> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://planetscale.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Connect a Node.js application to PlanetScale
> In this tutorial, you'll create a simple Node.js and Express.js application and connect it to a PlanetScale database.
Already have a Node.js application and just want to connect to PlanetScale? Check out the [Node.js quick connect repo](https://github.com/planetscale/connection-examples/tree/main/nodejs).
## Prerequisites
## Set up the database
First, create a new database with the following command:
```bash theme={null}
pscale database create
```
Next, let's add some data to the database. You'll create a new table called `users` and add one record to it.
To do this, use the PlanetScale CLI shell to open a MySQL shell where you can manipulate your database. You may need to [install the MySQL command line client](/cli/planetscale-environment-setup) if you haven't already.
```bash theme={null}
pscale shell
```
A branch, `main`, was automatically created when you created your database, so you can use that for `BRANCH_NAME`.
Create the `users` table:
```sql theme={null}
CREATE TABLE `users` (
`id` int NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
`email` varchar(255) NOT NULL,
`first_name` varchar(255),
`last_name` varchar(255)
);
```
Then, add a record to it with:
```sql theme={null}
INSERT INTO `users` (email, first_name, last_name)
VALUES ('jp@example.com', 'Jean', 'Pixy');
```
You can verify it was added with:
```sql theme={null}
select * from users;
```
```
+----+----------------+------------+-----------+
| id | email | first_name | last_name |
+----+----------------+------------+-----------+
| 1 | jp@example.com | Jean | Pixy |
+----+----------------+------------+-----------+
```
Next, you'll set up the Express starter application.
## Set up the starter Node.js app
Clone the starter repository:
```bash theme={null}
git clone https://github.com/planetscale/express-example.git
```
Enter into the folder and install the dependencies with:
```bash theme={null}
cd express-example
npm install
```
Now that your application is set up and the database is ready to be used, let's connect them.
## Connect to PlanetScale with Express.js
There are **two ways to connect** to PlanetScale:
* With an auto-generated username and password
* Using the PlanetScale proxy with the CLI
Both options are covered below.
### Option 1: Connect with username and password (Recommended)
These instructions show you how to generate a set of credentials with [the PlanetScale CLI](/cli/planetscale-environment-setup).
You can also get these exact values to copy/paste from your [PlanetScale dashboard](https://app.planetscale.com). In the dashboard, click on the database > "**Connect**" > "**Connect with**" language dropdown > "**Node.js**". If the password is blurred, click "**New password**". Skip to step 3 once you have these credentials.
1. Authenticate the CLI with the following command:
```bash theme={null}
pscale auth login
```
2. Using the PlanetScale CLI, create a new username and password for the branch of your database:
```bash theme={null}
pscale password create
```
The `PASSWORD_NAME` value represents the name of the username and password being generated. You can have multiple credentials for a branch, so this gives you a way to categorize them. To manage your passwords in the dashboard, go to your database dashboard page, click "Settings", and then click "Passwords".
Take note of the values returned to you, as you won't be able to see this password again.
```
Password production-password was successfully created.
Please save the values below as they will not be shown again
NAME USERNAME ACCESS HOST URL ROLE PASSWORD
--------------------- -------------- ----------------------------------- ------------------ -------------------------------------------------------
production-password xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx.us-east-2.psdb.cloud Can Read & Write pscale_pw_xxxxxxx
```
3. Next, create your `.env` file by renaming the `.env.example` file to `.env`:
```bash theme={null}
mv .env.example .env
```
4. Use the values from the CLI output in step 1 to construct your connection string that will be used to connect your Node app to your PlanetScale database. Create your connection string in the following format:
```
mysql://:@/?ssl={"rejectUnauthorized":true}
```
5. In the `.env` file, fill in the `DATABASE_URL` variable with the value you constructed above. It should look something like this:
```bash theme={null}
DATABASE_URL=mysql://xxxxxxxxxxxxx:pscale_pw_xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.us-east-2.psdb.cloud/express_database?ssl={"rejectUnauthorized":true}
```
6. Finally, run your Express application with:
```bash theme={null}
node app.js
```
Navigate to [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000) and you'll see the data from your `users` table!
### Option 2: Using the PlanetScale proxy with the CLI
Use the following command to create a connection to your database and start the application:
```bash theme={null}
pscale connect --execute 'node app.js'
```
Running `pscale connect` with the execute flag will pass a `DATABASE_URL` to the Node application, enabling it to connect to PlanetScale. Don't forget to look in `app.js` to see how the DATABASE\_URL is used.
Navigate to [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000) and you'll see the data from your `users` table!
## What's next?
Learn more about how PlanetScale allows you to make [non-blocking schema changes](/vitess/schema-changes) to your database tables without locking or causing downtime for production databases. If you're interested in learning how to secure your application when connecting to PlanetScale,
please read [Connecting to PlanetScale securely](/vitess/connecting/secure-connections).
## Need help?
Get help from [the PlanetScale Support team](https://planetscale.com/contact?initial=support), or join our [Discord community](https://pscale.link/community) to see how others are using PlanetScale.