Week 4_b of 40 – Adding Persistence with SQLite

What I did

As a stretch goal for Week 4, I extended my FastAPI backend with SQLite persistence.

Instead of keeping entries only in memory, the backend now stores them in a local SQLite database. This means data survives backend restarts, which already makes the app feel much more “real”.

---

What I learned

• How to use Python’s built-in sqlite3 module
• How to create tables automatically on app startup
• How to replace in-memory lists with SQL queries
• How important restart testing is when working on backend persistence
• How frontend and backend can remain unchanged while storage evolves

This was a great reminder that good interfaces (HTTP APIs) allow you to change internals without breaking clients.

---

What was interesting

The most satisfying moment was restarting the backend, refreshing the frontend, and seeing the data still there.

Small win, I know I know — but an important milestone.

---

What’s next

Next week or more likely tomorrow, I’ll build on this setup and start adding “smart” behavior on top of the API, moving closer to AI-driven functionality.