---
title: Replicate data with Fivetran
subtitle: Learn how to replicate data from Neon with Fivetran
enableTableOfContents: true
isDraft: false
updatedOn: '2025-11-07T12:28:56.611Z'
---
Neon's logical replication feature allows you to replicate data from your Neon Postgres database to external destinations.
[Fivetran](https://fivetran.com/) is an automated data movement platform that helps you centralize data from disparate sources, which you can then manage directly from your browser. Fivetran extracts your data and loads it into your data destination.
In this guide, you will learn how to define a Neon Postgres database as a data source in Fivetran so that you can replicate data to one or more of Fivetran's supported destinations.
## Prerequisites
- A [Fivetran account](https://fivetran.com/)
- A [Neon account](https://console.neon.tech/)
- Read the [important notices about logical replication in Neon](/docs/guides/logical-replication-neon#important-notices) before you begin
## Enable logical replication in Neon
Enabling logical replication modifies the Postgres `wal_level` configuration parameter, changing it from `replica` to `logical` for all databases in your Neon project. Once the `wal_level` setting is changed to `logical`, it cannot be reverted. Enabling logical replication also restarts all computes in your Neon project, meaning active connections will be temporarily dropped before automatically reconnecting.
To enable logical replication in Neon:
1. Select your project in the Neon Console.
2. On the Neon **Dashboard**, select **Settings**.
3. Select **Logical Replication**.
4. Click **Enable** to enable logical replication.
You can verify that logical replication is enabled by running the following query from the [Neon SQL Editor](/docs/get-started/query-with-neon-sql-editor):
```sql
SHOW wal_level;
wal_level
-----------
logical
```
## Create a Postgres role for replication
It is recommended that you create a dedicated Postgres role for replicating data. The role must have the `REPLICATION` privilege. The default Postgres role created with your Neon project and roles created using the Neon CLI, Console, or API are granted membership in the [neon_superuser](/docs/manage/roles#the-neonsuperuser-role) role, which has the required `REPLICATION` privilege.
The following CLI command creates a role. To view the CLI documentation for this command, see [Neon CLI commands — roles](https://api-docs.neon.tech/reference/createprojectbranchrole)
```bash
neon roles create --name replication_user
```
To create a role in the Neon Console:
1. Navigate to the [Neon Console](https://console.neon.tech).
2. Select a project.
3. Select **Branches**.
4. Select the branch where you want to create the role.
5. Select the **Roles & Databases** tab.
6. Click **Add Role**.
7. In the role creation dialog, specify a role name.
8. Click **Create**. The role is created, and you are provided with the password for the role.
The following Neon API method creates a role. To view the API documentation for this method, refer to the [Neon API reference](/docs/reference/cli-roles).
```bash
curl 'https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/hidden-cell-763301/branches/br-blue-tooth-671580/roles' \
-H 'Accept: application/json' \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY" \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
"role": {
"name": "replication_user"
}
}' | jq
```
## Grant schema access to your Postgres role
If your replication role does not own the schemas and tables you are replicating from, make sure to grant access. For example, the following commands grant access to all tables in the `public` schema to Postgres role `replication_user`:
```sql
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO replication_user;
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO replication_user;
ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES IN SCHEMA public GRANT SELECT ON TABLES TO replication_user;
```
Granting `SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA` instead of naming the specific tables avoids having to add privileges later if you add tables to your publication.
## Create a publication
Create the Postgres publication. Include all tables you want to replicate as part of the publication:
```sql
CREATE PUBLICATION fivetran_pub FOR TABLE ;
```
The publication name is customizable. Refer to the [Postgres docs](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/logical-replication-publication.html) if you need to add or remove tables from your publication.
## Create a replication slot
Fivetran requires a dedicated replication slot. Only one source should be configured to use this replication slot.
Fivetran uses the `pgoutput` plugin in Postgres for decoding WAL changes into a logical replication stream. To create a replication slot called `fivetran_slot` that uses the `pgoutput` plugin, run the following command on your database using your replication role:
```sql
SELECT pg_create_logical_replication_slot('fivetran_pgoutput_slot', 'pgoutput');
```
The name assigned to the replication slot is `fivetran_pgoutput_slot`. You will need to provide this name when you set up your Fivetran source.
## Create a Postgres source in Fivetran
1. Log in to your [Fivetran](https://fivetran.com/) account.
1. On the **Select your datasource** page, search for the **PostgreSQL** source and click **Set up**.
1. In your connector setup form, enter a value for **Destination Schema Prefix**. This prefix applies to each replicated schema and cannot be changed once your connector is created. In this example, we'll use `neon` as the prefix.
1. Enter the connection details for your Neon database. You can find your Neon database connection details by clicking the **Connect** button on your **Project Dashboard** to open the **Connect to your database** modal.
Use a **direct connection** to your compute endpoint, not a pooled connection. Logical replication requires a persistent connection and is not compatible with connection poolers. When copying your connection string from Neon, make sure it does not include `-pooler` in the hostname. For more information about connection pooling and when to use direct connections, see [Connection pooling](/docs/connect/connection-pooling).
For example, let's say this is your connection string:
```bash shouldWrap
postgresql://alex:AbC123dEf@ep-cool-darkness-123456.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/dbname?sslmode=require&channel_binding=require
```
From this string, the values in the Fivetran **Create a source** dialog would show as below. Your actual values will differ, with the exception of the port number.
- **Host**: ep-cool-darkness-123456.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech
- **Port**: 5432
- **Username**: alex
- **Password**: AbC123dEf
- **Database Name**: dbname
1. For **Connection Method**, select **Logical replication of the WAL using the pgoutput plugin** and enter values for the **Replication Slot** and **Publication Name**. You deifned these values earlier (`fivetran_pgoutput_slot` and `fivetran_pub`, respectively).
1. If you are using Neon's **IP Allow** feature to limit IP addresses that can connect to Neon, add Fivetran's IPs to your allowlist in Neon.
For instructions, see [Configure IP Allow](/docs/manage/projects#configure-ip-allow). You'll need to do this before you can validate your connection in the next step. If you are not using Neon's **IP Allow** feature, you can skip this step.
1. Click **Save & Test**. Fivetran tests and validates the connection to your database. Upon successful completion of the setup tests, you can sync your data using Fivetran.
During the test, Fivetran asks you to confirm the certificate chain by selecting the certificate to use as the trust anchor. Select the `CN=ISRG Root X1, 0=Internet Security Research Group, C=US` option. This certificate is valid unitl until 2035-06-04.
When the connection test is completed, you should see an **All connection tests passed!** message in Fivetran, as shown below:
1. Click **Continue**.
1. On the **Select Data to Sync** page, review the connector schema and select any columns you want to block or hash.
1. Click **Save & Continue**.
1. On the **How would you like to handle changes?** page, specify how you would like to handle future schema changes. For this example, we'll select **We will allow all new schemas, tables and columns**. Choose the option that best fits your organization's requirements.
1. Click **Continue**. Your data is now ready to sync.
1. Click **Start Initial Sync** to enable syncing.
## References
- [Fivetran Generic PostgreSQL Setup Guide](https://fivetran.com/docs/databases/postgresql/setup-guide)