How to Install Apache AGE Extension?

[mohammed90]

I'm at my wit's end. I need Apache AGE with Supabase. Nothing I tried works.

Approach 1: Extend supabase/postgres Image

I have this Dockerfile:

FROM supabase/postgres:15.14.1.042

USER root

RUN apt-get update && apt install -y curl ca-certificates postgresql-common
RUN /usr/share/postgresql-common/pgdg/apt.postgresql.org.sh -i -v 15

# Install build dependencies for Apache AGE
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    build-essential \
    libreadline-dev \
    zlib1g-dev \
    flex \
    bison \
    libxml2-dev \
    libxslt-dev \
    libssl-dev \
    libxml2-utils \
    xsltproc \
    git \
    postgresql-server-dev-15 \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Clone and build Apache AGE
WORKDIR /tmp
RUN git clone --branch PG15/v1.5.0-rc0 --depth 1 https://github.com/apache/age.git && \
    cd age && \
    make && \
    make install && \
    cd .. && \
    rm -rf age

# Clean up
RUN apt-get purge -y --auto-remove \
    build-essential \
    git \
    postgresql-server-dev-15 && \
    apt-get clean && \
    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* /tmp/* /var/tmp/*

# Switch back to postgres user
USER postgres

I added age to the shared_preload_libraries in a custom postgresql.conf:

# PostgreSQL configuration for Supabase with Apache AGE
# Optimized for DigitalOcean deployment

# Connection Settings
listen_addresses = '*'
max_connections = 100
superuser_reserved_connections = 3

# Memory Settings (adjust based on your droplet size)
shared_buffers = 256MB
effective_cache_size = 1GB
maintenance_work_mem = 64MB
work_mem = 4MB

# WAL Settings
wal_level = logical
max_wal_senders = 10
max_replication_slots = 10
wal_sender_timeout = 60s

# Checkpoint Settings
checkpoint_timeout = 10min
checkpoint_completion_target = 0.9
max_wal_size = 1GB
min_wal_size = 80MB

# Logging
log_destination = 'stderr'
logging_collector = on
log_directory = 'pg_log'
log_filename = 'postgresql-%Y-%m-%d_%H%M%S.log'
log_rotation_age = 1d
log_rotation_size = 100MB
log_min_duration_statement = 1000
log_line_prefix = '%t [%p]: [%l-1] user=%u,db=%d,app=%a,client=%h '
log_timezone = 'UTC'

# Locale Settings
datestyle = 'iso, mdy'
timezone = 'UTC'
lc_messages = 'C'
lc_monetary = 'C'
lc_numeric = 'C'
lc_time = 'C'
default_text_search_config = 'pg_catalog.english'

# Extensions
shared_preload_libraries = 'pg_stat_statements,pg_cron,age'

# AGE Extension Settings
age.enable_containment = on

# Performance
random_page_cost = 1.1
effective_io_concurrency = 200

Postgres fails on boot, complaining about not finding the age.so. I checked. They're there next to their kins of other exstensions .so files.

Attempt 2: Build 'Em Like You Do

Y'all build the images with Nix, so adding an extension should be straightforward. Right? I'll preface this by saying I never used Nix before, but I'm familiar with its concept. Plus, you have a guide.

I added this age.nix file to nix/ext, and added age to nix/packages/postgres.nix.

{
  lib,
  stdenv,
  fetchFromGitHub,
  postgresql,
  flex,
}:

stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
  pname = "age";
  version = "1.5.0";

  nativeBuildInputs = [ flex ];
  buildInputs = [
    postgresql
  ];

  src = fetchFromGitHub {
    owner = "apache";
    repo = pname;
    rev = "PG15/v${version}-rc0";
    hash = "sha256-webZWgWZGnSoXwTpk816tjbtHV1UIlXkogpBDAEL4gM=";
  };

  meta = with lib; {
    description = "Graph database extension for PostgreSQL";
    homepage = "https://age.apache.org/";
    platforms = postgresql.meta.platforms;
    license = licenses.asl20;
  };
}

Building the docker image (command: docker build --no-cache -f Dockerfile-15 -t supabase-postgres:15 .) fails with this:

132.9        > ERROR: `flex' is missing on your system. It is needed to create the
132.9        > file `src/backend/parser/ag_scanner.c'. You can either get flex from a GNU mirror site
132.9        > or download an official distribution of PostgreSQL, which contains
132.9        > pre-packaged flex output.
132.9        > ***
132.9        > make: *** [/nix/store/6b32jb8hixjmk0ncvg71iinig658c5kp-postgresql-15.14/lib/pgxs/src/makefiles/../../src/Makefile.global:788: src/backend/parser/ag_scanner.c] Error 1
132.9        For full logs, run:
132.9          nix log /nix/store/85410qgyjsxw74wc8rr327z124i1yl94-age-1.5.0.drv
132.9 error: Cannot build '/nix/store/rsvazjp2g3dkb0phzv4qxnnmddf5ai1f-postgresql-and-plugins-15.14.drv'.
132.9        Reason: 1 dependency failed.
132.9        Output paths:
132.9          /nix/store/d96fs0smaw51yn3i9dsd2p4qd73mpijg-postgresql-and-plugins-15.14
132.9 error: Cannot build '/nix/store/f3xhfnnidjsqmfxng1k2l29gamyd4sh4-postgresql-and-plugins-15.14.drv'.
132.9        Reason: 1 dependency failed.
132.9        Output paths:
132.9          /nix/store/is9fnbqrc1w6rfryk2nh3wy1v8jvmph4-postgresql-and-plugins-15.14

But.... flex is already there! I have nativeBuildInputs = [ flex ]; in the age.nix file just like pg_tle.nix does.

What's the best way to add Apache AGE to Supabase?

[mohammed90]

Bump

[lewiii254]

Supabase doesn’t officially support Apache AGE yet, and adding it isn’t straightforward because the Postgres images are built with Nix, tightly sandboxed, and don’t allow compiling extensions at runtime. That’s why extending supabase/postgres with a Dockerfile fails (the .so exists, but Postgres can’t load it due to ABI/paths mismatch), and why your Nix build fails (AGE needs flex + several other build tools inside the Nix sandbox, not just on your host).

What does work today

The only reliable method is:

1. Fork the Supabase Postgres repo
https://github.com/supabase/postgres

2. Add AGE as a Nix package
Follow the same pattern as pg_tle or pg_graphql, but AGE requires both flex and bison in nativeBuildInputs, and must be built using PGXS from inside the Nix environment:

nativeBuildInputs = [
  flex
  bison
  postgresql
];

AGE’s build scripts require both.

3. Add your age.nix to nix/ext and include it in postgres.nix
Rebuild using the provided build scripts:

./build.sh v15

This ensures AGE is compiled against the exact Postgres toolchain used by Supabase.

Why Dockerfile extension fails

Supabase Postgres is not a “normal” Postgres install. Even if you compile AGE inside the container:

• the .so ends up outside the Nix store
• the running Postgres expects libraries inside the Nix-managed paths
• preload/shared library checks fail even if files exist

So age.so won’t load.

Quick recommendation

If you need AGE today, the practical solution is:

• Run your own Postgres 15 + AGE container, separate from Supabase
• Connect Supabase to it via the DATABASE_URL override
• Or maintain a custom fork of supabase/postgres with AGE added via Nix

Those are the only two stable approaches right now.

[mohammed90]

Thank you for the reply! I tried building with my extension, and it still failed:

8mbdbf42v0hn72yrsk16z4mkyg7kn87m-icu4c-73.2-dev/include  -c -o src/backend/optimizer/cypher_paths.o src/backend/optimizer/cypher_paths.c
       > ***
       > ERROR: `flex' is missing on your system. It is needed to create the
       > file `src/backend/parser/ag_scanner.c'. You can either get flex from a GNU mirror site
       > or download an official distribution of PostgreSQL, which contains
       > pre-packaged flex output.
       > ***
       > make: *** [/nix/store/6b32jb8hixjmk0ncvg71iinig658c5kp-postgresql-15.14/lib/pgxs/src/makefiles/../../src/Makefile.global:788: src/backend/parser/ag_scanner.c] Error 1
       For full logs, run:
         nix log /nix/store/8k6g7axljxkn4fkmnbxi5r5d3bs2ibcp-age-1.5.0.drv

This just makes me dislike Nix.

Anyways, I'll just run 2 instances and connect them with FDW.