denokv

A self-hosted backend for Deno KV, the JavaScript first key-value database:

• Seamlessly integrated JavaScript APIs
• ACID transactions
• Multiple consistency levels for optimal performance for every usecase

Deno KV can be used with the built-in single instance database in the CLI, useful for testing and development, with a hosted and scalable backend on Deno Deploy, or with this self-hostable Deno KV backend.

To run denokv, just run:

docker run -it --init -p 4512:4512 -v ./data:/data ghcr.io/denoland/denokv --sqlite-path /data/denokv.sqlite serve --access-token <random-token>

Then run your Deno program and specify the access token in the DENO_KV_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable:

const kv = await Deno.openKv("http://localhost:4512");

The self-hosted denokv backend is built on the same robust SQLite backend as the built-in single instance database in the CLI. It is designed to be run on a VPS or Kubernetes cluster statefully, with Deno processes connecting via the network using KV Connect.

The standalone denokv binary is designed to handle thousands of concurrent requests, from hundreds of different Deno processes. It is built on top of the robust SQLite database, and uses non-blocking IO to ensure excellent performance even in the face of hundreds of concurrent connections.

Just like the Deno CLI, denokv is MIT licensed, free and open source.

Read more in the announcement of self-hosted Deno KV.

When should I use this?

If you need more than a single Deno process to access the same KV database, and you are ok with running a server, keeping denokv updated, handling backups, and performing regular maintenance, then this is for you.

You can use a hosted KV database on Deno Deploy if you don't want to self-host and manage a denokv server.

If you are just need a backend for local development or testing, you can use the Deno KV backend built into the Deno CLI. You can open a temporary in memory KV database with Deno.openKv(":memory:") or a persistent database by specifying a path like Deno.openKv("./my-database.sqlite").

How to run

Docker on a VPS

Ensure that you are running on a service that supports persistent storage, and does not perform auto-scaling beyond a single instance. This means you can not run denokv on Google Cloud Run or AWS Lambda.

Install Docker on your VPS and create a directory for the database to store data in.

$ mkdir -p /data

Then run the denokv Docker image, mounting the /data directory as a volume and specifying a random access token.

docker run -it --init -p 4512:4512 -v ./data:/data ghcr.io/denoland/denokv --sqlite-path /data/denokv.sqlite serve --access-token <random-token>

You can now access the database from your Deno programs by specifying the access token in the DENO_KV_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable, and the host and port of your VPS in the URL passed to Deno.openKv.

You should additionally add a HTTPS terminating proxy or loadbalancer in front of denokv to ensure that all communication happens over TLS. Not using TLS can pose a significant security risk. The HTTP protocol used by Deno KV is compatible with any HTTP proxy, such as caddy, nginx, or a loadbalancer.

Fly.io

You can easily host denokv on https://fly.io.

Note: Fly.io is a paid service. You will need to add a credit card to your account to use it.

Sign up to Fly.io and install the flyctl CLI.

Sign into the CLI with flyctl auth login.

Create a new app with flyctl apps create.

Create a fly.toml file with the following contents. Make sure to replace the <your-app-name> and <region> placeholders with your app name and the region you want to deploy to.

app = "<your-app-name>"
primary_region = "<region>"

[build]
  image = "ghcr.io/denoland/denokv:latest"

[http_service]
  internal_port = 4512
  force_https = true
  auto_stop_machines = true
  auto_start_machines = true
  min_machines_running = 0

[env]
  DENO_KV_SQLITE_PATH="/data/denokv.sqlite3"
  # access token is set via `flyctl secrets set`

[mounts]
  destination = "/data"
  source = "denokv_data"

Run flyctl volumes create denokv_data to create a volume to store the database in.

Run flyctl secrets set DENO_KV_ACCESS_TOKEN=<random-token> to set the access token. Make sure to replace <random-token> with a random string. Keep this token secret, and don't share it with anyone. You will need this token to connect to your database from Deno.

Run flyctl deploy to deploy your app.

You can now access the database from your Deno programs by specifying the access token in the DENO_KV_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable, and the URL provided by flyctl deploy in the URL passed to Deno.openKv.

Be aware that with this configuration, your database can scale to 0 instances when not in use. This means that the first request to your database after a period of inactivity will be slow, as the database needs to be started. You can avoid this by setting min_machines_running to 1, and setting auto_stop_machines = false.

Install binary

You can download a prebuilt binary from the releases page and place it in your PATH.

You can also compile from source by running cargo install denokv --locked.

How to connect

Deno

To connect to a denokv server from Deno, use the Deno.openKv API:

const kv = await Deno.openKv("http://localhost:4512");

Make sure to specify your access token in the DENO_KV_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable.

Advanced setup

Running as a replica of a hosted KV database

denokv has a mode for running as a replica of a KV database hosted on Deno Deploy through the S3 backup feature.

To run as a replica:

docker run -it --init -p 4512:4512 -v ./data:/data \
  -e AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="<aws-access-key-id>" \
  -e AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="<aws-secret-access-key>" \
  -e AWS_REGION="<aws-region>" \
  ghcr.io/denoland/denokv --sqlite-path /data/denokv.sqlite serve \
  --access-token <random-token> --sync-from-s3 --s3-bucket your-bucket --s3-prefix some-prefix/6aea9765-2b1e-41c7-8904-0bdcd70b21d3/

To sync the local database from S3, without updating the snapshot:

denokv --sqlite-path /data/denokv.sqlite pitr sync --s3-bucket your-bucket --s3-prefix some-prefix/6aea9765-2b1e-41c7-8904-0bdcd70b21d3/

To list recoverable points:

denokv --sqlite-path /data/denokv.sqlite pitr list

To checkout the snapshot at a specific recoverable point:

denokv --sqlite-path /data/denokv.sqlite pitr checkout 0100000002c0f4c10000

Continuous backup using LiteFS

TODO

Other things in this repo

This repository contains two crates:

• denokv_proto (/proto): Shared interfaces backing KV, like definitions of Key, Database, and Value.
• denokv_sqlite (/sqlite): An implementation of Database backed by SQLite.
• denokv_remote (/remote): An implementation of Database backed by a remote KV database, acessible via the KV Connect protocol.

These crates are used by the deno_kv crate in the Deno repository to provide a JavaScript API for interacting with Deno KV.

The Deno KV Connect protocol used for communication between Deno and a remote KV database is defined in /proto/kv-connect.md.