---
type: entity
tags: [parking, stack, database]
sources: [parking-system-architecture]
updated: 2026-06-14
---

# SQLite

The local database (`better-sqlite3` driver, accessed via [[drizzle-orm]]). The right call
for a **single-site, single-writer** system. (See [[parking-system-architecture]] §2, §4.)

## Why it fits

Its only practical limit is **write concurrency** — one writer at a time, mitigated by **WAL
mode** (many concurrent readers + one writer). A parking workload never approaches this.
Other official limits are far beyond reach: ~281 TB max DB size, effectively unlimited rows,
32,767 columns/table, 1 GB per text/blob cell.

You'd only outgrow SQLite with multiple machines writing the same DB (**never do this over a
network share**) or sustained high-frequency concurrent writes — neither applies here.

## Relation to PostgreSQL

The move to remote PostgreSQL is a **business/durability** decision (the remote sync target),
**not a capacity** one. [[drizzle-orm]] schemas port over with minimal change.

Open risk: a disk failure currently means total revenue-history loss — see
[[open-questions]] #5 (durability/backup). Part of the [[technology-stack]].