Database Providers

Overview

Spiderly supports PostgreSQL and SQL Server via Entity Framework Core. The provider is selected during spiderly init (or via the --db flag).

Your application code — entities, services, controllers, DTOs — is identical regardless of which provider you choose. The only differences are a handful of NuGet packages, one Hangfire configuration line, and the recommended VS Code extension.

Comparison Table

What Gets Generated Per Provider

NuGet Packages

In your .WebAPI.csproj, the two provider-specific packages are:

PostgreSQL:

<PackageReference Include="Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL" Version="9.0.1" />
<PackageReference Include="Hangfire.PostgreSql" Version="1.20.*" />

SQL Server:

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer" Version="9.0.1" />
<PackageReference Include="Hangfire.SqlServer" Version="1.8.*" />

All other packages in the .csproj are shared between providers.

Startup Configuration

In Startup.cs, the Hangfire storage and EF Core provider are configured based on your choice:

PostgreSQL:

services.AddHangfire(config =>
    config.UseHangfirePostgreSqlStorage(
        Spiderly.Shared.SettingsProvider.Current.ConnectionString)
);

services.SpiderlyConfigureServices<YourAppApplicationDbContext>(
    dbProvider: DbProviderCodes.PostgreSQL);

SQL Server:

services.AddHangfire(config =>
    config.UseSqlServerStorage(
        Spiderly.Shared.SettingsProvider.Current.ConnectionString)
);

services.SpiderlyConfigureServices<YourAppApplicationDbContext>(
    dbProvider: DbProviderCodes.SQLServer);

VS Code Extensions

The generated .vscode/extensions.json recommends the matching database extension:

PostgreSQL:

{
  "recommendations": [
    "angular.ng-template",
    "formulahendry.auto-rename-tag",
    "ckolkman.vscode-postgres",
    "esbenp.prettier-vscode"
  ]
}

SQL Server:

{
  "recommendations": [
    "angular.ng-template",
    "formulahendry.auto-rename-tag",
    "ms-mssql.mssql",
    "esbenp.prettier-vscode"
  ]
}

Connection Strings

Connection strings are stored in .NET user secrets and configured automatically during spiderly init.

PostgreSQL format:

Host=localhost;Port=5432;Database=YourApp;Username=postgres;Password=yourpassword;

SQL Server — Windows Authentication:

Data Source=localhost;Initial Catalog=YourApp;Integrated Security=True;Encrypt=False;MultipleActiveResultSets=True;

SQL Server — Docker:

Data Source=localhost,14330;Initial Catalog=YourApp;User ID=sa;Password=SqlServer123;Encrypt=False;MultipleActiveResultSets=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;

Automatic Installation

spiderly init detects whether the chosen database is already running. If it isn't:

1. Docker available — the CLI offers to start the database via docker run with a named volume for persistent data. This works the same way on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
2. Docker not available — the CLI displays a link to install the database manually and a link to install Docker.

Switching Providers After Init

If you need to switch providers after project creation, follow these steps:

1. Swap NuGet packages in Backend/YourApp.WebAPI/YourApp.WebAPI.csproj — replace the EF Core and Hangfire packages (see comparison table above).
2. Update Hangfire storage in Startup.cs — change UseHangfirePostgreSqlStorage to UseSqlServerStorage (or vice versa).
3. Change DbProviderCodes in the SpiderlyConfigureServices call in Startup.cs.
4. Update the connection string in user secrets (dotnet user-secrets set).
5. Delete existing migrations from Backend/YourApp.Infrastructure/Migrations/ and create a new initial migration with spiderly add-migration Init.

Which Provider Should I Choose?

PostgreSQL (recommended): Free, open-source, and runs natively on all operating systems. This is the default recommendation for most projects.

SQL Server: Choose if your organization already uses SQL Server, you need Windows Authentication, or you rely on SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). On macOS and Linux, SQL Server runs via Docker.

Both providers are fully supported — the generated application code is identical.