serverless
Browse all articles, tutorials, and guides about serverless
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A Postgres-Backed MCP Server in ~20 Lines
Most of what an MCP server does is run database queries on behalf of an AI agent. So I put one right next to the database. Here is a Postgres-backed MCP server built on Neon Functions, deployed onto a database branch, with the code, a live client test, and the repo.
Realtime Without a WebSocket Service
Live counters, presence, notifications: the reflex is to add a websocket service to run and pay for. But if your data already lives in Postgres, it has a pub/sub built in. Here is realtime fan-out with Postgres LISTEN/NOTIFY and SSE on a Neon Function, tested with two live subscribers.
Compute That Lives on Your Database Branch
Neon Functions run your code in the same region as your Postgres, on a per-branch URL. To see why that matters I deployed a small API and timed a query from inside the function versus from a machine across the Atlantic: 1.2 ms against 135 ms. Here is how it works, with the real numbers and the repo.
Streaming an AI Agent Without a Function Timeout
Long agent loops and long token streams run into the same wall: a serverless function that hits its execution cap and cuts the connection. Neon Functions hold long-lived streaming connections by default. I deployed two endpoints to prove it: one streamed for 90 seconds, the other streamed an agent token by token starting at 466 ms.
I Gave an AI Agent a Database, Compute, Storage, and Models From One CLI
An AI agent usually needs four accounts: a database, somewhere to run, object storage, and a model provider. I wired all four from a single Neon credential and had a deployed image-generating agent in a few minutes. Here is the actual build log, the config that ties it together, and the honest caveats.
Neon Is Becoming a Backend Platform, Not Just Postgres
In June 2026 Neon added serverless functions, S3-compatible object storage, and an AI gateway to its database. The interesting part is not any one feature, it is the through-line: everything branches with your data. Here is what shipped, what it competes with, and where the seams still show.
Neon vs Supabase in Production: We Benchmarked the Operations That Page You at 3am
Two benchmark sessions against Neon and Supabase Pro measured what spec sheets never show: compute resizes cost 39 seconds of real downtime on one platform and zero on the other, read replicas differ by 23x, and branch creation has a tail you should know about.
Neon vs Supabase Free Tiers: We Benchmarked Both So You Don't Have To
We ran 320 timed operations against the Neon and Supabase free tiers from a same-region client: query latency, project creation, cold starts, and branching. The latency race is a tie, and the real differences are nothing like the marketing.