nitric start provisions local PostgreSQL container without sql() resource or preview flag

[tom-groves]

Description

When running nitric start, the CLI automatically provisions a PostgreSQL container named nitric-{project-name}-local-sql, even when:

1. No sql() resource is used anywhere in the codebase
2. The preview: sql-databases flag is not enabled in nitric.yaml

Environment

• Nitric CLI version: 1.61.1
• OS: macOS (Darwin 25.3.0)
• Node/Bun: Bun 1.x

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a project with nitric.yaml containing only basic service configuration:

   name: my-project
   services:
     - match: ./src/apps/*/main.ts
       start: bun run $SERVICE_PATH
       type: default

2. Ensure no preview: section exists
3. Ensure no sql() imports from @nitric/sdk in any source files
4. Run nitric start
5. Check Docker containers: docker ps | grep sql

Expected Behavior

No PostgreSQL container should be provisioned since:

• The project doesn't use sql() resources
• The sql-databases preview feature is not enabled

Actual Behavior

A container is created:

nitric-my-project-local-sql   postgres:17.6

Container details:

• Image: postgres:17.6
• Environment: POSTGRES_PASSWORD=localsecret
• Auto-remove: true

Impact

• Unnecessary resource consumption (Docker container running)
• Confusion for users who manage their own PostgreSQL separately

Questions

1. Is this intentional behavior in recent CLI versions?
2. Is there a way to disable automatic SQL container provisioning?
3. Should this require explicit opt-in via preview: sql-databases?

Additional Context

Our project uses a separate PostgreSQL instance via docker-compose with Drizzle ORM. The application connects via DATABASE_URL environment variable, not through Nitric's sql() resource.