Drizzle <> SQLite

Drizzle has native support for SQLite connections with the libsql and better-sqlite3 drivers.

There are a few differences between the libsql and better-sqlite3 drivers that we discovered while using both and integrating them with the Drizzle ORM. For example:

At the driver level, there may not be many differences between the two, but the main one is that libSQL can connect to both SQLite files and Turso remote databases. LibSQL is a fork of SQLite that offers a bit more functionality compared to standard SQLite, such as:

• More ALTER statements are available with the libSQL driver, allowing you to manage your schema more easily than with just better-sqlite3.
• You can configure the encryption at rest feature natively.
• A large set of extensions supported by the SQLite database is also supported by libSQL.

libsql

Step 1 - Install packages

npm i drizzle-orm @libsql/client
npm i -D drizzle-kit

yarn add drizzle-orm @libsql/client
yarn add -D drizzle-kit

pnpm add drizzle-orm @libsql/client
pnpm add -D drizzle-kit

bun add drizzle-orm @libsql/client
bun add -D drizzle-kit

Step 2 - Initialize the driver and make a query

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/connect';

const db = await drizzle("libsql", process.env.DATABASE_URL);
 
const result = await db.execute('select 1');

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/connect';

// You can specify any property from the libsql connection options
const db = await drizzle("libsql", { connection: { url:'', authToken: '' }});
 
const result = await db.execute('select 1');

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/connect';

// You can specify any property from the libsql connection options
const db = await drizzle("turso", { connection: { url:'', authToken: '' }});
 
const result = await db.execute('select 1');

If you need a synchronous connection, you can use our additional connection API, where you specify a driver connection and pass it to the Drizzle instance.

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/libsql';
import { createClient } from '@libsql/client';

const client = createClient({ url: process.env.DATABASE_URL, authToken: process.env.DATABASE_AUTH_TOKEN });
const db = drizzle(client);

const result = await db.execute('select 1');

better-sqlite3

Step 1 - Install packages

npm i drizzle-orm better-sqlite3
npm i -D drizzle-kit @types/better-sqlite3

yarn add drizzle-orm better-sqlite3
yarn add -D drizzle-kit @types/better-sqlite3

pnpm add drizzle-orm better-sqlite3
pnpm add -D drizzle-kit @types/better-sqlite3

bun add drizzle-orm better-sqlite3
bun add -D drizzle-kit @types/better-sqlite3

Step 2 - Initialize the driver and make a query

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/connect';

const db = await drizzle("better-sqlite3", process.env.DATABASE_URL);

const result = await db.execute('select 1');

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/connect';

// You can specify any property from the better-sqlite3 connection options
const db = await drizzle("better-sqlite3", { connection: { source: process.env.DATABASE_URL }});

const result = await db.execute('select 1');

If you need a synchronous connection, you can use our additional connection API, where you specify a driver connection and pass it to the Drizzle instance.

import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/better-sqlite3';
import Database from 'better-sqlite3';

const sqlite = new Database('sqlite.db');
const db = drizzle(sqlite);

const result = await db.execute('select 1');

What’s next?