Introduction

Vercel is a cloud platform that allows developers to deploy and scale serverless applications. It supports a wide range of frameworks, including Next.js, React, Angular, Vue.js, and more. As web applications continue to grow in complexity and size, the need for scalable and reliable storage solutions becomes increasingly important. Vercel offers several storage options that can help meet these needs. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the different storage options offered by Vercel and their real-world use cases.

Vercel KV

Vercel KV is a simple and flexible key-value store that can be used to store and retrieve data in your web applications. It provides a lightweight and scalable solution for caching and other data storage needs.

How to use Vercel KV

To use Vercel KV in your Vercel project, you’ll need to install the @vercel/kv package from npm. Here’s an example of how to use Vercel KV to store and retrieve data:

const { get, set } = require('@vercel/kv');

async function handleRequest(request) {
  const url = new URL(request.url);
  const key = url.searchParams.get('key');

  if (key) {
    // Retrieve the value for the given key
    const value = await get(key);
    return new Response(value);
  } else {
    // Set the value for the given key
    const value = 'Hello, world!';
    await set('my-key', value);
    return new Response('Value set!');
  }
}

addEventListener('fetch', (event) => {
  event.respondWith(handleRequest(event.request));
});

Use cases for Vercel KV

Vercel KV can be used for a variety of use cases, including caching, rate limiting, and feature flagging. For example, you could use Vercel KV to cache responses from an external API, reducing the load on that API and improving performance for your users.

Vercel Postgres

Vercel Postgres is a fully managed PostgreSQL database service that can be used to store structured data in your web applications. It provides a reliable and scalable solution for storing and retrieving data.

How to use Vercel Postgres

To use Vercel Postgres in your Vercel project, you’ll need to create a new Postgres database on Vercel and obtain the database credentials. You can then use these credentials to connect to the database using a PostgreSQL client library in your web application. Here’s an example of how to connect to a Vercel Postgres database using the pg library:

const { Client } = require('pg');

const client = new Client({
  host: '<database-host>',
  port: '<database-port>',
  user: '<database-user>',
  password: '<database-password>',
  database: '<database-name>',
});

async function getTodos() {
  await client.connect();
  const res = await client.query('SELECT * FROM todos');
  await client.end();
  return res.rows;
}

Use cases for Vercel Postgres

Vercel Postgres can be used for a variety of use cases, including storing user data, managing product catalogs, and processing payments. For example, you could use Vercel Postgres to store user profiles and authentication data for your web application.

Vercel Blob

Vercel Blob is a fully managed object storage service that can be used to store and retrieve large unstructured data in your web applications. It provides a simple and scalable solution for storing files, images

How to use Vercel Blob

To use Vercel Blob in your Vercel project, you’ll need to install the @vercel/blob package from npm. Here’s an example of how to use Vercel Blob to store and retrieve a file:

const { createBlob, getBlob } = require('@vercel/blob');

async function handleRequest(request) {
  const url = new URL(request.url);
  const fileId = url.searchParams.get('fileId');

  if (fileId) {
    // Retrieve the file with the given ID
    const file = await getBlob('<project-name>', fileId);
    return new Response(await file.arrayBuffer(), {
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': file.type,
      },
    });
  } else {
    // Store a new file
    const formData = await request.formData();
    const file = formData.get('file');
    const fileId = await createBlob('<project-name>', file);
    return new Response(fileId);
  }
}

addEventListener('fetch', (event) => {
  event.respondWith(handleRequest(event.request));
});

Use cases for Vercel Blob

Vercel Blob can be used for a variety of use cases, including storing images, videos, and other large files. For example, you could use Vercel Blob to store user-generated content, such as profile pictures or videos.

Vercel Edge Config

Vercel Edge Config is a way to configure Vercel’s global CDN to modify or add headers, redirect traffic, or cache specific content. It provides a simple and effective solution for managing your application’s edge logic.

How to use Vercel Edge Config

To use Vercel Edge Config in your Vercel project, you’ll need to create a vercel.json file in the root directory of your project. Here’s an example of how to use Vercel Edge Config to set a cache-control header for specific paths:

{
  "headers": [
    {
      "source": "/images/:path*",
      "headers": [
        {
          "key": "cache-control",
          "value": "public, max-age=86400"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Use cases for Vercel Edge Config

Vercel Edge Config can be used for a variety of use cases, including setting cache control headers, redirecting traffic, and handling serverless functions. For example, you could use Vercel Edge Config to redirect users to a different page if they try to access a page that doesn’t exist.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve explored the different storage options offered by Vercel and their real-world use cases. Whether you’re looking for a simple key-value store or a fully managed database, Vercel has a storage option that can meet your needs. Additionally, Vercel Edge Config provides a way to manage your application’s edge logic, further enhancing the performance and scalability of your web application. By leveraging these storage options, you can build more robust and reliable web applications on Vercel.