sqlite3 vs better-sqlite3 vs sqlite
SQLite Database Libraries Comparison
1 Year
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What's SQLite Database Libraries?

SQLite is a popular lightweight relational database engine that can be easily integrated into various applications, including those built with Node.js. SQLite Libraries enable Node.js applications to interact with SQLite databases efficiently. These libraries provide APIs for performing CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations, executing SQL queries, and managing database connections directly from JavaScript code. They are essential for applications that require lightweight, file-based databases for data storage, such as web apps, desktop apps, and server-side applications. SQLite is known for its simplicity, efficiency, and zero-configuration setup, making it a popular choice for developers.

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sqlite31,148,2866,2973.35 MB180a year agoBSD-3-Clause
better-sqlite3977,0995,89510.1 MB95a month agoMIT
sqlite159,68891298.5 kB4a year agoMIT
Feature Comparison: sqlite3 vs better-sqlite3 vs sqlite

API Style

  • sqlite3:

    sqlite3 provides a callback-based API for database operations, which can lead to callback hell if not managed properly. However, it also supports promises and streams, providing flexibility for different coding styles.

  • better-sqlite3:

    better-sqlite3 provides a synchronous API for all database operations, which simplifies the code and makes it easier to read and maintain. However, the synchronous nature means that it can block the event loop, so it is best suited for applications where blocking is not a concern.

  • sqlite:

    sqlite offers a promise-based API that supports both synchronous and asynchronous operations. This flexibility allows developers to choose the best approach for their application, making it easier to integrate with modern JavaScript features like async/await.

Performance

  • sqlite3:

    sqlite3 is known for its performance, especially when using prepared statements and streaming data. It is a reliable choice for applications that require efficient database interactions.

  • better-sqlite3:

    better-sqlite3 is designed for high performance, especially for read and write operations. Its synchronous API is optimized for speed, making it one of the fastest SQLite libraries for Node.js.

  • sqlite:

    sqlite is performant, but its promise-based nature may introduce slight overhead compared to synchronous operations. However, it is still suitable for most applications and provides good performance for both small and large datasets.

Streaming Support

  • sqlite3:

    sqlite3 has excellent streaming support, allowing developers to stream data from the database using cursors. This feature is particularly useful for handling large datasets without consuming too much memory.

  • better-sqlite3:

    better-sqlite3 does not natively support streaming data, as it is designed for synchronous operations. This limitation may be a drawback for applications that need to process large datasets in a memory-efficient manner.

  • sqlite:

    sqlite supports streaming through its promise-based API, allowing developers to handle large datasets more efficiently. This feature is useful for applications that need to process data in chunks rather than loading everything into memory at once.

Error Handling

  • sqlite3:

    sqlite3 uses callback-based error handling, which can be less intuitive but allows for immediate error handling within the callback functions. It also supports promise-based error handling when using the promise wrapper.

  • better-sqlite3:

    better-sqlite3 provides simple and straightforward error handling, as it throws errors for all failed operations. This makes it easy to catch and handle errors in a predictable manner.

  • sqlite:

    sqlite uses promise-based error handling, which allows for more flexible and modern error management. Developers can use try/catch blocks with async/await or .catch() with promises to handle errors gracefully.

Ease of Use: Code Examples

  • sqlite3:

    Simple CRUD Operations with sqlite3

    const sqlite3 = require('sqlite3').verbose();
    const db = new sqlite3.Database('mydb.sqlite');
    
    // Create a table
    db.run(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)`);
    
    // Insert a user
    const insert = db.prepare(`INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES (?)`);
    insert.run('Charlie');
    insert.finalize();
    
    // Query users
    db.all(`SELECT * FROM users`, [], (err, rows) => {
      if (err) throw err;
      console.log(rows);
    });
    
    // Close the database
    db.close();
    
  • better-sqlite3:

    Simple CRUD Operations with better-sqlite3

    const Database = require('better-sqlite3');
    const db = new Database('mydb.sqlite');
    
    // Create a table
    db.exec(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)`);
    
    // Insert a user
    const insert = db.prepare(`INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES (?)`);
    insert.run('Alice');
    
    // Query users
    const users = db.prepare(`SELECT * FROM users`).all();
    console.log(users);
    
    // Close the database
    db.close();
    
  • sqlite:

    Simple CRUD Operations with sqlite

    const { Database } = require('sqlite');
    const sqlite3 = require('sqlite3');
    
    async function main() {
      const db = await Database.open({
        filename: 'mydb.sqlite',
        driver: sqlite3.Database
      });
    
      // Create a table
      await db.exec(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)`);
    
      // Insert a user
      await db.run(`INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES (?)`, 'Bob');
    
      // Query users
      const users = await db.all(`SELECT * FROM users`);
      console.log(users);
    
      // Close the database
      await db.close();
    }
    
    main();
    
How to Choose: sqlite3 vs better-sqlite3 vs sqlite
  • sqlite3:

    Choose sqlite3 if you need a well-established, widely-used library with a focus on performance and low-level control. It is suitable for applications that require a robust solution with support for streaming, prepared statements, and a large community for support.

  • better-sqlite3:

    Choose better-sqlite3 if you need a fast, simple, and efficient library for SQLite with a synchronous API. It is ideal for applications where performance is critical and you prefer a straightforward interface without the complexity of asynchronous programming.

  • sqlite:

    Choose sqlite if you want a modern, promise-based API for SQLite that supports both synchronous and asynchronous operations. It is suitable for applications that require a more flexible approach to database interactions and benefit from the use of promises and async/await.

README for sqlite3

⚙️ node-sqlite3

Asynchronous, non-blocking SQLite3 bindings for Node.js.

Latest release Build Status FOSSA Status N-API v3 Badge N-API v6 Badge

Features

Installing

You can use npm or yarn to install sqlite3:

  • (recommended) Latest published package:
npm install sqlite3
# or
yarn add sqlite3
  • GitHub's master branch: npm install https://github.com/tryghost/node-sqlite3/tarball/master

Prebuilt binaries

sqlite3 v5+ was rewritten to use Node-API so prebuilt binaries do not need to be built for specific Node versions. sqlite3 currently builds for both Node-API v3 and v6. Check the Node-API version matrix to ensure your Node version supports one of these. The prebuilt binaries should be supported on Node v10+.

The module uses prebuild-install to download the prebuilt binary for your platform, if it exists. These binaries are hosted on GitHub Releases for sqlite3 versions above 5.0.2, and they are hosted on S3 otherwise. The following targets are currently provided:

  • darwin-arm64
  • darwin-x64
  • linux-arm64
  • linux-x64
  • linuxmusl-arm64
  • linuxmusl-x64
  • win32-ia32
  • win32-x64

Unfortunately, prebuild cannot differentiate between armv6 and armv7, and instead uses arm as the {arch}. Until that is fixed, you will still need to install sqlite3 from source.

Support for other platforms and architectures may be added in the future if CI supports building on them.

If your environment isn't supported, it'll use node-gyp to build SQLite, but you will need to install a C++ compiler and linker.

Other ways to install

It is also possible to make your own build of sqlite3 from its source instead of its npm package (See below.).

The sqlite3 module also works with node-webkit if node-webkit contains a supported version of Node.js engine. (See below.)

SQLite's SQLCipher extension is also supported. (See below.)

API

See the API documentation in the wiki.

Usage

Note: the module must be installed before use.

const sqlite3 = require('sqlite3').verbose();
const db = new sqlite3.Database(':memory:');

db.serialize(() => {
    db.run("CREATE TABLE lorem (info TEXT)");

    const stmt = db.prepare("INSERT INTO lorem VALUES (?)");
    for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
        stmt.run("Ipsum " + i);
    }
    stmt.finalize();

    db.each("SELECT rowid AS id, info FROM lorem", (err, row) => {
        console.log(row.id + ": " + row.info);
    });
});

db.close();

Source install

To skip searching for pre-compiled binaries, and force a build from source, use

npm install --build-from-source

The sqlite3 module depends only on libsqlite3. However, by default, an internal/bundled copy of sqlite will be built and statically linked, so an externally installed sqlite3 is not required.

If you wish to install against an external sqlite then you need to pass the --sqlite argument to npm wrapper:

npm install --build-from-source --sqlite=/usr/local

If building against an external sqlite3 make sure to have the development headers available. Mac OS X ships with these by default. If you don't have them installed, install the -dev package with your package manager, e.g. apt-get install libsqlite3-dev for Debian/Ubuntu. Make sure that you have at least libsqlite3 >= 3.6.

Note, if building against homebrew-installed sqlite on OS X you can do:

npm install --build-from-source --sqlite=/usr/local/opt/sqlite/

Custom file header (magic)

The default sqlite file header is "SQLite format 3". You can specify a different magic, though this will make standard tools and libraries unable to work with your files.

npm install --build-from-source --sqlite_magic="MyCustomMagic15"

Note that the magic must be exactly 15 characters long (16 bytes including null terminator).

Building for node-webkit

Because of ABI differences, sqlite3 must be built in a custom to be used with node-webkit.

To build sqlite3 for node-webkit:

  1. Install nw-gyp globally: npm install nw-gyp -g (unless already installed)

  2. Build the module with the custom flags of --runtime, --target_arch, and --target:

NODE_WEBKIT_VERSION="0.8.6" # see latest version at https://github.com/rogerwang/node-webkit#downloads
npm install sqlite3 --build-from-source --runtime=node-webkit --target_arch=ia32 --target=$(NODE_WEBKIT_VERSION)

You can also run this command from within a sqlite3 checkout:

npm install --build-from-source --runtime=node-webkit --target_arch=ia32 --target=$(NODE_WEBKIT_VERSION)

Remember the following:

  • You must provide the right --target_arch flag. ia32 is needed to target 32bit node-webkit builds, while x64 will target 64bit node-webkit builds (if available for your platform).

  • After the sqlite3 package is built for node-webkit it cannot run in the vanilla Node.js (and vice versa).

    • For example, npm test of the node-webkit's package would fail.

Visit the “Using Node modules” article in the node-webkit's wiki for more details.

Building for SQLCipher

For instructions on building SQLCipher, see Building SQLCipher for Node.js. Alternatively, you can install it with your local package manager.

To run against SQLCipher, you need to compile sqlite3 from source by passing build options like:

npm install sqlite3 --build-from-source --sqlite_libname=sqlcipher --sqlite=/usr/

node -e 'require("sqlite3")'

If your SQLCipher is installed in a custom location (if you compiled and installed it yourself), you'll need to set some environment variables:

On OS X with Homebrew

Set the location where brew installed it:

export LDFLAGS="-L`brew --prefix`/opt/sqlcipher/lib"
export CPPFLAGS="-I`brew --prefix`/opt/sqlcipher/include/sqlcipher"
npm install sqlite3 --build-from-source --sqlite_libname=sqlcipher --sqlite=`brew --prefix`

node -e 'require("sqlite3")'

On most Linuxes (including Raspberry Pi)

Set the location where make installed it:

export LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/lib"
export CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/local/include -I/usr/local/include/sqlcipher"
export CXXFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS"
npm install sqlite3 --build-from-source --sqlite_libname=sqlcipher --sqlite=/usr/local --verbose

node -e 'require("sqlite3")'

Custom builds and Electron

Running sqlite3 through electron-rebuild does not preserve the SQLCipher extension, so some additional flags are needed to make this build Electron compatible. Your npm install sqlite3 --build-from-source command needs these additional flags (be sure to replace the target version with the current Electron version you are working with):

--runtime=electron --target=18.2.1 --dist-url=https://electronjs.org/headers

In the case of MacOS with Homebrew, the command should look like the following:

npm install sqlite3 --build-from-source --sqlite_libname=sqlcipher --sqlite=`brew --prefix` --runtime=electron --target=18.2.1 --dist-url=https://electronjs.org/headers

Testing

npm test

Contributors

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Orlando Vazquez, Eric Fredricksen and Ryan Dahl for their SQLite bindings for node, and to mraleph on Freenode's #v8 for answering questions.

This module was originally created by Mapbox & is now maintained by Ghost.

Changelog

We use GitHub releases for notes on the latest versions. See CHANGELOG.md in git history for details on older versions.

License

node-sqlite3 is BSD licensed.

FOSSA Status