Get started with your AI agent

Set up Neon for your project without leaving your editor. You have two options: let your AI coding assistant install the Neon tooling and connect your project for you, or run neon init yourself in a terminal and then hand off to your agent. Either way, your agent ends up with the agent skills and Neon MCP server it needs to create a Neon project, connect your app, and use Neon features as you build.

New to the platform? The backend overview shows how Postgres, Managed Better Auth, Object Storage, Functions, and the AI Gateway fit together. For a hands-on walkthrough, see Build a full backend.

Before you start

You'll need:

• Node.js 20+
• A supported AI coding assistant, such as Cursor or Claude Code (see supported clients)

Let your agent set it up

The fastest path is to let your agent do the whole setup, from installing the tooling to proving the connection works. Paste this prompt into your editor's AI chat:

Help me get set up with Neon, based on my project:

1. Install or upgrade the Neon CLI: `npm install -g neon@latest`.
2. Install the Neon agent tooling for your editor, replacing `<agent>` with your editor id (for example `cursor`, `claude-code`, or `codex`): run `neon plugins --agent <agent>` (recommended, installs the Neon plugin), or `neon skills --agent <agent> -s neon -s neon-postgres`. If sign-in opens a browser, ask me to confirm before continuing, and never print secrets.
3. Using the installed Neon skill, create a Neon project (or connect an existing one), link it, and pull my DATABASE_URL into my env file. Add a Postgres driver for my stack.
4. Prove it works: run a real query and show me the result, not just "setup complete." Give me a command to re-check it myself (e.g. `neon psql`).
5. Then suggest next steps, such as a schema or migrations, branching for previews, or Neon's other services (Object Storage, Functions, Managed Better Auth, AI Gateway).

Your agent installs the Neon CLI and tooling and does the setup for you, so there's no switching between the terminal and the chat. It:

• Installs either the Neon plugin, or agent skills and the Neon MCP server, for your editor, and signs you in (finish the browser step if it prompts)
• Creates or connects a Neon project, writes your DATABASE_URL into your env file, and adds a Postgres driver for your stack
• Uses the connection and shows you a real result so you can see it's working

To confirm it yourself, run the command the agent gives you (e.g., neon psql), or open your project in the Neon Console.

Prefer to run it yourself?

You can run the setup manually and then hand off to your agent.

1. Run the init command

   From your project root, run:

   npx neon@latest init

   neon init is interactive, so run it in a terminal. It asks how your coding agents should get Neon (either a plugin, or skills and the MCP server), links a Neon project, and optionally writes a neon.ts config. In an empty directory, it lets you pick a starter template, name one with --template, or skip scaffolding with --skip-template. For the full flow, and a non-interactive setup for agents and CI, see the neon init reference.

   If you only want the MCP server, without the skills or plugin, run npx neon@latest mcp instead. If you only want agent skills, run npx neon@latest skills.

2. Tell your agent

   In your editor's AI chat, send:

   Get started with Neon

   Your agent reads the installed skill to create or connect a Neon project, pull your DATABASE_URL into your env file, add a Postgres driver, and run a real query to confirm the connection. The exact flow depends on your project.

What's next

• How a Neon backend fits together
• Build a full backend with Next.js and Neon
• About branching