diff --git a/db.ts b/db.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d8a3653
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import pg from "pg";
+const { Pool } = pg;
+
+if (!process.env.DATABASE_URL) {
+  throw new Error("DATABASE_URL must be set. Provision a Postgres database and set DATABASE_URL.");
+}
+
+export const pool = new Pool({
+  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
+  max: 15,
+  idleTimeoutMillis: 30_000,
+  connectionTimeoutMillis: 8_000,
+  keepAlive: true,
+  keepAliveInitialDelayMillis: 10_000,
+});
+
+pool.on("error", (err) => {
+  console.error("[db:pool] idle client error:", err.message);
+});
+
+export const bgPool = new Pool({
+  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
+  max: 10,
+  idleTimeoutMillis: 20_000,
+  connectionTimeoutMillis: 10_000,
+  keepAlive: true,
+});
+
+bgPool.on("error", (err) => {
+  console.error("[db:bgPool] idle client error:", err.message);
+});