Supabase Keep-Alive

GitHub Actions workflow to prevent Supabase databases from pausing due to inactivity.

Why

Supabase pauses free-tier databases after periods of inactivity. This workflow periodically pings your databases to keep them active.

Features

• Schedule automated pings via cron
• Support for multiple databases in one workflow
• No table configuration needed - uses REST API health check
• Manual trigger support
• Detailed per-database logging

Setup

1. Add GitHub Secret

Go to your repository Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → Secrets tab and create a new secret:

Name: SUPABASE_CONFIGS

Value: JSON array of your database configs

Single database:

[{"name":"Production","url":"https://xxx.supabase.co","key":"your_anon_key"}]

Multiple databases:

[
  {"name":"Production","url":"https://xxx.supabase.co","key":"anon_key_1"},
  {"name":"Staging","url":"https://yyy.supabase.co","key":"anon_key_2"}
]

Get your credentials from Supabase Dashboard → Settings → API:

• url = Project URL
• key = anon/public key (recommended) or service_role key

Note: The config is stored as a Secret (not visible after creation). To see which databases you're pinging, check the Action logs after running the workflow - it prints the database names and URLs.

2. Adjust Schedule (Optional)

Default: Runs Monday and Thursday at 9:00 AM UTC

Edit .github/workflows/ping-supabase.yml:

schedule:
  - cron: '0 9 * * 1,4'

Common schedules:

• Daily: 0 9 * * *
• Every 12 hours: 0 */12 * * *
• Twice weekly: 0 9 * * 1,4

3. Test

Go to Actions tab → Select workflow → Run workflow

Local Testing

npm install
cp env.example .env
# Edit .env with your configs
npm run ping

Example output:

Pinging 2 database(s)...
Timestamp: 2025-10-12T16:00:00.000Z
------------------------------------------------------------

[1/2] Production
URL: https://xxx.supabase.co
Success! Response time: 245ms

[2/2] Staging
URL: https://yyy.supabase.co
Success! Response time: 198ms

------------------------------------------------------------
Summary:
  Successful: 2
  Failed: 0
  Total: 2

All databases pinged successfully!

How It Works

The workflow makes an HTTP request to {url}/rest/v1/ to verify the database is reachable. It doesn't require any specific tables or data - just a successful connection to the Supabase REST API.

FAQ

Do I need to specify table names?
No. The workflow pings the REST API endpoint directly.

Can I use multiple databases?
Yes. Add multiple objects to the SUPABASE_CONFIGS array.

Which API key should I use?
The anon/public key is recommended. Service role key works too but isn't necessary.

How often should I run this?
Twice a week is sufficient. Adjust based on your Supabase tier's inactivity timeout.

Will this consume my API quota?
Minimal impact - just a few requests per week.