#Quick start

This example stores a note, queries it, changes it, and reopens the SQLite file to read the saved change. It uses the asynchronous API and Node's built-in SQLite driver.

#Run the example

Use Node.js 24 or newer. Silt's package names currently refer to local npm workspaces; a public npm release is not yet available.

git clone https://github.com/startupjs/silt-db.git
cd silt-db
npm ci
node examples/docs-quick-start.mjs

Repository access is required while the repository is private. The example creates silt-guide.sqlite in your current directory and can be run again. You can choose a different file with node examples/docs-quick-start.mjs ./another-demo.sqlite.

#The complete example

The runnable file contains the following code. Workspace imports resolve after npm ci when you run it inside the repository.

import { openDatabase } from '@silt-db/sqlite';

const filename = process.argv[2] ?? './silt-guide.sqlite';
let db = await openDatabase(filename);

try {
  const notes = db.collection('notes');

  // Replace this demo note, or insert it if it does not exist yet.
  await notes.replaceOne(
    { _id: 'welcome' },
    { _id: 'welcome', text: 'Build something local', archived: false },
    { upsert: true },
  );

  const activeNotes = await notes.find({ archived: false }).sort({ _id: 1 }).toArray();
  console.log('Active notes:', activeNotes);

  await notes.updateOne({ _id: 'welcome' }, { $set: { text: 'Saved in SQLite' } });

  await db.close();
  db = await openDatabase(filename);

  const saved = await db.collection('notes').findOne({ _id: 'welcome' });
  console.log('After reopening:', saved);
} finally {
  await db.close();
}

The final document has text: 'Saved in SQLite'. Closing the database releases the connection; reopening the same filename preserves its documents. The replaceOne(..., { upsert: true }) call makes this example repeatable by resetting its single demo note.

collection() returns a handle immediately. Writes, findOne(), cursor consumption, transactions, and close() return promises. Always await them.

#Choose a driver

The development workspace includes better-sqlite3, so you can try the server driver by changing the example's import:

import { openDatabase } from '@silt-db/sqlite/better-sqlite3';

When Silt opens a writable Node file itself, it enables WAL and synchronous=FULL by default. Both Node drivers execute SQLite synchronously on the calling thread; the shared promise API does not move queries into a worker thread. Long-running queries can therefore block other work on that thread.

An existing connection keeps its owner's configuration unless you explicitly request changes. See connections and options for ownership, WAL, read-only access, and custom drivers. Expo needs additional platform setup described in the Expo guide.

#Next steps

Continue with queries and updates, then aggregations and joins. Read the compatibility contract before using Silt as a replacement for an existing MongoDB or Mingo workload.