Deploy PostgreSQL on Oracle Cloud's free tier

At a glance

Running PostgreSQL on Ampere ARM

The official Postgres image is multi-arch, so it runs natively on Ampere. The Always Free block volume allowance (200 GB total) is far more storage than most free managed database tiers offer.

Steps

1. Bind to localhost only. Publishing 5432 to 0.0.0.0 exposes your database to the internet. Keep it on 127.0.0.1 and reach it over the Docker network.
2. Mount a named volume. Without a volume, every redeploy destroys the data directory.
3. Schedule backups. A nightly pg_dump to Oracle Object Storage keeps a restorable copy off the instance.

   pg_dump -Fc app > /backups/app-$(date +%F).dump

Dockerfile for PostgreSQL on ARM64

# Postgres runs from the official image — no custom build needed.
# docker-compose.yml
services:
  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
      POSTGRES_DB: app
    volumes:
      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:5432:5432"
volumes:
  pgdata:

Need one tailored to your repository? The free Dockerfile generator writes an ARM-ready multi-stage build for you.

Common mistakes

• No backups: Self-hosting means backups are yours to own. Automate them on day one and test a restore.
• Default shared_buffers: On a 6 GB instance, raising shared_buffers to ~1.5 GB makes a noticeable difference.
• Exposed port with a weak password: Internet-facing Postgres is scanned within minutes. Keep it private.

Related reading

• /oracle-cloud/always-free-arm
• /guides/self-host-docker
• /compare/oracle-vs-aws-free-tier
• All deployment guides