diff --git a/samples/nextjs-postgres/README.md b/samples/nextjs-postgres/README.md
index 44ff243a..f2c3d999 100644
--- a/samples/nextjs-postgres/README.md
+++ b/samples/nextjs-postgres/README.md
@@ -25,6 +25,14 @@ For this sample, you will need to provide the following [configuration](https://
 ### `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`
 A password that will be used to connect to the Postgres database.
 
+## Database Configuration
+
+This sample is configured to work with standard PostgreSQL containers that don't have SSL enabled. The production configuration uses `POSTGRES_SSL: false` to ensure compatibility with the default `postgres:16` Docker image. If you're using a managed PostgreSQL service with SSL support, you can set `POSTGRES_SSL: true` in your compose.yaml file, or override it using `defang config`:
+
+```bash
+defang config set POSTGRES_SSL=true
+```
+
 
 ## Deploying
 
diff --git a/samples/nextjs-postgres/compose.yaml b/samples/nextjs-postgres/compose.yaml
index 4c6ebc11..8b8c4333 100644
--- a/samples/nextjs-postgres/compose.yaml
+++ b/samples/nextjs-postgres/compose.yaml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_HOST: database
       POSTGRES_PORT: 5432
       POSTGRES_DB: postgres
-      POSTGRES_SSL: true
+      POSTGRES_SSL: false
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3000" ]
     depends_on: