, and anything else worth keeping survive whatever happens to the server. This guide creates one in a couple of clicks.

Create the database

1. Open the Databases page from your server menu.
2. Start a new database and choose a type: MySQL (the default and the most common), PostgreSQL, or MongoDB. If you're not sure, MySQL is a safe first pick.
3. Give it a short name. The panel turns that into a full database name shaped like s{serverId}_yourname and generates a username shaped like u{serverId}_random — the prefixes keep your database from clashing with anyone else's.
4. Confirm, and the database exists.

🎯 Good to know: You can create up to 20 databases per server (the exact number depends on your plan; free servers get up to 5). Most projects only ever need one.

For a MySQL database the form also has a Remote Access field. Leave it at % — the default — to allow connections from anywhere, which is what you want when your app runs on a different server. Set a specific IP address or hostname instead to lock the database down to one source. PostgreSQL and MongoDB don't show this field.

What you get

Open the database you just made and the page shows everything a program needs to connect:

The format depends on the type:

mysql://user:pass@host:port/dbname
postgresql://user:pass@host:port/dbname
mongodb://user:pass@host:port/dbname?authSource=dbname

Copy the string for your database — it's the fastest way to point code at it. Wiring it into an actual app is the next guide: Connect your app to a database.

For a MySQL database, the page also has a phpMyAdmin button. That opens a full web interface where you can browse tables, run SQL, and import or export data by hand — handy for a quick look without writing any code. (phpMyAdmin is MySQL-only; PostgreSQL and MongoDB don't get the button.)

Why "managed" matters

This is the part worth understanding. A managed database runs on a shared database host that Falix keeps online — it is not running inside your server container. That has one big consequence:

• On a free plan, your server stops when its session timer runs out. A managed database does not — it stays up and keeps your data.
• Reinstalling your server, or switching it to a different application (which wipes the server's files), leaves the database completely untouched.

So a managed database is the safest home for anything you can't afford to lose — a Discord bot's data, an app's user accounts, saved settings. Keep it there and a wiped server is a minor inconvenience instead of a disaster. (If you'd rather run a database engine inside your own server for caching or full control, see Run your own database server — but read the trade-offs there first.)

Back up a database

The Databases page also backs up individual databases, under Manual and Automatic tabs. A backup captures that database's contents so you can roll it back later; you can download, restore, or delete each one from the list. Take a manual one before anything risky — a schema change, a bulk delete, a migration.

• Free plan: database backups save to your own Google Drive, exactly like server backups — connect a Google account first (the page prompts you). They don't count against a limit.
• Premium node: manual backups are stored on the node and count against your plan's backup limit; automatic backups keep a fixed number of the most recent and don't use up that limit.

Treat the connection string like a password

⚠️ Heads up: The connection string contains your username and password in plain text — anyone who has it can read and change your data.

• Never paste it into your code, a commit, a screenshot, or a public chat.
• Store it as an environment variable in your server's .env file instead, and read it from there. Environment variables and secrets shows how .env works on Falix.

Verify it works

For MySQL, click phpMyAdmin, sign in with the username and password from the page, and you'll land on your (empty) database — proof it's live. For any type, seeing the database's host and port on the page means it's ready for an app to connect.

Troubleshooting

• I lost the password — you can't view an old password again, but rotating it makes a fresh one. Rotating takes effect immediately: the old string stops working the moment you rotate, so any app still using it will hit "access denied" on its next connection. Paste the new string into your .env and restart the app right after.
• phpMyAdmin asks for a login — use the database's own username and password shown on the Databases page, not your Falix account login.
• Which host do I use — my server's address? No. Use the host shown on the database page. Your server's Network address is for reaching your app, not the database.

Next steps

• Connect your app to a database
• Run your own database server
• Environment variables and secrets