# Use Supabase with Refine

Learn how to create a Supabase project, add some sample data to your database, and query the data from a Refine app.



## 1. Create a Supabase project

To start, you need a Supabase project.

Create a new Supabase project from [the Dashboard of any organization](/dashboard/new/_) you belong to.

Note: Use [the Management API](/docs/reference/api/v1-create-a-project) or ask [the MCP server](/docs/guides/ai-tools/mcp#account-management) to create a new Supabase project.

## 2. Set up your database

When your Supabase project is up and running, create an `instruments` table with some sample data. Then set only the privileges each Postgres role needs, add [Row Level Security (RLS)](/docs/guides/database/postgres/row-level-security) for enhanced security for database data by default, and create an RLS policy to make the data in the table publicly readable.

Do these steps within your project's dashboard by copying and running the snippet in your project's [SQL Editor](/dashboard/project/_/sql/new).

Note: Save some steps by clicking here to prefill the SQL in the SQL Editor, and then clicking **Run**.

Note: You can use [the Management API](/docs/reference/api/v1-run-a-query) or ask [the MCP server](/docs/guides/ai-tools/mcp#database) to execute SQL queries.

```sql SQL_EDITOR
-- Create the table
create table instruments (
  id bigint primary key generated always as identity,
  name text not null
);

-- Insert sample data into the table
insert into instruments (name)
values
  ('violin'),
  ('viola'),
  ('cello');

-- Grant the privileges the role needs, which is read access
grant select on public.instruments to anon;

-- Enable row level security for the table
alter table instruments enable row level security;

-- Create a policy to allow the anon role to read from the instruments table
create policy "public can read instruments"
on public.instruments
for select to anon
using (true);
```

Note: If you disabled the Data API during project setup, enable it in the [**Integrations > Data API**](/dashboard/project/_/integrations/data_api/settings) section of the Dashboard and expose the specific tables or functions you want to access. To automatically grant access for new tables and functions in `public`, enable **Automatically expose new tables**.

## 3. Create a Refine app

Create a [Refine](https://github.com/refinedev/refine) app using the [create refine-app](https://refine.dev/docs/getting-started/quickstart/).

The `refine-supabase` preset adds `@refinedev/supabase` supplementary package that supports Supabase in a Refine app. `@refinedev/supabase` out-of-the-box includes the Supabase dependency: [supabase-js](https://github.com/supabase/supabase-js).

```bash
npm create refine-app@latest -- --preset refine-supabase my-app
```

Note: The CLI may prompt for an email address. The `refine-supabase` preset also ships with demo Supabase credentials. Replace them in step 5 with your own project.

To skip the email prompt in a non-interactive shell, pipe a blank line:

```bash
printf '\n' | npm create refine-app@latest -- --preset refine-supabase my-app
```

## 4. Set up AI tooling (optional)

Supabase provides two ways to give AI tools context about your project: Agent Skills, which give your AI coding agent procedural knowledge, and the MCP server, which connects AI assistants to your Supabase project directly.

### Agent Skills

[Agent Skills](/docs/guides/ai-tools/ai-skills) is a curated set of instructions that give your AI agent procedural knowledge about working with Supabase.

Install them so your AI coding agent can produce more accurate, reliable code using current Supabase patterns, such as authentication, server-side rendering, and database migrations, rather than relying solely on training data.

#### Installing Agent Skills

To install, run the following command in the root of your project:

```bash
npx skills add supabase/agent-skills
```

### Supabase MCP server

The Supabase MCP server connects AI assistants to Supabase, so they can inspect your schema and act on your projects on your behalf. Find out how to add it to your client in [the MCP docs](/docs/guides/ai-tools/mcp).

## 5. Update `supabaseClient` with environment variables

Create a `.env` file and populate it with your Supabase URL and publishable key, which you can get from the helper below, or [from the project **Connect** panel](/dashboard/project/_?showConnect=true\&framework=refine\&connectTab=frameworks).

Open Connect panel

```text name=.env
VITE_SUPABASE_URL=<SUBSTITUTE_SUPABASE_URL>
VITE_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=<SUBSTITUTE_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY>
```

The `refine-supabase` preset hardcodes Refine's own demo Supabase project in `src/providers/constants.ts`, and initializes the client from it in `src/providers/supabase-client.ts`. Replace the hardcoded values so the client reads your project credentials from the environment variables above instead:

```ts name=src/providers/constants.ts
export const SUPABASE_URL = import.meta.env.VITE_SUPABASE_URL
export const SUPABASE_KEY = import.meta.env.VITE_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
```

The `supabaseClient` is used by the auth and data providers to connect your Refine app to Supabase.

### Get API details

To interact with data in database tables, you use the client libraries that wrap [the auto-generated Data API endpoints](/docs/guides/api), authenticating using the Project URL and key from [the project **Connect** dialog](/dashboard/project/_?showConnect=true\&connectTab=frameworks\&framework=refine).





Note: See [API keys](/docs/guides/getting-started/api-keys) for a full explanation of all key types, their uses, and where to find them.

## 6. Add instruments resource and pages

Use the following code to automatically add resources and generate code for the pages to show the `instruments` data using Refine Inferencer.

This defines pages for `list`, `create`, `show` and `edit` actions inside the `src/pages/instruments/` directory with a `<HeadlessInferencer />` component.

The `<HeadlessInferencer />` component depends on `@refinedev/react-table`, `@refinedev/react-hook-form`, and `react-live` packages. To avoid errors, install them as dependencies:

```bash
npm install @refinedev/react-table @refinedev/react-hook-form react-live
```

Note: The `<HeadlessInferencer />` is a Refine Inferencer component that automatically generates necessary code for the `list`, `create`, `show` and `edit` pages.

Read more on [how the Inferencer works is in the Refine docs](https://refine.dev/docs/packages/documentation/inferencer/).

```bash
npm run refine create-resource instruments
```

## 7. Add routes for instruments pages

Add routes for the `list`, `create`, `show`, and `edit` pages.

Note: Remove the `index` route for the Welcome page presented with the `<Welcome />` component.

```tsx name=src/App.tsx
import { Refine } from '@refinedev/core'
import { RefineKbar, RefineKbarProvider } from '@refinedev/kbar'
import routerProvider, {
  DocumentTitleHandler,
  NavigateToResource,
  UnsavedChangesNotifier,
} from '@refinedev/react-router'
import { liveProvider } from '@refinedev/supabase'
import { BrowserRouter, Route, Routes } from 'react-router'

import './App.css'

import {
  InstrumentsCreate,
  InstrumentsEdit,
  InstrumentsList,
  InstrumentsShow,
} from './pages/instruments'
import authProvider from './providers/auth'
import { dataProvider } from './providers/data'
import { supabaseClient } from './providers/supabase-client'

function App() {
  return (
    <BrowserRouter>
      <RefineKbarProvider>
        <Refine
          dataProvider={dataProvider}
          liveProvider={liveProvider(supabaseClient)}
          authProvider={authProvider}
          routerProvider={routerProvider}
          options={{
            syncWithLocation: true,
            warnWhenUnsavedChanges: true,
          }}
          resources={[
            {
              name: 'instruments',
              list: '/instruments',
              create: '/instruments/create',
              edit: '/instruments/edit/:id',
              show: '/instruments/show/:id',
            },
          ]}
        >
          <Routes>
            <Route index element={<NavigateToResource resource="instruments" />} />
            <Route path="/instruments">
              <Route index element={<InstrumentsList />} />
              <Route path="create" element={<InstrumentsCreate />} />
              <Route path="edit/:id" element={<InstrumentsEdit />} />
              <Route path="show/:id" element={<InstrumentsShow />} />
            </Route>
          </Routes>
          <RefineKbar />
          <UnsavedChangesNotifier />
          <DocumentTitleHandler />
        </Refine>
      </RefineKbarProvider>
    </BrowserRouter>
  )
}

export default App
```

## 8. Allow writes to the instruments table

The scaffolded pages create and edit instruments, but the database setup in step 2 grants read access only. Without write privileges and matching policies, the create and edit pages fail with `permission denied for table instruments`.

Run the following in the [SQL Editor](/dashboard/project/_/sql/new) to grant the privileges and add the policies:

```sql SQL_EDITOR
grant insert, update, delete on public.instruments to anon;

create policy "public can insert instruments"
on public.instruments
for insert to anon
with check (true);

create policy "public can update instruments"
on public.instruments
for update to anon
using (true)
with check (true);

create policy "public can delete instruments"
on public.instruments
for delete to anon
using (true);
```

Caution: These policies let anyone with your publishable key modify the `instruments` table. They exist so you can try the scaffolded UI against sample data. Scope writes to authenticated users before you put real data in this table.

## 9. Start the app

Run the development server, then open `/instruments` in your browser (Vite defaults to [http://localhost:5173](http://localhost:5173)). You should see the instruments pages along the `/instruments` routes. You can edit and add new instruments using the Inferencer-generated UI.

```bash
npm run dev
```

The Inferencer auto-generated code gives you a good starting point on which to keep building your `list`, `create`, `show` and `edit` pages. You can get these by clicking the `Show the auto-generated code` buttons in their respective pages.

## Production requirements

The quickstart procedure in this guide optimizes for getting you to a working app, not for production.

Before you deploy:

- If your app reads or writes through the Data API, review your [Row Level Security](/docs/guides/database/postgres/row-level-security) policies. Any policy you added here is scoped to this quickstart's sample data, not to real user data.
- Set your Supabase credentials as environment variables on whatever platform you deploy to, rather than committing them to source control.
- Configure a [custom domain](/docs/guides/platform/custom-domains) for your Supabase project once you're ready to go live.

## Next steps

- Set up [Auth](/docs/guides/auth) for your app
- [Insert more data](/docs/guides/database/import-data) into your database
- Upload and serve static files using [Storage](/docs/guides/storage)