> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dbhost.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> Managed PostgreSQL hosting with pooling, backups, scoped API keys, and guarded SQL exploration.

DBHost is a managed PostgreSQL hosting service. Sign up, create a database, and get a connection string — we handle the server, connection pooling, and backups. No infrastructure to manage.

## What you get

* **Web dashboard** at [dbhost.app](https://dbhost.app) for creating, managing, and monitoring databases
* **Database lifecycle controls** for starting, stopping, restarting, and resetting credentials
* **Role-based shared access** for collaborating without sharing one password everywhere
* **Per-database IP allowlists** enforced at the PgBouncer layer
* **SQL Explorer** for owners to browse public tables and run guarded read-only SQL in the dashboard
* **REST API** on Pro and Business for programmatic access and CI/CD integration
* **CLI** on Pro and Business, published as `@dbhost-app/cli`, for terminal-based workflows
* **Scoped API keys** on paid plans for least-privilege third-party integrations
* **Encrypted stored database credentials** so tenant passwords are protected at rest in the control plane
* **PgBouncer** connection pooling on every database
* **Daily automated backups** with `pg_dump`, plus on-demand dashboard backups on every plan

## Operator features

DBHost also includes admin/operator surfaces for platform management:

* **Admin panel** for user and database management
* **Activity history** for user/admin/API actions
* **Incident monitoring** for agent, backup, API, and render/runtime failures

## How it works

```
You (browser / API)
      │
      ▼
┌─────────────┐     HTTPS      ┌──────────────────┐
│   Vercel     │ ──────────────▶│   VPS Agent      │
│   Next.js    │                │   FastAPI         │
│   Dashboard  │                │                   │
│   REST API   │                │  ┌─ PostgreSQL    │
│   Admin      │                │  ├─ PgBouncer     │
└─────────────┘                │  └─ Backups       │
                                └──────────────────┘
```

The **control plane** (Next.js on Vercel) handles authentication, the dashboard UI, and metadata storage. The **data plane** (Python agent on VPS) handles the actual database operations: creating users, running DDL, managing PgBouncer config, and taking backups.

Customer-facing operations stay tenant-scoped. The in-dashboard explorer is owner-only and read-only, and the internal VPS agent now serves only databases that DBHost has explicitly registered as managed customer databases.

## Next steps

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/quickstart">
    Create your first database in under 2 minutes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API reference" icon="code" href="/api-reference/introduction">
    Integrate DBHost into your workflow.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Dashboard guide" icon="layout-dashboard" href="/dashboard/databases">
    Learn the end-user dashboard, backups, explorer, and account workflows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Concepts" icon="server" href="/concepts">
    Understand the public product model and core building blocks.
  </Card>
</Columns>