SQLite state schema (Effect schema)

LiveStore supports defining SQLite tables using Effect Schema with annotations for database constraints. This approach provides strong type safety, composability, and automatic type mapping from TypeScript to SQLite.

Note: This approach will become the default once Effect Schema v4 is released. See livestore#382 for details.

For the traditional column-based approach, see SQLite State Schema.

Basic usage

Define tables using Effect Schema with database constraint annotations:

basic.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

const UserSchema = Schema.Struct({
  id: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey),
  email: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withUnique),
  name: Schema.String,
  age: Schema.Int.pipe(State.SQLite.withDefault(0)),
  isActive: Schema.Boolean.pipe(State.SQLite.withDefault(true)),
  metadata: Schema.optional(Schema.Record(Schema.String, Schema.Unknown)),
}).annotate({ title: 'users' })

export const userTable = State.SQLite.table({ schema: UserSchema })

Schema annotations

You can annotate schema fields with database constraints:

Primary keys

primary-key.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

const _schema = Schema.Struct({
  id: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey),
  // Other fields...
})

Important: Primary key columns cannot be nullable. This will throw an error:

primary-key-nullable.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

// ❌ This will throw an error at runtime because primary keys cannot be nullable
const _badSchema = Schema.Struct({
  id: Schema.NullOr(Schema.String).pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey),
})

Auto-Increment

auto-increment.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

const _schema = Schema.Struct({
  id: Schema.Int.pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey, State.SQLite.withAutoIncrement),
  // Other fields...
})

Default values

default-values.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

const _schema = Schema.Struct({
  status: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withDefault('active')),
  createdAt: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withDefault('CURRENT_TIMESTAMP')),
  count: Schema.Int.pipe(State.SQLite.withDefault(0)),
})

Unique constraints

unique-constraints.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

const _schema = Schema.Struct({
  email: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withUnique),
  username: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withUnique),
})

Unique annotations automatically create unique indexes.

Custom column types

Override the automatically inferred SQLite column type:

custom-column-types.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

const _schema = Schema.Struct({
  // Store a number as text instead of real
  version: Schema.Finite.pipe(State.SQLite.withColumnType('text')),
  // Store binary data as blob
  data: Schema.Uint8Array.pipe(State.SQLite.withColumnType('blob')),
})

Combining annotations

Annotations can be chained together:

combining-annotations.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

const _schema = Schema.Struct({
  id: Schema.Int.pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey, State.SQLite.withAutoIncrement),
  email: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withUnique, State.SQLite.withColumnType('text')),
})

Table naming

You can specify table names in several ways:

Using schema annotations

table-name-annotations.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

// Using title annotation
const UserSchema = Schema.Struct({
  id: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey),
  name: Schema.String,
}).annotate({ title: 'users' })

export const userTable = State.SQLite.table({ schema: UserSchema })

// Using identifier annotation
const PostSchema = Schema.Struct({
  id: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey),
  title: Schema.String,
}).annotate({ identifier: 'posts' })

export const postTable = State.SQLite.table({ schema: PostSchema })

Explicit name

table-name-explicit.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

const UserSchema = Schema.Struct({
  id: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey),
  name: Schema.String,
})

export const userTable = State.SQLite.table({
  name: 'users',
  schema: UserSchema,
})

Note: Title annotation takes precedence over identifier annotation.

Type mapping

Effect Schema types are automatically mapped to SQLite column types:

Schema Type	SQLite Type	TypeScript Type
Schema.String	text	string
Schema.Number	real	number
Schema.Int	integer	number
Schema.Boolean	integer	boolean
Schema.Date	text	Date
Schema.BigInt	text	bigint
Complex types (Struct, Array, etc.)	text (JSON encoded)	Decoded type
Schema.optional(T)	Nullable column	T | undefined
Schema.NullOr(T)	Nullable column	T | null

Advanced examples

Complex schema with multiple constraints

advanced-product.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

const ProductSchema = Schema.Struct({
  id: Schema.Int.pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey, State.SQLite.withAutoIncrement),
  sku: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withUnique),
  name: Schema.String,
  price: Schema.Finite.pipe(State.SQLite.withDefault(0)),
  category: Schema.Literals(['electronics', 'clothing', 'books']),
  metadata: Schema.optional(
    Schema.Struct({
      weight: Schema.Finite,
      dimensions: Schema.Struct({
        width: Schema.Finite,
        height: Schema.Finite,
        depth: Schema.Finite,
      }),
    }),
  ),
  isActive: Schema.Boolean.pipe(State.SQLite.withDefault(true)),
  createdAt: Schema.Date.pipe(State.SQLite.withDefault('CURRENT_TIMESTAMP')),
}).annotate({ title: 'products' })

export const productTable = State.SQLite.table({ schema: ProductSchema })

Working with Schema.Class

schema-class.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

class User extends Schema.Class<User>('User')({
  id: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey),
  email: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withUnique),
  name: Schema.String,
  age: Schema.Int,
}) {}

export const userTable = State.SQLite.table({
  name: 'users',
  schema: User,
})

Custom indexes

custom-indexes.ts

import { Schema, State } from '@livestore/livestore'

const PostSchema = Schema.Struct({
  id: Schema.String.pipe(State.SQLite.withPrimaryKey),
  title: Schema.String,
  authorId: Schema.String,
  createdAt: Schema.Date,
}).annotate({ title: 'posts' })

export const postTable = State.SQLite.table({
  schema: PostSchema,
  indexes: [
    { name: 'idx_posts_author', columns: ['authorId'] },
    { name: 'idx_posts_created', columns: ['createdAt'] },
  ],
})

Best Practices

Schema Design

• Always use withPrimaryKey for primary key columns - never combine it with nullable types
• Use Schema.optional() for truly optional fields that can be undefined
• Use Schema.NullOr() for fields that can explicitly be set to null
• Leverage schema annotations like title or identifier to avoid repeating table names
• Group related schemas in the same module for better organization

Type safety

• Let TypeScript infer table types rather than explicitly typing them
• Use Effect Schema’s refinements and transformations for data validation
• Prefer Effect Schema’s built-in types (Schema.Int, Schema.Date) over generic types where appropriate

Performance

• Be mindful of complex types stored as JSON - they can impact query performance
• Use appropriate indexes for frequently queried columns
• Consider using withColumnType to optimize storage for specific use cases

When to Use This Approach

Use Effect Schema-based tables when:

• You already have Effect Schema definitions to reuse
• You prefer Effect Schema’s composability and transformations
• Your schemas are shared across different parts of your application
• You want automatic type mapping and strong type safety
• You plan to migrate to Effect Schema v4 when it becomes available

Consider column-based tables when:

• You need precise control over SQLite column types
• You’re migrating from existing SQLite schemas
• You prefer explicit column configuration
• You’re not already using Effect Schema extensively in your project