This page describes the PowerSync client SDK for Node.js.
If you’re interested in using PowerSync for your Node.js backend, no special package is required.
Instead, follow our guides on app backend setup.
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PowerSync SDK on NPM
This SDK is distributed via NPM
Source Code
Refer to
packages/node in the powersync-js repo on GitHubAPI Reference
Full API reference for the SDK
Example Projects
Gallery of example projects/demo apps built with Node.js and PowerSync
Changelog
Changelog for the SDK
SDK Features
- Real-time streaming of database changes: Changes made by one user are instantly streamed to all other users with access to that data. This keeps clients automatically in sync without manual polling or refresh logic.
- Direct access to a local SQLite database: Data is stored locally, so apps can read and write instantly without network calls. This enables offline support and faster user interactions.
- Asynchronous background execution: The SDK performs database operations in the background to avoid blocking the application’s main thread. This means that apps stay responsive, even during heavy data activity.
- Query subscriptions for live updates: The SDK supports query subscriptions that automatically push real-time updates to client applications as data changes, keeping your UI reactive and up to date.
- Automatic schema management: PowerSync syncs schemaless data and applies a client-defined schema using SQLite views. This architecture means that PowerSync SDKs handle schema changes without explicit migrations on the client side.
Quickstart
Add the PowerSync Node NPM package to your project:- npm
- yarn
- pnpm
better-sqlite3 package for most users:
- npm
- yarn
- pnpm
better-sqlite3 package requires native compilation, which depends on certain system tools.
Prebuilt assets are available and used by default, but a custom compilation may be started depending on the Node.js
or Electron version used.
This compilation process is handled by node-gyp and may fail if required dependencies are missing or misconfigured.
Refer to the PowerSync Node package README for more details.
Prerequisites: Before you start, connect your source database to the PowerSync Service and deploy Sync Streams. These are steps 1-4 in the Setup Guide.
1. Define the Client-Side Schema
The client-side schema defines the tables and columns of the SQLite database that the PowerSync client SDK manages and that your app reads from and writes to. It is usually derived from your backend database schema and your Sync Streams, and it can also include local-only tables. You apply the schema when you instantiate the database in the next step. Schema migrations are not required. The SDK syncs schemaless data and applies the schema to that data with SQLite views. The exception is raw tables, which you create and migrate yourself. You can use this example as a reference when defining your schema. In the Dashboard, select JavaScript and replace the suggested import with@powersync/node.
The available column types are text, integer, and real. These should match the values produced by your Sync Streams. If a value does not match, it is cast automatically. For details on how source database types map to SQLite types, see Types.
2. Instantiate the PowerSync Database
Next, instantiate the PowerSync database. PowerSync streams changes from your backend source database into the client-side SQLite database, based on your Sync Streams. Your app reads from and writes to this local database whether the user is online or offline. Example:3. Integrate with Your Backend
The backend connector connects the PowerSync client SDK to your application backend. The SDK uses it to:- Get an auth token to connect to the PowerSync instance.
- Upload client-side writes to your backend API. The SDK places every write to the SQLite database in an upload queue and uploads the queue to your backend when the user is connected. Your backend then applies the changes to the source database.
- PowerSyncBackendConnector.fetchCredentials - The SDK calls this method to get authentication credentials. It caches the credentials and calls the method again only when needed, for example on the first connection or when the token is near expiry. See When
fetchCredentials()is Called for details and Authentication Setup for how to generate credentials. - PowerSyncBackendConnector.uploadData - The SDK calls this method whenever it has client-side writes to upload to your backend API. Implement how those writes are processed and uploaded. See When
uploadData()is Called for triggers, throttling, and retry behavior, and Writing Client Changes for the app backend implementation.
connect() to start syncing data with your backend:
4. Subscribe to Sync Streams
Streams defined withauto_subscribe: true start syncing as soon as the client connects. For all other streams, your app must subscribe before their data downloads. The basic pattern is: subscribe to a stream, wait for its data to sync, then unsubscribe when the data is no longer needed.
Usage
Once the PowerSync database is connected and your streams have synced, the data is in the local SQLite database. The API to run queries and updates is identical to the JavaScript Web SDK:Confirming Mutation Success with RETURNING
When using the default client-side JSON-based view system, writes are applied to a view, with triggers writing to the underlying table. Because of this, If you need direct table writes, use raw tables.
result.rowsAffected from db.execute() can be 0 even when an UPDATE or DELETE succeeds.When you need to confirm whether a mutation changed any rows, add a RETURNING clause and check the returned rows:Watch Queries
Thedb.watch() method executes a read query whenever a change to a dependent table is made.
- AsyncIterator approach
- Callback approach
Configure Logging
Additional Usage Examples
For more usage examples including accessing connection status, monitoring sync progress, and waiting for initial sync, see the Usage Examples page.ORM Support
See JavaScript ORM Support for details.Troubleshooting
See Troubleshooting for pointers to debug common issues.Supported Platforms
See Supported Platforms -> Node.js SDK.Upgrading the SDK
Run the following command in your project folder:- npm
- yarn
- pnpm
Encryption and Custom SQLite Drivers
The SDK has an optional dependency onbetter-sqlite3 which is used as the default SQLite
driver for that package.
Because that dependency is optional, it can be replaced or removed to customize how SQLite
gets loaded. This section lists common options.
Encryption
To encrypt databases managed by the PowerSync SDK for Node.js, replace thebetter-sqlite3
dependency with the better-sqlite3-multiple-ciphers fork.
That package has the same API as better-sqlite3 while bundling SQLite3MultipleCiphers
instead of upstream SQLite.
Because PowerSync attempts to dynamically load better-sqlite3 at runtime, using a different package
requires patching the database worker. To do that, create a file (say database.worker.js) with the following
contents:
initializeConnection option to install an encryption key:
If you’re using a custom compilation toolchain, for instance because you’re compiling from TypeScript
or are applying a bundler to your project, loading workers may require additional configuration on that
toolchain.
node:sqlite
Recent versions of Node.js contain an experimental SQLite API.
Using the built-in SQLite API can reduce code size and external native dependencies. To enable it,
remove your dependency on better-sqlite3 and configure PowerSync to use the built-in API:
PowerSync has stability issues with this API. Use it for testing only.