diff --git a/src/commands/create-app-run.ts b/src/commands/create-app-run.ts
index cda0cd4..cc5b1a5 100644
--- a/src/commands/create-app-run.ts
+++ b/src/commands/create-app-run.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import type { Step, WizardState } from '../core/context.js'
 import { runSteps } from '../core/run-steps.js'
 import { checkUpdate } from '../steps/check-update.js'
 import { chooseDatabase } from '../steps/choose-database.js'
+import { chooseDatabaseType } from '../steps/choose-database-type.js'
 import { detectPm } from '../steps/detect-package-manager.js'
 import { downloadTemplate } from '../steps/download-template.js'
 import { installDeps } from '../steps/install-deps.js'
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ export const createAppSteps = [
   checkUpdate,
   promptAppName,
   phaseHeader('[1/3] Database setup'),
+  chooseDatabaseType,
   chooseDatabase,
   downloadTemplate,
   detectPm,
diff --git a/src/constants.ts b/src/constants.ts
index 99e648c..b7c1558 100644
--- a/src/constants.ts
+++ b/src/constants.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,26 @@
+import type { DbChoice } from './core/context.js'
+
+export const TEMPLATE_REPO = 'github:chaibuilder/chaibuilder-app'
+
+/** Template branch to pull for each database type. */
+export const TEMPLATE_BRANCHES: Record<DbChoice, string> = {
+  sqlite: 'main',
+  postgres: 'postgres',
+}
+
 export const TEMPLATE_SOURCE =
-  process.env.CHAIBUILDER_TEMPLATE ?? 'github:chaibuilder/chaibuilder-app#main'
+  process.env.CHAIBUILDER_TEMPLATE ?? `${TEMPLATE_REPO}#${TEMPLATE_BRANCHES.sqlite}`
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the template source for the chosen database. Postgres pulls the
+ * `postgres` branch; SQLite pulls `main`. A `CHAIBUILDER_TEMPLATE` env override
+ * (used in tests / local dev) always wins.
+ */
+export function templateSource(dbChoice: DbChoice): string {
+  if (process.env.CHAIBUILDER_TEMPLATE) return process.env.CHAIBUILDER_TEMPLATE
+  return `${TEMPLATE_REPO}#${TEMPLATE_BRANCHES[dbChoice]}`
+}
+
 export const DEFAULT_APP_NAME = 'my-chai-app'
 export const JSON_PROTOCOL_PREFIX = 'CHAI_JSON:'
 export const REQUIRED_ENV_VARS = [
diff --git a/src/core/context.ts b/src/core/context.ts
index e29c49a..08581a0 100644
--- a/src/core/context.ts
+++ b/src/core/context.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-export type DbChoice = 'sqlite'
+export type DbChoice = 'sqlite' | 'postgres'
 export type PackageManager = 'pnpm' | 'npm' | 'yarn' | 'bun'
 
 export type WizardState = {
diff --git a/src/lib/postgres-url.ts b/src/lib/postgres-url.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a7920a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/postgres-url.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import { dequoteUrl } from './sqlite-url.js'
+
+/**
+ * Loose shape check for a PostgreSQL connection URL.
+ * Accepts postgres:// and postgresql:// URLs with a hostname.
+ */
+export function validatePostgresUrlShape(url: string): string | undefined {
+  const cleaned = dequoteUrl(url)
+  if (!cleaned) return 'URL is required'
+  if (!/^postgres(ql)?:\/\//i.test(cleaned)) {
+    return 'URL must start with postgres:// or postgresql://'
+  }
+  try {
+    const parsed = new URL(cleaned)
+    if (!parsed.hostname) return 'URL must include a hostname'
+  } catch {
+    return 'Invalid database URL'
+  }
+  return undefined
+}
diff --git a/src/steps/choose-database-type.ts b/src/steps/choose-database-type.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e616f3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/steps/choose-database-type.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import type { Step } from '../core/context.js'
+import { CliError } from '../core/errors.js'
+import { validatePostgresUrlShape } from '../lib/postgres-url.js'
+import { dequoteUrl } from '../lib/sqlite-url.js'
+
+export const chooseDatabaseType: Step = async (ctx, ports) => {
+  const type = await ports.prompts.select({
+    message: 'Database type',
+    options: [
+      { value: 'sqlite' as const, label: 'SQLite', hint: 'local file or libSQL/Turso' },
+      { value: 'postgres' as const, label: 'PostgreSQL', hint: 'connection url' },
+    ],
+    initialValue: 'sqlite',
+  })
+  if (ports.prompts.isCancel(type)) throw new CliError('Cancelled')
+
+  if (type === 'sqlite') {
+    return { dbChoice: 'sqlite' }
+  }
+
+  const previous =
+    ctx.dbChoice === 'postgres' && ctx.databaseUrl ? ctx.databaseUrl : undefined
+  const raw = await ports.prompts.text({
+    message: 'PostgreSQL database URL',
+    placeholder: 'postgres://user:password@host:5432/dbname',
+    defaultValue: previous,
+    validate: (v) => validatePostgresUrlShape(v),
+  })
+  if (ports.prompts.isCancel(raw)) throw new CliError('Cancelled')
+  const url = dequoteUrl(String(raw))
+
+  return { dbChoice: 'postgres', databaseUrl: url, databaseAuthToken: undefined }
+}
diff --git a/src/steps/choose-database.ts b/src/steps/choose-database.ts
index 140fae7..3d6c0b3 100644
--- a/src/steps/choose-database.ts
+++ b/src/steps/choose-database.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ import { createClient } from '@libsql/client'
 const LOCAL_DB_URL = 'file:./local.db'
 
 export const chooseDatabase: Step = async (ctx, ports) => {
+  // Postgres is fully configured in the database-type step; nothing to do here.
+  if (ctx.dbChoice === 'postgres') return {}
+
   const mode = await ports.prompts.select({
     message: 'SQLite database',
     options: [
diff --git a/src/steps/download-template.ts b/src/steps/download-template.ts
index cea95cb..0697fa1 100644
--- a/src/steps/download-template.ts
+++ b/src/steps/download-template.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { TEMPLATE_SOURCE } from '../constants.js'
+import { templateSource } from '../constants.js'
 import type { Step } from '../core/context.js'
 import { CliError } from '../core/errors.js'
 
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ export const downloadTemplate: Step = async (ctx, ports) => {
   const spinner = ports.log.taskSpinner({ leadingBlank: true })
   spinner.start('Downloading template…')
   try {
-    await ports.template.download(TEMPLATE_SOURCE, ctx.appDir)
+    await ports.template.download(templateSource(ctx.dbChoice), ctx.appDir)
     spinner.stop('Template downloaded')
   } catch (err) {
     spinner.error('Template download failed')
diff --git a/tests/commands/create-app.test.ts b/tests/commands/create-app.test.ts
index be78ecb..098af5a 100644
--- a/tests/commands/create-app.test.ts
+++ b/tests/commands/create-app.test.ts
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ describe('runCreateApp', () => {
       fs,
       template,
       exec: seededExec(fs),
-      prompts: createScriptedPrompts(['my-app', 'local', 'admin@example.com', 'password123']),
+      prompts: createScriptedPrompts(['my-app', 'sqlite', 'local', 'admin@example.com', 'password123']),
       randomBytes: fixedRandomBytes(0x22),
       log: createFakeLogger(),
     })
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ describe('runCreateApp', () => {
       exec: seededExec(fs),
       prompts: createScriptedPrompts([
         'remote-app',
+        'sqlite',
         'remote',
         'libsql://my-db.turso.io',
         'tok_abc',
@@ -91,6 +92,35 @@ describe('runCreateApp', () => {
     expect(env.DATABASE_AUTH_TOKEN).toBe('tok_abc')
   })
 
+  it('postgres writes connection url and pulls the postgres template', async () => {
+    const fs = createFakeFs('/work')
+    const template = createFakeTemplate()
+    template.download = async (source, dest) => {
+      template.downloads.push({ source, dest })
+      await seedTemplateFiles(fs, dest)
+    }
+    const ports = createFakePorts({
+      fs,
+      template,
+      exec: seededExec(fs),
+      prompts: createScriptedPrompts([
+        'pg-app',
+        'postgres',
+        'postgres://user:pass@db.example.com:5432/mydb',
+        'admin@example.com',
+        'password123',
+      ]),
+    })
+
+    const state = await runCreateApp(ports, { userAgent: 'pnpm/9' })
+    expect(state.dbChoice).toBe('postgres')
+    expect(template.downloads[0]?.source).toBe('github:chaibuilder/chaibuilder-app#postgres')
+    const env = parseEnv(await fs.readFile(`${state.appDir}/.env`))
+    expect(env.DATABASE_URL).toBe('postgres://user:pass@db.example.com:5432/mydb')
+    expect(env.DATABASE_AUTH_TOKEN).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(env.PAYLOAD_SECRET).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+
   it('migrate failure', async () => {
     const fs = createFakeFs('/work')
     const template = createFakeTemplate()
@@ -106,7 +136,7 @@ describe('runCreateApp', () => {
       fs,
       template,
       exec,
-      prompts: createScriptedPrompts(['fail-app', 'local', 'admin@example.com', 'password123']),
+      prompts: createScriptedPrompts(['fail-app', 'sqlite', 'local', 'admin@example.com', 'password123']),
     })
 
     await expect(runCreateApp(ports, { userAgent: 'pnpm/9' })).rejects.toThrow(/process\.exit/)
diff --git a/tests/lib/postgres-url.test.ts b/tests/lib/postgres-url.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..be5c2a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/lib/postgres-url.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { validatePostgresUrlShape } from '../../src/lib/postgres-url.js'
+
+describe('validatePostgresUrlShape', () => {
+  it('accepts postgres/postgresql urls', () => {
+    expect(validatePostgresUrlShape('postgres://user:pass@host:5432/db')).toBeUndefined()
+    expect(validatePostgresUrlShape('postgresql://user@host/db')).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
+  it('rejects empty', () => {
+    expect(validatePostgresUrlShape('   ')).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+
+  it('rejects bad scheme', () => {
+    expect(validatePostgresUrlShape('mysql://localhost/db')).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(validatePostgresUrlShape('libsql://my-db.turso.io')).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+
+  it('rejects missing host', () => {
+    expect(validatePostgresUrlShape('postgres://')).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/tests/steps/choose-database-type.test.ts b/tests/steps/choose-database-type.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dddd814
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/steps/choose-database-type.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { CliError } from '../../src/core/errors.js'
+import type { WizardState } from '../../src/core/context.js'
+import { chooseDatabaseType } from '../../src/steps/choose-database-type.js'
+import { createFakePorts, createScriptedPrompts } from '../fakes.js'
+
+const base: WizardState = {
+  appName: 'app',
+  appDir: '/tmp/app',
+  packageManager: 'pnpm',
+  dbChoice: 'sqlite',
+  databaseUrl: '',
+}
+
+describe('chooseDatabaseType', () => {
+  it('sqlite defers to the sqlite step', async () => {
+    const ports = createFakePorts({ prompts: createScriptedPrompts(['sqlite']) })
+    const patch = await chooseDatabaseType(base, ports)
+    expect(patch).toEqual({ dbChoice: 'sqlite' })
+  })
+
+  it('postgres captures the connection url', async () => {
+    const ports = createFakePorts({
+      prompts: createScriptedPrompts(['postgres', 'postgres://user:pass@host:5432/db']),
+    })
+    const patch = await chooseDatabaseType(base, ports)
+    expect(patch).toEqual({
+      dbChoice: 'postgres',
+      databaseUrl: 'postgres://user:pass@host:5432/db',
+      databaseAuthToken: undefined,
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('accepts a postgresql:// url and strips quotes', async () => {
+    const ports = createFakePorts({
+      prompts: createScriptedPrompts(['postgres', '  "postgresql://u:p@host/db"  ']),
+    })
+    const patch = await chooseDatabaseType(base, ports)
+    expect(patch.databaseUrl).toBe('postgresql://u:p@host/db')
+  })
+
+  it('rejects a non-postgres url via validate', async () => {
+    const ports = createFakePorts({
+      prompts: createScriptedPrompts(['postgres', 'mysql://localhost/db']),
+    })
+    await expect(chooseDatabaseType(base, ports)).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(Error)
+  })
+
+  it('throws on cancel', async () => {
+    const ports = createFakePorts({ prompts: createScriptedPrompts(['CANCEL']) })
+    await expect(chooseDatabaseType(base, ports)).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(CliError)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/tests/steps/choose-database.test.ts b/tests/steps/choose-database.test.ts
index 7d1cd1a..691c7d5 100644
--- a/tests/steps/choose-database.test.ts
+++ b/tests/steps/choose-database.test.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,15 @@ describe('chooseDatabase', () => {
     await expect(chooseDatabase(base, ports)).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(Error)
   })
 
+  it('is a no-op when postgres was already chosen', async () => {
+    const ports = createFakePorts({ prompts: createScriptedPrompts([]) })
+    const patch = await chooseDatabase(
+      { ...base, dbChoice: 'postgres', databaseUrl: 'postgres://u:p@h:5432/db' },
+      ports,
+    )
+    expect(patch).toEqual({})
+  })
+
   it('throws on cancel', async () => {
     const ports = createFakePorts({ prompts: createScriptedPrompts(['CANCEL']) })
     await expect(chooseDatabase(base, ports)).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(CliError)
diff --git a/tests/steps/download-template.test.ts b/tests/steps/download-template.test.ts
index 2e888d2..4782ebf 100644
--- a/tests/steps/download-template.test.ts
+++ b/tests/steps/download-template.test.ts
@@ -13,12 +13,20 @@ const ctx: WizardState = {
 }
 
 describe('downloadTemplate', () => {
-  it('happy path', async () => {
+  it('happy path pulls the main branch for sqlite', async () => {
     const template = createFakeTemplate()
     const ports = createFakePorts({ template })
     await downloadTemplate(ctx, ports)
     expect(template.downloads).toHaveLength(1)
     expect(template.downloads[0]?.dest).toBe(ctx.appDir)
+    expect(template.downloads[0]?.source).toBe('github:chaibuilder/chaibuilder-app#main')
+  })
+
+  it('pulls the postgres branch for postgres', async () => {
+    const template = createFakeTemplate()
+    const ports = createFakePorts({ template })
+    await downloadTemplate({ ...ctx, dbChoice: 'postgres' }, ports)
+    expect(template.downloads[0]?.source).toBe('github:chaibuilder/chaibuilder-app#postgres')
   })
 
   it('failure wraps CliError', async () => {