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 can handle schema changes gracefully without requiring explicit migrations on the client-side.
Installation
Add the PowerSync React Native NPM package to your project:
npx expo install @powersync/react-native
yarn expo add @powersync/react-native
pnpm expo install @powersync/react-native
Install peer dependencies
PowerSync requires a SQLite database adapter.
Using Expo Go? Our native database adapters listed below (OP-SQLite and React Native Quick SQLite) are not compatible with Expo Go’s sandbox environment. To run PowerSync with Expo Go install our JavaScript-based adapter @powersync/adapter-sql-js instead. See details here.
Choose between:
PowerSync OP-SQLite offers:
- Built-in encryption support via SQLCipher
- Smoother transition to React Native’s New Architecture
npx expo install @powersync/op-sqlite @op-engineering/op-sqlite
yarn expo add @powersync/op-sqlite @op-engineering/op-sqlite
pnpm expo install @powersync/op-sqlite @op-engineering/op-sqlite
The @journeyapps/react-native-quick-sqlite package is the original database adapter for React Native and therefore more battle-tested in production environments.npx expo install @journeyapps/react-native-quick-sqlite
yarn expo add @journeyapps/react-native-quick-sqlite
pnpm expo install @journeyapps/react-native-quick-sqlite
iOS with use_frameworks!If your iOS project uses use_frameworks!, add the react-native-quick-sqlite plugin to your app.json or app.config.js and configure the staticLibrary option:{
"expo": {
"plugins": [
[
"@journeyapps/react-native-quick-sqlite",
{
"staticLibrary": true
}
]
]
}
}
This plugin automatically configures the necessary build settings for react-native-quick-sqlite to work with use_frameworks!.
Polyfills and additional notes:
-
For async iterator support with watched queries, additional polyfills are required. See the Babel plugins section in the README.
-
By default, this SDK connects to a PowerSync instance via WebSocket (from
@powersync/[email protected]) or HTTP streaming (before @powersync/[email protected]). See Developer Notes for more details on connection methods and platform-specific requirements.
-
When using the OP-SQLite package, we recommend adding this metro config
to avoid build issues.
Getting Started
Before implementing the PowerSync SDK in your project, make sure you have completed these steps:
1. Define the Schema
The first step is defining the schema for the local SQLite database.
This schema represents a “view” of the downloaded data. No migrations are required — the schema is applied directly when the PowerSync database is constructed (as we’ll show in the next step).
Generate schema automaticallyIn the PowerSync Dashboard, select your project and instance and click the Connect button in the top bar to generate the client-side schema in your preferred language. The schema will be generated based off your Sync Rules.Similar functionality exists in the CLI.Note: The generated schema will exclude an id column, as the client SDK automatically creates an id column of type text. Consequently, it is not necessary to specify an id column in your schema. For additional information on IDs, refer to Client ID.
The types available are text, integer and real. These should map directly to the values produced by the Sync Rules. If a value doesn’t match, it is cast automatically. For details on how Postgres types are mapped to the types below, see the section on Types in the Sync Rules documentation.
Example:
Note: No need to declare a primary key id column - as PowerSync will automatically create this.
import { column, Schema, Table } from '@powersync/react-native';
const lists = new Table({
created_at: column.text,
name: column.text,
owner_id: column.text
});
const todos = new Table(
{
list_id: column.text,
created_at: column.text,
completed_at: column.text,
description: column.text,
created_by: column.text,
completed_by: column.text,
completed: column.integer
},
{ indexes: { list: ['list_id'] } }
);
export const AppSchema = new Schema({
todos,
lists
});
// For types
export type Database = (typeof AppSchema)['types'];
export type TodoRecord = Database['todos'];
// OR:
// export type Todo = RowType<typeof todos>;
export type ListRecord = Database['lists'];
2. Instantiate the PowerSync Database
Next, you need to instantiate the PowerSync database — this is the core managed database.
Its primary functions are to record all changes in the local database, whether online or offline. In addition, it automatically uploads changes to your app backend when connected.
Example:
For getting started and testing PowerSync use the @journeyapps/react-native-quick-sqlite package.
By default, this SDK requires @journeyapps/react-native-quick-sqlite as a peer dependency.
import { PowerSyncDatabase } from '@powersync/react-native';
import { AppSchema } from './Schema';
export const powersync = new PowerSyncDatabase({
// The schema you defined in the previous step
schema: AppSchema,
// For other options see,
// https://powersync-ja.github.io/powersync-js/web-sdk/globals#powersyncopenfactoryoptions
database: {
// Filename for the SQLite database — it's important to only instantiate one instance per file.
// For other database options see,
// https://powersync-ja.github.io/powersync-js/web-sdk/globals#sqlopenoptions
dbFilename: 'powersync.db'
}
});
If you want to include encryption with SQLCipher use the @powersync/op-sqlite package.
If you’ve already installed @journeyapps/react-native-quick-sqlite, You will have to uninstall it and then install both @powersync/op-sqlite and it’s peer dependency @op-engineering/op-sqlite to use this.
import { PowerSyncDatabase } from '@powersync/react-native';
import { OPSqliteOpenFactory } from '@powersync/op-sqlite'; // Add this import
import { AppSchema } from './Schema';
// Create the factory
const opSqlite = new OPSqliteOpenFactory({
dbFilename: 'powersync.db'
});
export const powersync = new PowerSyncDatabase({
// For other options see,
schema: AppSchema,
// Override the default database
database: opSqlite
});
SDK versions lower than 1.8.0In SDK versions lower than 1.8.0, you will need to use the deprecated RNQSPowerSyncDatabaseOpenFactory syntax to instantiate the database.
Once you’ve instantiated your PowerSync database, you will need to call the connect() method to activate it.
import { Connector } from './Connector';
export const setupPowerSync = async () => {
// Uses the backend connector that will be created in the next section
const connector = new Connector();
powersync.connect(connector);
};
3. Integrate with your Backend
The PowerSync backend connector provides the connection between your application backend and the PowerSync client-slide managed SQLite database.
It is used to:
- Retrieve an auth token to connect to the PowerSync instance.
- Apply local changes on your backend application server (and from there, to Postgres)
Accordingly, the connector must implement two methods:
- PowerSyncBackendConnector.fetchCredentials - This is called every couple of minutes and is used to obtain credentials for your app backend API. -> See Authentication Setup for instructions on how the credentials should be generated.
- PowerSyncBackendConnector.uploadData - Use this to upload client-side changes to your app backend.
-> See Writing Client Changes for considerations on the app backend implementation.
Example:
import { PowerSyncBackendConnector, AbstractPowerSyncDatabase, UpdateType } from "@powersync/react-native"
export class Connector implements PowerSyncBackendConnector {
/**
* Implement fetchCredentials to obtain a JWT from your authentication service.
* See https://docs.powersync.com/installation/authentication-setup
* If you're using Supabase or Firebase, you can re-use the JWT from those clients, see:
* https://docs.powersync.com/installation/authentication-setup/supabase-auth
* https://docs.powersync.com/installation/authentication-setup/firebase-auth
*/
async fetchCredentials() {
return {
// The PowerSync instance URL or self-hosted endpoint
endpoint: 'https://xxxxxx.powersync.journeyapps.com',
/**
* To get started quickly, use a development token, see:
* Authentication Setup https://docs.powersync.com/installation/authentication-setup/development-tokens) to get up and running quickly
*/
token: 'An authentication token'
};
}
/**
* Implement uploadData to send local changes to your backend service.
* You can omit this method if you only want to sync data from the database to the client
* See example implementation here:https://docs.powersync.com/client-sdk-references/react-native-and-expo#3-integrate-with-your-backend
*/
async uploadData(database: AbstractPowerSyncDatabase) {
/**
* For batched crud transactions, use data.getCrudBatch(n);
* https://powersync-ja.github.io/powersync-js/react-native-sdk/classes/SqliteBucketStorage#getcrudbatch
*/
const transaction = await database.getNextCrudTransaction();
if (!transaction) {
return;
}
for (const op of transaction.crud) {
// The data that needs to be changed in the remote db
const record = { ...op.opData, id: op.id };
switch (op.op) {
case UpdateType.PUT:
// TODO: Instruct your backend API to CREATE a record
break;
case UpdateType.PATCH:
// TODO: Instruct your backend API to PATCH a record
break;
case UpdateType.DELETE:
//TODO: Instruct your backend API to DELETE a record
break;
}
}
// Completes the transaction and moves onto the next one
await transaction.complete();
}
}
Using PowerSync: CRUD functions
Once the PowerSync instance is configured you can start using the SQLite DB functions.
The most commonly used CRUD functions to interact with your SQLite data are:
Fetching a Single Item
The get method executes a read-only (SELECT) query and returns a single result. It throws an exception if no result is found. Use getOptional to return a single optional result (returns null if no result is found).
import { Text } from 'react-native';
import { powersync } from "../powersync/system";
export const TodoItemWidget = ({id}) => {
const [todoItem, setTodoItem] = React.useState([]);
const [error, setError] = React.useState([]);
React.useEffect(() => {
// .get returns the first item of the result. Throws an exception if no result is found.
powersync.get('SELECT * from todos WHERE id = ?', [id])
.then(setTodoItem)
.catch(ex => setError(ex.message))
}, []);
return <Text>{error || todoItem.description}</Text>
}
Querying Items (PowerSync.getAll)
The getAll method returns a set of rows from a table.
import { FlatList, Text} from 'react-native';
import { powersync } from "../powersync/system";
export const ListsWidget = () => {
const [lists, setLists] = React.useState([]);
React.useEffect(() => {
powersync.getAll('SELECT * from lists').then(setLists)
}, []);
return (<FlatList
data={lists.map(list => ({key: list.id, ...list}))}
renderItem={({item}) => <Text>{item.name}</Text>}
/>)
}
Watching Queries (PowerSync.watch)
The watch method executes a read query whenever a change to a dependent table is made. It can be used with an AsyncGenerator, or with a callback.
AsyncIterator approach
Callback approach
async function* pendingLists(): AsyncIterable<string[]> {
for await (const result of db.watch(
`SELECT * FROM lists WHERE state = ?`,
['pending']
)) {
yield result.rows?._array ?? [];
}
}
const pendingLists = (onResult: (lists: any[]) => void): void => {
db.watch(
'SELECT * FROM lists WHERE state = ?',
['pending'],
{
onResult: (result: any) => {
onResult(result.rows?._array ?? []);
}
}
);
}
For advanced watch query features like incremental updates and differential results, see Live Queries / Watch Queries.
Mutations (PowerSync.execute)
The execute method can be used for executing single SQLite write statements.
import { Alert, Button, FlatList, Text, View } from 'react-native';
import { powersync } from "../powersync/system";
export const ListsWidget = () => {
// Populate lists with one of methods listed above
const [lists, setLists] = React.useState([]);
return (
<View>
<FlatList
data={lists.map(list => ({key: list.id, ...list}))}
renderItem={({item}) => (<View>
<Text>{item.name}</Text>
<Button
title="Delete"
onPress={async () => {
try {
await powersync.execute(`DELETE FROM lists WHERE id = ?`, [item.id])
// Watched queries should automatically reload after mutation
} catch (ex) {
Alert('Error', ex.message)
}
}}
/>
</View>)}
/>
<Button
title="Create List"
color="#841584"
onPress={async () => {
try {
await powersync.execute('INSERT INTO lists (id, created_at, name, owner_id) VALUES (uuid(), datetime(), ?, ?) RETURNING *', [
'A list name',
"[The user's uuid]"
])
// Watched queries should automatically reload after mutation
} catch (ex) {
Alert.alert('Error', ex.message)
}
}}
/>
</View>
)
}
import { createBaseLogger, LogLevel } from '@powersync/react-native';
const logger = createBaseLogger();
// Configure the logger to use the default console output
logger.useDefaults();
// Set the minimum log level to DEBUG to see all log messages
// Available levels: DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR, TRACE, OFF
logger.setLevel(LogLevel.DEBUG);
Enable verbose output in the developer tools for detailed logs.
Additional Usage Examples
See Usage Examples for further examples of the SDK.
Developer Notes
Connection Methods
This SDK supports two methods for streaming sync commands:
-
WebSocket (Default)
- The implementation leverages RSocket for handling reactive socket streams.
- Back-pressure is effectively managed through client-controlled command requests.
- Sync commands are transmitted efficiently as BSON (binary) documents.
- This method is recommended since it will support the future BLOB column support feature.
-
HTTP Streaming (Legacy)
- This is the original implementation method.
- This method will not support the future BLOB column feature.
By default, the PowerSyncDatabase.connect() method uses WebSocket. You can optionally specify the connectionMethod to override this:
// WebSocket (default)
powerSync.connect(connector);
// HTTP Streaming
powerSync.connect(connector, { connectionMethod: SyncStreamConnectionMethod.HTTP });
Android: Flipper network plugin for HTTP streams
Not needed when using websockets, which is the default since @powersync/[email protected].
If you are connecting to PowerSync using HTTP streams, you require additional configuration on Android. React Native does not support streams out of the box, so we use the polyfills mentioned. There is currently an open issue where the Flipper network plugin does not allow Stream events to fire. This plugin needs to be disabled in order for HTTP streams to work.
If you are using Java (Expo < 50):
Uncomment the following from android/app/src/debug/java/com/<ProjectName>/ReactNativeFlipper.java
// NetworkFlipperPlugin networkFlipperPlugin = new NetworkFlipperPlugin();
// NetworkingModule.setCustomClientBuilder(
// new NetworkingModule.CustomClientBuilder() {
// @Override
// public void apply(OkHttpClient.Builder builder) {
// builder.addNetworkInterceptor(new FlipperOkhttpInterceptor(networkFlipperPlugin));
// }
// });
// client.addPlugin(networkFlipperPlugin);
Disable the dev client network inspector android/gradle.properties
# Enable network inspector
EX_DEV_CLIENT_NETWORK_INSPECTOR=false
If you are using Kotlin (Expo > 50):
Comment out the following from onCreate in android/app/src/main/java/com/<ProjectName>/example/MainApplication.kt
// if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
// ReactNativeFlipper.initializeFlipper(this, reactNativeHost.reactInstanceManager)
// }
Development on iOS simulator
Testing offline mode on an iOS simulator by disabling the host machine’s entire internet connection will cause the device to remain offline even after the internet connection has been restored. This issue seems to affect all network requests in an application.
ORM Support
See JavaScript ORM Support for details.
Troubleshooting
See Troubleshooting for pointers to debug common issues.
See Supported Platforms -> React Native SDK.