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Alex Spinov
Alex Spinov

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Litestream Has a Free API: Stream SQLite Replicas to S3 Without Changing Your Code

#sqlite #litestream #database #s3

Litestream continuously replicates SQLite databases to S3, GCS, or Azure Blob Storage. It runs as a sidecar process — your app uses SQLite normally, Litestream handles backup and replication automatically.

Why Litestream?

  • Zero code changes — your app just uses SQLite normally
  • Continuous replication — streams WAL changes to S3/GCS/Azure
  • Sub-second RPO — recovery point objective under 1 second
  • Free — open source, S3 costs pennies for small databases
  • Restore anywhere — pull latest replica and run

Install 

# Debian/Ubuntu
wget https://github.com/benbjohnson/litestream/releases/latest/download/litestream-linux-amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i litestream-linux-amd64.deb

# macOS
brew install litestream

# Docker
docker pull litestream/litestream
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Quick Start 

# litestream.yml
dbs:
  - path: /data/myapp.db
    replicas:
      - type: s3
        bucket: my-backup-bucket
        path: myapp
        region: us-east-1
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# Start replication
litestream replicate -config litestream.yml

# Or specify directly
litestream replicate /data/myapp.db s3://my-bucket/myapp
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Restore 

# Restore from S3
litestream restore -config litestream.yml /data/myapp.db

# Restore to specific point in time
litestream restore -timestamp 2026-03-29T10:00:00Z /data/myapp.db

# Restore and run app
litestream restore -if-db-not-exists -config litestream.yml /data/myapp.db
litestream replicate -exec "python app.py" -config litestream.yml
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Docker Compose 

version: '3'
services:
  app:
    build: .
    volumes:
      - data:/data
      - ./litestream.yml:/etc/litestream.yml
    environment:
      - AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=xxx
      - AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=xxx
    entrypoint: litestream replicate -exec "node server.js" -config /etc/litestream.yml

volumes:
  data:
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Multiple Replicas 

dbs:
  - path: /data/myapp.db
    replicas:
      # Primary: S3
      - type: s3
        bucket: primary-backup
        region: us-east-1

      # Secondary: different region
      - type: s3
        bucket: secondary-backup
        region: eu-west-1

      # Local backup too
      - type: file
        path: /backups/myapp
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Fly.io + Litestream (Common Pattern) 

FROM litestream/litestream:latest AS litestream
FROM python:3.12-slim

COPY --from=litestream /usr/local/bin/litestream /usr/local/bin/litestream
COPY litestream.yml /etc/litestream.yml
COPY . /app

CMD litestream replicate -exec "python /app/server.py" -config /etc/litestream.yml
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CLI Commands 

# List replicas
litestream replicas /data/myapp.db

# List snapshots
litestream snapshots /data/myapp.db

# List WAL segments
litestream wal /data/myapp.db

# Validate replica
litestream validate -config litestream.yml
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Key Features

Feature Details
Replication Continuous WAL streaming
Destinations S3, GCS, Azure, SFTP, file
RPO Sub-second
Restore Point-in-time recovery
Overhead <1% CPU, minimal memory
Integration Sidecar or -exec mode

Resources

Working with data and databases? Check my Apify actors or email spinov001@gmail.com.

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