Neon Realtime Skill for Claude Code: What It Does and How to Install It

Makes your assistant build apps and agents on Neon Realtime, where any SQL query can be live.

Installs: 10.6K; on skills.sh
Stars: 108; on GitHub
Files: 5; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

SKILL.md teaches the core pattern: define a read-only SQL query on the server, seal it, and subscribe from the client to get the initial result and then each committed change. Writes go through your own API and return a transaction id for optimistic updates.

It loads when app or agent state must update live from database rows. It needs the Neon CLI and a Neon project. It bundles 5 reference files and points to the parent neon skill first.

Good for

Developers building dashboards, feeds or collaborative views from database rows
Teams replacing polling or another sync system
People building agents that react to database changes

Install neon-realtime

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the neon-realtime skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add neondatabase/agent-skills --skill neon --skill neon-realtime

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js, A Neon account.

Install the parent neon skill with this one: SKILL.md starts with 'Use the parent neon skill', and the commands here use the Neon CLI. The parent neon skill gives the CLI install (npm i -g neon, plus bun, pnpm or brew variants) and sign-in (neon login). The plugin route installs the neon-postgres plugin: 9 skill folders and the Neon MCP server (https://mcp.neon.tech/mcp), which asks you to sign in with Neon over OAuth on first use. The folder routes copy skills only. There is no Claude app upload route because the skill drives the Neon CLI.

Built from the package data we hold. Not yet tested by us.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Neon Realtime makes any SQL query live. Build realtime, reactive apps and agents on Lakebase Postgres with live SQL queries and reactivity primitives. Use when app UI or agent state must update live from database rows (dashboards, feeds, collaboration, multi-user or multi-device sync), for optimistic mutations, or to replace polling or other realtime sync systems. Triggers include "live query", "subscribe", "sync engine", "useLiveQuery", "TanStack DB", "optimistic updates", "@neon/realtime". For push that doesn't come from database rows (presence, typing, LLM streams), use neon-functions.

Sections in SKILL.md

How It Works
Core Pattern
Choose the Stack
Setup
Define and Seal Queries
Subscribe
Optimistic Writes
Server-Side Rendering
More Docs

Key facts

Author: Neon (neondatabase/agent-skills, vendor's own repo)
Repo: neondatabase/agent-skills
License: Apache-2.0 (LICENSE and plugin.json agree)
Installs on skills.sh: 10,644 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 108 for the whole neondatabase/agent-skills repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Last repo commit: Oct 30, 2026
Audits on skills.sh: Gen Agent Trust Hub: pass, Socket: pass, Snyk: pass
What it includes: 6 files: SKILL.md and 5 in references/ (counted from the repo tree)
Needs: The parent neon skill, the Neon CLI and a Neon account (the parent skill gives npm i -g neon)
Part of plugin: neon-postgres (9 skill folders and the Neon MCP server)

What it includes

Define a live query on the server, seal it, and subscribe from the client.
Sealing uses NEON_REALTIME_SECRET. The client receives the initial result, then each committed transaction as a batch.
Try: “Make this dashboard update live.”
Write · Core pattern
Maps your ORM or framework to an adapter: Drizzle, Kysely, rawSql, React, TanStack DB.
SKILL.md lists 6 options.
Read · Choose the stack
Starts a new app from the realtime-react template.
Runs code · neon bootstrap my-app --template realtime-react
Enables Realtime on the linked branch with an allowed origin.
Runs code · neon realtime enable
Writes DATABASE_URL, NEON_REALTIME_URL and NEON_REALTIME_SECRET.
Runs code · neon env pull --service realtime
Read-only, deterministic SELECT queries with authorization checks.
references/queries.md covers Kysely and server functions.
Write · Define and seal queries
useLiveQuery, client.subscribe and realtime.subscribe for agents and workers.
Write · Subscribe
Returns the txid from the write and waits with awaitTxId().
Write · Optimistic writes
Next.js and TanStack Start rendering of live queries.
Write · Server-side rendering
Prints a query initial result and each transaction change until you stop it.
Runs code · neon realtime subscribe

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

Sealed queries act like bearer tokens
SKILL.md says a sealed query is a bearer token: keep it out of URLs, logs and persistent storage, and never fill its parameters from unchecked input. github.com
The Realtime secret must stay on the server
neon env pull writes NEON_REALTIME_SECRET. SKILL.md says to expose only the URL to the browser, under your framework public prefix. github.com
You write the access checks
SKILL.md says to authorize in the query by checking the session before sealing, and notes row level security is not supported yet. A missed check can show one user another user rows. github.com
It is a beta feature
SKILL.md says Realtime is new and in beta, and that delivery of every change event is not guaranteed. github.com

Technical details

Turning on read-only	No read-only mode is documented. Live queries themselves are read-only SELECTs; writes go through your own API.
Talks to	Neon Realtime WebSocket service (NEON_REALTIME_URL). Neon API through the CLI
Sign-in and keys	Uses your Neon CLI sign-in or API key. NEON_REALTIME_SECRET is written to your env file.
Scopes	Runs the Neon CLI as your Neon account Enables Realtime on a Neon branch Writes NEON_REALTIME_SECRET into your env file Writes server and client code that reads live database rows

Questions

What does the neon-realtime skill do?

It helps your assistant build apps and agents on Neon Realtime, which makes any SQL query live. You define a read-only query on the server, seal it, and the client subscribes to updates, with optimistic writes.

How do I install it?

Use the install box at the top of this page. It installs the parent neon skill with this one, because SKILL.md starts by pointing to the neon skill. You also need the Neon CLI and a Neon account.

Is it the official Neon skill?

Yes. It is in Neon's own agent-skills repo, and the repo's marketplace file calls its plugins official Neon plugins for Claude Code.

Does it work in the Claude app?

The install box has no Claude app upload route, because the skill drives the Neon CLI on your machine.

Is Realtime stable?

No. SKILL.md says Realtime is new and in beta, so its APIs are not in the model training data. The skill tells the assistant to read each section reference file before writing that code.

Does it replace Electric or polling?

SKILL.md says it can replace polling and other realtime sync systems. Its Electric migration note says Realtime is a drop-in replacement for Electric's role in your stack: live SQL queries replace shapes, and realtimeCollectionOptions() replaces electricCollectionOptions().

Is it safe?

It writes code that exposes live database rows to clients, so access checks matter. Our advice: review each query authorization and keep the secret off the client.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: neondatabase/agent-skills
Folder: skills/neon-realtime

neondatabase/agent-skills skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 6

neondatabase/agent-skills README · github.com
neon marketplace.json · github.com
neon plugin.json · github.com
neon mcp.json · github.com
neon SKILL.md (parent skill) · github.com
neon-realtime SKILL.md · github.com