SQLite
A Capacitor plugin for native and Electron SQLite databases with optional encryption.
What is SQLite?
@capacitor-community/sqlite is a Capacitor plugin that provides native SQLite database access for iOS, Android, Electron, and Web applications. It solves the problem of inconsistent local storage APIs across platforms by offering a unified interface with support for encrypted databases, transactions, and migrations. Developers can build cross-platform apps with reliable, performant local data persistence.
Mobile and desktop app developers using Capacitor with frameworks like Ionic, Angular, React, Vue, or SvelteKit who need robust local database functionality. It's particularly valuable for teams building applications that must work offline or handle sensitive data requiring encryption.
Developers choose this plugin because it delivers true native SQLite performance on mobile and desktop, includes built-in encryption via SQLCipher, and maintains API consistency across all supported platforms. Its active maintenance, extensive documentation, and integration with popular ORMs like TypeORM reduce development time and complexity.
Overview
⚡Capacitor plugin for native & electron SQLite databases.
Use Cases
Best For
- Building cross-platform mobile apps with offline data storage
- Developing Electron desktop applications that require local database access
- Creating applications that need encrypted local databases for sensitive data
- Migrating Cordova SQLite apps to Capacitor
- Implementing complex local data operations with transactions and migrations
- Using TypeORM or similar ORMs in a Capacitor-based project
Not Ideal For
- Applications that primarily target the web platform and require encrypted local databases, as encryption is not supported on Web.
- Teams looking for a plug-and-play database solution without extensive platform-specific configuration and dependency management.
- Projects that must avoid encryption export compliance overhead, given SQLCipher's regulatory requirements.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Offers a unified SQLite API across iOS, Android, Electron, and Web, with most core methods supported on all platforms as shown in the methods table.
Uses SQLCipher for native platforms and better-sqlite3-multiple-ciphers for Electron, providing robust security for sensitive data without extra plugins.
Includes advanced capabilities like transactions, migrations, JSON import/export, and TypeORM integration, detailed in extensive documentation pages.
Maintained by a dedicated team with regular updates, a large contributor base, and clear maintenance badges indicating ongoing support.
Cons
Requires platform-specific configurations, such as Android build adjustments, Electron dependency version locks, and manual file copying for Web, increasing initial setup time.
Lacks full feature parity, including no encrypted database support and missing methods like read-only connections, which can limit functionality for web-only apps.
Documentation is split across multiple markdown files (API.md, Web-Usage.md, etc.), which can make it challenging to find specific information quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
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