// advent-of-postgres
Advent of Postgres 2026
24 SQL puzzles, one a day from 1 to 24 December. Each one is a small problem from the North Pole platform team: failed deploys, error budgets, on-call rotas, outages. You solve it on a real Postgres database that you get for free, right in the browser.
How it works
Step 1
Open the day
A new puzzle opens at 00:00 UTC each day. Read the story and the tables.
Step 2
Write SQL
Create your free database with one click. The day’s data loads by itself, and you run queries on the page or with psql.
Step 3
Submit the answer
One answer per day. The early days are short; the later ones need window functions, ranges and recursive queries.
The calendar
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17
Day 18
Day 19
Day 20
Day 21
Day 22
Day 23
Day 24
Questions
- What database do I get?
- A real Postgres database on Neon, created for you when you press "Create my free database". It takes about five seconds and needs no account. Each day loads its data into its own schema, so you keep one database for the whole month.
- How long does it last?
- An unclaimed database lasts 72 hours. To keep it for the whole event, press "Keep it for the month" and claim it into a free Neon account. A few later puzzles use Neon branches, which need a claimed database.
- Can I use my own tools?
- Yes. "Connect with psql" shows the connection string, and every day also has a plain SQL file, so you can load the data into any Postgres 14 or later and solve it locally.
- Does DevOps Daily see my queries?
- No. Your browser sends queries straight to your own database on Neon. Our small API only asks Neon to create the database and the claim link, and it stores nothing.
- How are answers checked?
- In your browser, against a hash of the right answer. Your progress is saved in this browser only.