# `NeonDbError: password authentication failed for user 'neondb_owner'`

**Where it appears:** Terminal or Vercel runtime logs

**What it means:** Your app reached the Neon database, but the password inside `DATABASE_URL` is wrong or was reset.

## Likely causes

- `DATABASE_URL` in `.env.local` was copied incompletely or has extra spaces/quotes around it.
- The database role password was reset in Neon without pulling the updated environment variables.

## Message for your agent

```text
The database says `password authentication failed`. Pull fresh development environment settings with `npx vercel env pull .env.local` (never print `DATABASE_URL`) and test the connection again.
```

**Prevention:** Use `npx vercel env pull .env.local` to sync the development database URL instead of copying it by hand.

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Source: [Agentic Makers](https://agenticmakers.app/en/help/errors/postgres-password-authentication-failed-for-user) · License: CC BY 4.0