Download Neon JDBC Driver

Download the Neon JDBC driver, copy the JDBC URL into DbSchema, and start designing schemas with ER diagrams — free Community Edition.

About the Neon JDBC driver

A JDBC driver is a Java .jar library that lets applications connect to Neon. DbSchema uses JDBC to reverse engineer schemas, run SQL, and generate documentation. Driver files are usually published by the database vendor or an open-source project.

JDBC URL format

Host, port, database name, and SSL options are passed in a URL starting with jdbc:. Each Neon driver uses its own syntax — see the connection details below.

The Neon JDBC driver

Neon is a serverless PostgreSQL platform that separates compute from storage, enabling instant branching of your database for development and testing workflows. Each branch maintains its own schema and data snapshot, making it ideal for CI/CD pipelines. Neon autoscales compute resources based on demand and scales to zero when idle.

The Neon JDBC URL

• Required File(s): postgresql-xxx.jar
• Java Driver Class: org.postgresql.Driver
• JDBC URL: jdbc:postgresql://{HOST}:{PORT}/{DB}
• Website: Neon

Neon uses standard PostgreSQL port 5432. Connection strings are available in the Neon console per-branch. Append ?sslmode=require for SSL. For serverless/edge environments, Neon also offers a WebSocket-based connection. Use the pooler endpoint URL for applications that need connection pooling.

Connecting to Neon

Neon is managed, so there is no server config and no firewall of your own to open. What matters is which branch you are pointing at, and that the credentials go in the right place.

1. Copy the JDBC URL from the Neon console. You will find it in the Connect button on the project dashboard, after picking the branch, database and role.
2. Choose the pooled or the direct endpoint. The pooled host carries -pooler in its name and supports many more concurrent connections; the direct endpoint is the same host without that suffix, on port 5432. Either works for schema exploration — a desktop tool opens few connections.
3. Keep TLS on. Neon requires SSL for every connection, so the URL must keep its ?sslmode=require.
4. Paste the URL into DbSchema. In the Connection Dialog set Connection Mode to Edit the JDBC URL Manually and paste the string you copied. The user and the password are entered in the first tab, not in the URL.

Do not leave the role and password inside the URL. Neon documents this as a limitation of Java-based tools, and DbSchema is one of them: strip the credentials out of the pasted string and type them into the user and password fields instead.

Each Neon branch has its own host. Pointing DbSchema at a development branch and comparing it with production is the fastest way to see what a migration actually changed.

DbSchema and Neon

DbSchema connects to Neon serverless PostgreSQL using the standard PostgreSQL JDBC driver, enabling teams to visualize branch-specific schemas, compare schema differences between development and production branches, and run SQL queries directly against Neon databases.