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DATE:
AUTHOR:
PowerSync Product Team
Node.js SDK

Introducing our Node.js Client SDK (Alpha release)

DATE:
AUTHOR: PowerSync Product Team

We're excited to announce the alpha release of our Node.js Client SDK, bringing PowerSync’s real-time sync capabilities to Node.js environments, such as backend workers, CLI tools and server-side apps

This SDK is built on the same foundation as our Web and React Native SDKs (see packages/common), and shares the same key features of PowerSync's other SDKs:

  • 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 uses multiple Node.js workers—one for writes and several for reads—enabled by SQLite's WAL mode, allowing parallel execution without blocking the UI. Apps stay responsive, even during heavy data activity.

  • Query subscriptions for live updates: Built on shared logic from our JavaScript SDKs with support from a community initiative (shout out @spinda), our fork of better-sqlite3 adds update and commit hooks to push live data updates. This makes it easy to keep your UI reactive and always 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.

Node.js-specific highlights include:

  • Flexible Node.js integration: Supports both ESM and CommonJS compilation, and offers greater flexibility than the Web SDK—such as the ability to patch worker behavior—to accommodate more custom setups specifically around loading the PowerSync SQLite Core extension.

  • Optimized for Electron: In Electron environments, the SDK can run in the main Node.js process for improved performance over the Web SDK, which runs in the renderer.

  • Uses better-sqlite3: A high-performance SQLite backend tailored for Node.js.

Get Started

A quick and easy way to get a feel for this SDK is to run one of our demo apps:

  1. A Node.js CLI example that connects to PowerSync and runs live queries.

  2. Electron demo showcasing running PowerSync in the main process (as opposed to the renderer process).

You can also install the SDK in your own project using:

npm install @powersync/node

Then follow the Quickstart instructions to get everything set up.

Resources

Alpha Status

Alpha releases are generally not recommended for production use, as breaking changes may still occur. For more details, see PowerSync’s feature status definitions.

Since this SDK shares a lot of code with our existing JavaScript SDKs, we don’t expect major issues. However, it's in alpha because it hasn’t seen much real-world usage yet, and we may still refine the Node-specific APIs based on testing and feedback.

Feedback/Questions?

As this is an alpha release, we’d love to hear how it works for you. If you run into issues or have suggestions, let us know in Discord.

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