LiveStore
activeby Johannes Schickling and LiveStore contributors · since 2025 · also known as livestore.dev
Event-sourced local-first data layer: reactive SQLite on the client, rebuilt from a synced event log.
Overview
LiveStore is a TypeScript state-management and sync framework that keeps app state in a reactive SQLite database on the client (WASM in browsers, native in React Native and Expo) and derives it from an append-only log of events. Events sync through pluggable backends such as Cloudflare Durable Objects, ElectricSQL or S2, and every client replays them through materializers to rebuild its SQLite tables, so conflicts are resolved by rebasing events rather than merging rows. It suits apps that want instant local queries, offline support and an audit-friendly event history. It is pre-1.0 and its APIs still change between releases.
Strengths & trade-offs
Strengths
- +Real SQLite queries on the client with fine-grained reactivity
- +Event-sourced design gives a full history and simple rebase-style conflict handling
- +Pluggable sync backends including Cloudflare and ElectricSQL
- +Works across web, React Native/Expo and Node
Trade-offs
- −Pre-1.0 with breaking API changes
- −Event-sourcing discipline adds modelling overhead
- −Long event logs make cold starts slower without snapshots
Great for
- +Local-first productivity and note-taking apps
- +Apps that benefit from an auditable event history
- +Offline-capable Expo apps
Think twice for
- −Large shared datasets queried server-side
- −Teams wanting a stable, managed sync service
Capabilities
Native or official first-party support · 7 of 25 tracked
Scale & consistency
- Comfortable data size
- Small · ≤ 100 GB
- Horizontal scaling
- None
- Multi-region
- No
- Transactions
- Full ACID
- Consistency
- Causal, Eventual
- Schema
- Strict
- Architecture
- Embedded
- Query languages
- SQL (SQLite), LiveStore query builder
Each client holds its own SQLite state; the event log size bounds practical scale.
Deployment
Ecosystem
Alternatives to LiveStore
Tiny reactive in-memory store for tables and values, with persisters and CRDT sync.
livestore vs tinybase →Local-first TypeScript platform: SQLite on each device, end-to-end encrypted sync through relays.
livestore vs evolu →Local-first database with built-in sync, permissions and edit history, being rebuilt as a relational Jazz 2.
livestore vs jazz →Query-driven sync engine: clients run ZQL locally against a Postgres-backed cache for instant UIs.
livestore vs rocicorp-zero →Read-path sync engine that streams partial replicas of Postgres to clients over plain HTTP.
livestore vs electricsql →Sync engine that keeps on-device SQLite in sync with Postgres, MongoDB, MySQL or SQL Server.
livestore vs powersync →LiveStore FAQ
What is LiveStore?
LiveStore is a relational database by Johannes Schickling and LiveStore contributors, first released in 2025. LiveStore is a TypeScript state-management and sync framework that keeps app state in a reactive SQLite database on the client (WASM in browsers, native in React Native and Expo) and derives it from an append-only log of events. Events sync through pluggable backends such as Cloudflare Durable Objects, ElectricSQL or S2, and every client replays them through materializers to rebuild its SQLite tables, so conflicts are resolved by rebasing events rather than merging rows. It suits apps that want instant local queries, offline support and an audit-friendly event history. It is pre-1.0 and its APIs still change between releases.
Is LiveStore open source?
Yes. LiveStore is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.
Does LiveStore support ACID transactions?
Yes. LiveStore supports full ACID transactions, with causal, eventual consistency.
Does LiveStore scale horizontally?
LiveStore does not scale horizontally; it runs on a single node, so you scale it up rather than out. It is comfortable at small scale (≤ 100 GB).
How can I run LiveStore?
You can self-host it, embed it in your application and run it at the edge.
What is LiveStore best for?
LiveStore is a strong fit for local-first productivity and note-taking apps; apps that benefit from an auditable event history; and offline-capable Expo apps. Think twice for large shared datasets queried server-side.
What are the best alternatives to LiveStore?
Common alternatives to LiveStore include TinyBase, Evolu, Jazz, Zero (Rocicorp) and ElectricSQL. The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.
How popular is LiveStore?
LiveStore ranks #212 of 844 databases on the WhichDB Score (15.5/100), and #64 among relational databases. The score combines public adoption signals such as package downloads, GitHub activity, job posts and developer discussion.