Database Options

EmDash supports multiple database backends. Choose based on your deployment target.

Overview

Cloudflare D1

D1 is Cloudflare’s serverless SQLite database. Use it when deploying to Cloudflare Workers.

import { d1 } from "@emdash-cms/cloudflare";

export default defineConfig({
	integrations: [
		emdash({
			database: d1({ binding: "DB" }),
		}),
	],
});

Configuration

Setup

{
  "d1_databases": [
    {
      "binding": "DB",
      "database_name": "emdash-db",
      "database_id": "your-database-id"
    }
  ]
}

[[d1_databases]]
binding = "DB"
database_name = "emdash-db"
database_id = "your-database-id"

Create a D1 Database

wrangler d1 create emdash-db

Read Replicas

D1 supports read replication to lower read latency for globally distributed sites. When enabled, read queries are routed to nearby replicas instead of always hitting the primary database.

EmDash uses the D1 Sessions API to manage this transparently. Enable it with the session option:

import { d1 } from "@emdash-cms/cloudflare";

export default defineConfig({
	integrations: [
		emdash({
			database: d1({
				binding: "DB",
				session: "auto",
			}),
		}),
	],
});

Session Modes

How It Works

• Anonymous visitors get first-unconstrained — reads go to the nearest replica for the lowest latency. Since anonymous users never write, they don’t need consistency guarantees.
• Authenticated users (editors, authors) get bookmark-based sessions. After a write, a bookmark cookie ensures the next request sees at least that state.
• Write requests (POST, PUT, DELETE) always start at the primary database.
• Build-time queries (Astro content collections) bypass sessions entirely and use the primary directly.

libSQL

libSQL is a fork of SQLite that supports remote connections. Use it when you need a remote database without Cloudflare D1.

import { libsql } from "emdash/db";

export default defineConfig({
	integrations: [
		emdash({
			database: libsql({
				url: process.env.LIBSQL_DATABASE_URL,
				authToken: process.env.LIBSQL_AUTH_TOKEN,
			}),
		}),
	],
});

Configuration

Local Development

Use a local libSQL file during development:

database: libsql({ url: "file:./data.db" });

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is supported for Node.js deployments that need a full relational database.

import { postgres } from "emdash/db";

export default defineConfig({
	integrations: [
		emdash({
			database: postgres({
				connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
			}),
		}),
	],
});

Configuration

You can connect with a connection string or individual parameters:

// Connection string
database: postgres({
	connectionString: "postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/emdash",
});

// Individual parameters
database: postgres({
	host: "localhost",
	port: 5432,
	database: "emdash",
	user: "emdash",
	password: process.env.DB_PASSWORD,
	ssl: true,
});

Connection Pooling

The adapter uses pg.Pool under the hood. Tune pool size based on your deployment:

database: postgres({
	connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
	pool: { min: 2, max: 20 },
});

SQLite

SQLite with better-sqlite3 is the simplest option for Node.js deployments.

import { sqlite } from "emdash/db";

export default defineConfig({
	integrations: [
		emdash({
			database: sqlite({ url: "file:./data.db" }),
		}),
	],
});

Configuration

File Path

The url must start with file::

// Relative path
database: sqlite({ url: "file:./data/emdash.db" });

// Absolute path
database: sqlite({ url: "file:/var/data/emdash.db" });

// From environment variable
database: sqlite({ url: `file:${process.env.DATABASE_PATH}` });

Migrations

EmDash handles migrations automatically for SQLite, libSQL, and PostgreSQL. For D1, run migrations via Wrangler.

Check Migration Status

npx emdash init --database ./data.db

This command:

1. Creates the database file if needed
2. Runs any pending migrations
3. Reports the current migration status

Migration Files

Migrations are bundled with EmDash. To run them manually:

# SQLite/libSQL - migrations run automatically

# D1 - run via wrangler
wrangler d1 migrations apply DB

Environment-Based Configuration

Use different databases per environment:

import { sqlite, libsql, postgres } from "emdash/db";
import { d1 } from "@emdash-cms/cloudflare";

const database = import.meta.env.PROD ? d1({ binding: "DB" }) : sqlite({ url: "file:./data.db" });

export default defineConfig({
	integrations: [emdash({ database })],
});

Or switch based on environment variables:

const database = process.env.DATABASE_URL
	? postgres({ connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL })
	: sqlite({ url: "file:./data.db" });