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Quickstart

📂 GitHub Repo https://github.com/powersync-community/vite-react-ts-powersync-supabase/

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.

Single-Page Application (SPA) Frameworks

The PowerSync JavaScript Web SDK is compatible with popular Single-Page Application (SPA) frameworks like React, Vue, Angular, and Svelte. Integration packages are provided specifically for the following:
For React or React Native apps:
  • The @powersync/react package is best for most basic use cases, especially when you only need reactive queries with loading and error states.
  • For more advanced scenarios, such as query caching and pagination, TanStack Query is a powerful solution. The @powersync/tanstack-react-query package extends the useQuery hook from @powersync/react and adds functionality from TanStack Query, making it a better fit for advanced use cases or performance-optimized apps.
  • For reactive data management and live query support across multiple frameworks, consider TanStack DB. PowerSync works with all TanStack DB framework adapters (React, Vue, Solid, Svelte, Angular).
If you have a Vue app, use the Vue-specific package: @powersync/vue.

Installation

Add the PowerSync Web NPM package to your project:
npm install @powersync/web
Required peer dependencies This SDK currently requires @journeyapps/wa-sqlite as a peer dependency. Install it in your app with:
npm install @journeyapps/wa-sqlite

Getting Started

Prerequisites: To sync data between your client-side app and your backend source database, you must have completed the necessary setup for PowerSync, which includes connecting your source database to the PowerSync Service and deploying Sync Rules (steps 1-4 in the Setup Guide).

1. Define the Client-Side Schema

This refers to the for the managed SQLite database exposed by the PowerSync Client SDKs, that your app can read from and write to. The schema is applied when the database is instantiated (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 not include 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 backend source database types are mapped to the SQLite types, see Types. Example:
// AppSchema.ts
import { column, Schema, Table } from '@powersync/web';

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'];
Note: No need to declare a primary key id column, as PowerSync will automatically create this.

2. Instantiate the PowerSync Database

Next, you need to instantiate the PowerSync database. PowerSync streams changes from your backend source database into the client-side SQLite database, based on your Sync Rules. In your client-side app, you can read from and write to the local SQLite database, whether the user is online or offline. Example:
import { PowerSyncDatabase } from '@powersync/web';
import { Connector } from './Connector';
import { AppSchema } from './AppSchema';

export const db = new PowerSyncDatabase({
  // The schema you defined in the previous step
  schema: AppSchema,
  database: {
    // Filename for the SQLite database — it's important to only instantiate one instance per file.
    dbFilename: 'powersync.db'
    // Optional. Directory where the database file is located.'
    // dbLocation: 'path/to/directory'
  }
});
SDK versions lower than 1.2.0In SDK versions lower than 1.2.0, you will need to use the deprecated WASQLitePowerSyncDatabaseOpenFactory syntax to instantiate the database.
Once you’ve instantiated your PowerSync database, call the connect() method to sync data with your backend.
Note: This section assumes you want to use PowerSync to sync your backend source database with SQLite in your app. If you only want to use PowerSync to manage your local SQLite database without sync, instantiate the PowerSync database without calling connect() refer to our Local-Only guide.
export const setupPowerSync = async () => {
  // Uses the backend connector that will be created in the next section
  const connector = new Connector();
  db.connect(connector);
};

3. Integrate with your Backend

The PowerSync backend connector provides the connection between your application backend and the PowerSync client-side managed SQLite database. It is used to:
  1. Retrieve an auth token to connect to the PowerSync instance.
  2. Upload client-side writes to your backend API. Any writes that are made to the SQLite database are placed into an upload queue by the PowerSync Client SDK and automatically uploaded to your app backend (where you apply those changes to the backend source database) when the user is connected.
Accordingly, the connector must implement two methods:
  1. PowerSyncBackendConnector.fetchCredentials - This method will be automatically invoked by the PowerSync Client SDK every couple of minutes to obtain authentication credentials. See Authentication Setup for instructions on how the credentials should be generated.
  2. PowerSyncBackendConnector.uploadData - This method will be automatically invoked by the PowerSync Client SDK whenever it needs to upload client-side writes to your app backend via your backend API. Therefore, in your implememtation, you need to define how your backend API is called. See Writing Client Changes for considerations on the app backend implementation.
Example:
import { UpdateType } from '@powersync/web';

export class Connector {
  async fetchCredentials() {
    // Implement fetchCredentials to obtain a JWT from your authentication service. 
    // See https://docs.powersync.com/configuration/auth/overview
    return {
        endpoint: '[Your PowerSync instance URL or self-hosted endpoint]',
        // Use a development token (see Authentication Setup https://docs.powersync.com/configuration/auth/development-tokens) to get up and running quickly
        token: 'An authentication token'
    };
  }

  async uploadData(database) {
    // 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-sdks/reference/javascript-web#3-integrate-with-your-backend
  }
}

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).
// Find a list item by ID
export const findList = async (id) => {
  const result = await db.get('SELECT * FROM lists WHERE id = ?', [id]);
  return result;
}

Querying Items (PowerSync.getAll)

The getAll method returns a set of rows from a table.
// Get all list IDs
export const getLists = async () => {
  const results = await db.getAll('SELECT * FROM lists');
  return results;
}

Watching Queries (PowerSync.watch)

The watch method executes a read query whenever a change to a dependent table is made.
async function* pendingLists(): AsyncIterable<string[]> {
  for await (const result of db.watch(
    `SELECT * FROM lists WHERE state = ?`,
    ['pending']
  )) {
    yield result.rows?._array ?? [];
  }
} 
For advanced watch query features like incremental updates and differential results, see Live Queries / Watch Queries.

Mutations (PowerSync.execute, PowerSync.writeTransaction)

The execute method can be used for executing single SQLite write statements.
// Delete a list item by ID
export const deleteList = async (id) => {
  const result = await db.execute('DELETE FROM lists WHERE id = ?', [id]);
  return TodoList.fromRow(results);
}

// OR: using a transaction
const deleteList = async (id) => {
  await db.writeTransaction(async (tx) => {
    // Delete associated todos
    await tx.execute(`DELETE FROM ${TODOS_TABLE} WHERE list_id = ?`, [id]);
    // Delete list record
    await tx.execute(`DELETE FROM ${LISTS_TABLE} WHERE id = ?`, [id]);
  });
};

Configure Logging

import { createBaseLogger, LogLevel } from '@powersync/web';

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.
Additionally, the WASQLiteDBAdapter opens SQLite connections inside a shared web worker. This worker can be inspected in Chrome by accessing:
chrome://inspect/#workers

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 -> JS/Web SDK.

Upgrading the SDK

Run the below command in your project folder:
npm upgrade @powersync/web @journeyapps/wa-sqlite

Developer Notes

Connection Methods

This SDK supports two methods for streaming sync commands:
  1. 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.
  2. 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 });

SQLite Virtual File Systems

This SDK supports multiple Virtual File Systems (VFS), responsible for storing the local SQLite database:

1. IDBBatchAtomicVFS (Default)

  • This system utilizes IndexedDB as its underlying storage mechanism.
  • Multiple tabs are fully supported across most modern browsers.
  • Users may experience stability issues when using Safari. For example, the RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded error. See Troubleshooting for more details.

2. OPFS-based Alternatives

PowerSync supports two OPFS (Origin Private File System) implementations that generally offer improved performance:
OPFSCoopSyncVFS (Recommended)
  • This implementation provides comprehensive multi-tab support across all major browsers.
  • It offers the most reliable compatibility with Safari and Safari iOS.
  • Example configuration:
import { PowerSyncDatabase, WASQLiteOpenFactory, WASQLiteVFS } from '@powersync/web';

export const db = new PowerSyncDatabase({
  schema: AppSchema,
  database: new WASQLiteOpenFactory({
    dbFilename: 'exampleVFS.db',
    vfs: WASQLiteVFS.OPFSCoopSyncVFS,
    flags: {
      enableMultiTabs: typeof SharedWorker !== 'undefined'
    }
  }),
  flags: {
    enableMultiTabs: typeof SharedWorker !== 'undefined'
  }
});
AccessHandlePoolVFS
  • This implementation delivers optimal performance for single-tab applications.
  • The system is not designed to handle multiple tab scenarios.
  • The configuration is similar to OPFSCoopSyncVFS, but requires using WASQLiteVFS.AccessHandlePoolVFS.

VFS Compatibility Matrix

VFS TypeMulti-Tab Support (Standard Browsers)Multi-Tab Support (Safari/iOS)Notes
IDBBatchAtomicVFSDefault, some Safari stability issues
OPFSCoopSyncVFSRecommended for multi-tab support
AccessHandlePoolVFSBest for single-tab applications
Note: There are known issues with OPFS when using Safari’s incognito mode.

Managing OPFS Storage

Unlike IndexedDB, OPFS storage cannot be managed through browser developer tools. The following utility functions can help you manage OPFS storage programmatically:
// Clear all OPFS storage
async function purgeVFS() {
  await powerSync.disconnect();
  await powerSync.close();

  const root = await navigator.storage.getDirectory();
  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1)); // Allow .db-wal to become deletable

  for await (const [name, entry] of root.entries!()) {
    try {
      if (entry.kind === 'file') {
        await root.removeEntry(name);
      } else if (entry.kind === 'directory') {
        await root.removeEntry(name, { recursive: true });
      }
    } catch (err) {
      console.error(`Failed to delete ${entry.kind}: ${name}`, err);
    }
  }
}

// List OPFS entries
async function listVfsEntries() {
  const root = await navigator.storage.getDirectory();
  for await (const [name, entry] of root.entries()) {
    console.log(`${entry.kind}: ${name}`);
  }
}

Multiple Tab Support

  • Multiple tab support is not currently available on Android.
  • For Safari, use the OPFSCoopSyncVFS virtual file system to ensure stable multi-tab functionality.
  • If you encounter a RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded error, see Troubleshooting for solutions.
Using PowerSync between multiple tabs is supported on some web browsers. Multiple tab support relies on shared web workers for database and sync streaming operations. When enabled, shared web workers named shared-DB-worker-[dbFileName] and shared-sync-[dbFileName] will be created.

shared-DB-worker-[dbFileName]

The shared database worker will ensure writes to the database will instantly be available between tabs.

shared-sync-[dbFileName]

The shared sync worker connects directly to the PowerSync backend instance and applies changes to the database. Note that the shared sync worker will call the fetchCredentials and uploadData method of the latest opened available tab. Closing a tab will shift the latest tab to the previously opened one. Currently, using the SDK in multiple tabs without enabling the enableMultiTabs flag will spawn a standard web worker per tab for DB operations. These workers are safe to operate on the DB concurrently, however changes from one tab may not update watches on other tabs. Only one tab can sync from the PowerSync instance at a time. The sync status will not be shared between tabs, only the oldest tab will connect and display the latest sync status. Support is enabled by default if available. This can be disabled as below:
export const db = new PowerSyncDatabase({
  schema: AppSchema,
  database: {
    dbFilename: 'my_app_db.sqlite'
  },
  flags: {
    /**
     * Multiple tab support is enabled by default if available.
     * This can be disabled by setting this flag to false.
     */
    enableMultiTabs: false
  }
});

Using PowerSyncDatabase Flags

This guide provides an overview of the customizable flags available for the PowerSyncDatabase in the JavaScript Web SDK. These flags allow you to enable or disable specific features to suit your application’s requirements.

Configuring Flags

You can configure flags during the initialization of the PowerSyncDatabase. Flags can be set using the flags property, which allows you to enable or disable specific functionalities.
import { PowerSyncDatabase, resolveWebPowerSyncFlags, WebPowerSyncFlags } from '@powersync/web';
import { AppSchema } from '@/library/powersync/AppSchema';

// Define custom flags
const customFlags: WebPowerSyncFlags = resolveWebPowerSyncFlags({
  enableMultiTabs: true,
  broadcastLogs: true,
  disableSSRWarning: false,
  ssrMode: false,
  useWebWorker: true,
});

// Create the PowerSync database instance
export const db = new PowerSyncDatabase({
  schema: AppSchema,
  database: {
    dbFilename: 'example.db',
  },
  flags: customFlags,
});

Available Flags

enableMultiTabs
default: trueEnables support for multiple tabs using shared web workers. When enabled, multiple tabs can interact with the same database and sync data seamlessly.
broadcastLogs
default: falseEnables the broadcasting of logs for debugging purposes. This flag helps monitor shared worker logs in a multi-tab environment.
disableSSRWarning
default: falseDisables warnings when running in SSR (Server-Side Rendering) mode.
ssrMode
default: falseEnables SSR mode. In this mode, only empty query results will be returned, and syncing with the backend is disabled.
useWebWorker
default: trueEnables the use of web workers for database operations. Disabling this flag also disables multi-tab support.

Flag Behavior

Example 1: Multi-Tab Support By default, multi-tab support is enabled if supported by the browser. To explicitly disable this feature:
export const db = new PowerSyncDatabase({
  schema: AppSchema,
  database: {
    dbFilename: 'my_app_db.sqlite',
  },
  flags: {
    enableMultiTabs: false,
  },
});
When disabled, each tab will use independent workers, and changes in one tab will not automatically propagate to others. Example 2: SSR Mode To enable SSR mode and suppress warnings:
export const db = new PowerSyncDatabase({
  schema: AppSchema,
  database: {
    dbFilename: 'my_app_db.sqlite',
  },
  flags: {
    ssrMode: true,
    disableSSRWarning: true,
  },
});
Example 3: Verbose Debugging with Broadcast Logs To enable detailed logging for debugging:
export const db = new PowerSyncDatabase({
  schema: AppSchema,
  database: {
    dbFilename: 'my_app_db.sqlite',
  },
  flags: {
    broadcastLogs: true,
  },
});
Logs will include detailed insights into database and sync operations.

Recommendations

  1. Set enableMultiTabs to true if your application requires seamless data sharing across multiple tabs.
  2. Set useWebWorker to true for efficient database operations using web workers.
  3. Set broadcastLogs to true during development to troubleshoot and monitor database and sync operations.
  4. Set disableSSRWarning to true when running in SSR mode to avoid unnecessary console warnings.
  5. Test combinations of flags to validate their behavior in your application’s specific use case.