From 6796e36c4035126521971dc0d47bc80ffab1fd4a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Stanislav Novosad <stas@skyvern.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:38:34 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Quickstart: allow passing DATABASE_STRING as parameter
 (#4580)

---
 README.md                   |  7 +++++++
 skyvern/cli/init_command.py | 12 +++++++++++-
 skyvern/cli/quickstart.py   | 32 +++++++++++++++++++-------------
 3 files changed, 37 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index dea0c170..795a5d34 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -104,6 +104,13 @@ This is most helpful for first time run (db setup, db migrations etc).
 skyvern quickstart
 ```
 
+If you already have a database you want to use, pass a custom connection string to skip the
+local Docker PostgreSQL setup:
+
+```bash
+skyvern quickstart --database-string "postgresql+psycopg://user:password@localhost:5432/skyvern"
+```
+
 ### 3. Run task
 
 #### UI (Recommended)
diff --git a/skyvern/cli/init_command.py b/skyvern/cli/init_command.py
index 5ecd11aa..c02eb512 100644
--- a/skyvern/cli/init_command.py
+++ b/skyvern/cli/init_command.py
@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@ from .mcp import setup_local_organization, setup_mcp
 
 def init_env(
     no_postgres: bool = typer.Option(False, "--no-postgres", help="Skip starting PostgreSQL container"),
+    database_string: str = typer.Option(
+        "",
+        "--database-string",
+        help="Custom database connection string (e.g., postgresql+psycopg://user:password@host:port/dbname). When provided, skips Docker PostgreSQL setup.",
+    ),
 ) -> bool:
     """Interactive initialization command for Skyvern."""
     console.print(
@@ -40,7 +45,12 @@ def init_env(
     run_local = infra_choice == "local"
 
     if run_local:
-        setup_postgresql(no_postgres)
+        if database_string:
+            console.print("🔗 [bold blue]Using custom database connection...[/bold blue]")
+            update_or_add_env_var("DATABASE_STRING", database_string)
+            console.print("✅ [green]Database connection string set in .env file.[/green]")
+        else:
+            setup_postgresql(no_postgres)
         console.print("📊 [bold blue]Running database migrations...[/bold blue]")
         migrate_db()
         console.print("✅ [green]Database migration complete.[/green]")
diff --git a/skyvern/cli/quickstart.py b/skyvern/cli/quickstart.py
index 4e4ae192..b36865ae 100644
--- a/skyvern/cli/quickstart.py
+++ b/skyvern/cli/quickstart.py
@@ -33,25 +33,31 @@ def check_docker() -> bool:
 def quickstart(
     ctx: typer.Context,
     no_postgres: bool = typer.Option(False, "--no-postgres", help="Skip starting PostgreSQL container"),
+    database_string: str = typer.Option(
+        "",
+        "--database-string",
+        help="Custom database connection string (e.g., postgresql+psycopg://user:password@host:port/dbname). When provided, skips Docker PostgreSQL setup.",
+    ),
     skip_browser_install: bool = typer.Option(
         False, "--skip-browser-install", help="Skip Chromium browser installation"
     ),
     server_only: bool = typer.Option(False, "--server-only", help="Only start the server, not the UI"),
 ) -> None:
     """Quickstart command to set up and run Skyvern with one command."""
-    # Check Docker
-    with console.status("Checking Docker installation...") as status:
-        if not check_docker():
-            console.print(
-                Panel(
-                    "[bold red]Docker is not installed or not running.[/bold red]\n"
-                    "Please install Docker and start it before running quickstart.\n"
-                    "Get Docker from: [link]https://www.docker.com/get-started[/link]",
-                    border_style="red",
+    # Check Docker only if not using custom database
+    if not database_string:
+        with console.status("Checking Docker installation...") as status:
+            if not check_docker():
+                console.print(
+                    Panel(
+                        "[bold red]Docker is not installed or not running.[/bold red]\n"
+                        "Please install Docker and start it before running quickstart.\n"
+                        "Get Docker from: [link]https://www.docker.com/get-started[/link]",
+                        border_style="red",
+                    )
                 )
-            )
-            raise typer.Exit(1)
-        status.update("✅ Docker is installed and running")
+                raise typer.Exit(1)
+            status.update("✅ Docker is installed and running")
 
     # Run initialization
     console.print(Panel("[bold green]🚀 Starting Skyvern Quickstart[/bold green]", border_style="green"))
@@ -59,7 +65,7 @@ def quickstart(
     try:
         # Initialize Skyvern
         console.print("\n[bold blue]Initializing Skyvern...[/bold blue]")
-        run_local = init_env(no_postgres=no_postgres)
+        run_local = init_env(no_postgres=no_postgres, database_string=database_string)
 
         # Skip browser installation if requested
         if not skip_browser_install: