kysely-sqlite-builder

This skill provides guidance for working with the kysely-sqlite-builder library, a utility layer on top of Kysely for SQLite databases.

Quick Start

Installation

npm install kysely-sqlite-builder

Peer dependency: kysely@>=0.28

Basic Setup

import Database from 'better-sqlite3'
import { SqliteDialect } from 'kysely'
import { SqliteBuilder } from 'kysely-sqlite-builder'
import { column, defineTable, InferDatabase, useSchema } from 'kysely-sqlite-builder/schema'

const myTable = defineTable({
  columns: {
    id: column.increments(),
    name: column.string({ notNull: true }),
  },
  primary: 'id',
  createAt: true,
  updateAt: true,
})

const schema = { myTable }
type DB = InferDatabase<typeof schema>

const builder = new SqliteBuilder<DB>({
  dialect: new SqliteDialect({ database: new Database(':memory:') }),
  onQuery: true,
})

await builder.syncDB(useSchema(schema, { log: true }))

Core Workflows

1. Schema Definition & Auto‑Migration

• Use defineTable with column.* factories to define tables
• Apply schema with syncDB(useSchema(schema, options))
• Supports createAt, updateAt, softDelete, withoutRowId
• No foreign‑key or check‑constraint support (SQLite limitation)

2. Soft‑Delete Patterns

• Use SoftDeleteSqliteBuilder for automatic soft‑delete filtering
• deleteFrom sets isDeleted = 1 (configurable column name)
• Use whereExists / whereDeleted to explicitly include/exclude soft‑deleted rows

3. Precompiled Queries

• Use precompile<T>() for parameterized query reuse
• Call .build(callback) to create reusable compiled query
• Dispose manually or with using statement (ES2022)

4. Pagination

• Use pageQuery(queryBuilder, { num, size, queryTotal }) for offset‑based pagination
• Returns total count, records, page metadata

5. Nested Transactions

• Nested builder.transaction() calls automatically use SAVEPOINT
• Works with both SqliteBuilder and SoftDeleteSqliteBuilder

6. SQLite Pragma Utilities

• checkIntegrity(db) – verify database integrity
• foreignKeys(db, enable) – enable/disable foreign key constraints
• getOrSetDBVersion(db, version?) – get/set user_version
• optimizePragma(db, options) – set optimization pragmas (cache size, journal mode, etc.)
• optimizeSize(db, rebuild?) – shrink database file

7. Serialization/Deserialization

• Automatic via kysely-plugin-serialize (included)
• Object/array columns stored as JSON, booleans as 0/1, dates as ISO strings
• Do not add another camel‑case plugin if using createAt/updateAt/softDelete

Common Patterns

Generating Migration SQL

import { generateMigrateSQL } from 'kysely-sqlite-builder/schema'
const sqlStatements = await generateMigrateSQL(db, schema, options)

Parsing Existing Schema

import { parseExistSchema } from 'kysely-sqlite-builder/schema'
const existing = await parseExistSchema(db.kysely)

Code‑Based Migrations

import { createCodeProvider, useMigrator } from 'kysely-sqlite-builder/migrator'
const provider = createCodeProvider({ ... })
await builder.syncDB(useMigrator(provider, options))

Using Different SQLite Dialects

Works with:

• Official SqliteDialect (better‑sqlite3)
• SqliteWorkerDialect (worker threads)
• NodeWasmDialect (node‑sqlite3‑wasm)
• WaSqliteWorkerDialect (browser + IndexedDB/OPFS)

Error Handling

• IntegrityError thrown when integrity check fails
• Schema sync provides onSuccess and onError hooks
• Failed migrations can be rolled back automatically

Tree‑Shaking

For smaller bundles, consider the external kysely-unplugin-sqlite plugin:

import { plugin } from 'kysely-unplugin-sqlite'
// Use with your bundler (Vite, Webpack, Rollup, etc.)

References

• Detailed API reference: See references/api.md for complete export list and type definitions
• Schema sync options: See references/schema-sync.md for SchemaSyncOptions
• Migration examples: See references/migrations.md for advanced migration patterns

Notes

• Always use InferDatabase<typeof schema> for type safety
• The builder automatically includes kysely-plugin-serialize
• Nested transactions use SAVEPOINT; ensure your SQLite version supports it
• For production, set appropriate pragmas (journal_mode='WAL', synchronous='NORMAL', etc.)

Troubleshooting

• Schema sync fails: Check excludeTablePrefix (default sqlite_%) and truncateIfExists options
• Precompiled queries not caching: Ensure .compile() is called with same parameter shape
• Soft‑delete not working: Verify column name matches deleteColumnName option (default 'isDeleted')