How PostgreSQL Source Authentication Works in Skippr

June 2026

PostgreSQL source authentication in Skippr can be field-based or DSN-based, but in both cases the useful source user is the one that matches the actual read or CDC behavior you expect.

Short Answer

PostgreSQL source authentication in Skippr can be configured either as explicit fields like host, port, user, password, and database, or as a single connection_string that overrides those values. The docs recommend keeping secrets in environment variables such as POSTGRES_SOURCE_PASSWORD or a DSN env var rather than checking them into skippr.yaml.

That flexibility is useful because PostgreSQL setups vary. A simple source on localhost:5432 may work best with discrete fields, while a managed instance with SSL parameters may be easier to express as one DSN. In both cases, the source is only fully authenticated when the chosen user can read the selected tables or views from the target database.

Why Teams Struggle with This

Teams often treat Postgres auth as solved once a password works, but the docs point to a more precise model. Batch table reads are one level of access, and CDC through WAL logical replication is another. A good auth plan names which one the source is actually built for.

• Skippr supports field-based Postgres credentials or a full connection_string, and the DSN overrides the individual fields.
• Passwords or connection strings should be environment-backed, not committed into the source config.
• The database user needs read access to the selected tables or views before extraction is useful.
• The source docs send CDC users to separate replication prerequisites, so a standard reader login is not always the whole long-term story.

How Skippr Handles It

Skippr makes the auth model inspectable because the source definition stays close to the connector docs. You can choose the field-based form when that is clearer, or use a DSN when SSL and connection options make a single string easier to manage.

That clarity helps when you hand the source to another engineer. They can see whether the pipeline is a regular table reader or the start of a CDC-capable Postgres integration, and they can audit the credential source without hunting through application code.

• Support for either explicit Postgres fields or a DSN-style connection_string.
• Environment-backed secrets through POSTGRES_SOURCE_PASSWORD or a connection-string env var.
• A documented requirement that the source user can read the selected tables or views.
• A clean separation between standard source authentication and CDC-specific logical-replication prerequisites.

What the First Useful Version Looks Like

The first useful version is one Postgres user, one database, and one readable table list. That gives you a stable source before WAL and replication concerns are added.

If the source is expected to become CDC-backed, revisit the auth and privilege model explicitly instead of overloading a simple reader account after the fact.