# A temporary database for coding agents, no account

> npx scribase init --temp gives a coding agent a real backend: Postgres, auth, storage, realtime, no account and no pasted key. Lives 72 hours; claim to keep it.

Source: https://scribase.com/use-cases/temporary-database-for-agents

Run npx scribase init --temp --yes --json in the project folder. It detects the framework, creates a temporary project, writes the env file with the framework's variable names and a small client module, and prints one JSON object with the project URL and a claim URL. The project lives 72 hours. Claim it and it moves to your account unchanged.

## The pains this solves

- An agent that stops to ask you to sign up and copy keys before it can write any code
- Pasting secret keys into an agent chat
- Throwaway databases that are never cleaned up

## How Scribase addresses it

**No account, no pasted key** — The agent gets a token scoped to that one project in the env file, so it can keep running SQL and migrations. The token expires with the project.

**Claim to keep it** — Open the claim URL and sign up or sign in: free for 14 days, no card. The project moves to your account with the same URL and the same keys; nothing to reconfigure.

**Deleted when it expires** — An unclaimed project is deleted, with its database, after 72 hours. While unclaimed it has small caps, its auth sends no email, and edge functions deploy only after the claim.

## FAQ

**What command does the agent run?**

npx scribase init --temp --yes --json in the project root. It works with Next.js, Expo, Vite and plain Node projects and writes the env file with the variable names that framework expects.

**What happens after the time runs out?**

If nobody claims the project within 72 hours, it is deleted with its database. Claimed projects keep running on your account.

**Are there other short-lived databases?**

Yes. Every remote MCP session gets its own scratch database for schema and policy tests, dropped when the session ends, and preview environments can be created with a TTL so they delete themselves.