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Optional Postgres support for self-hosting

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Assessment

Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Newbie friendliness
25/100
Issue type
Feature
Clarity
Clearly specified
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
docker, javascript, node.js, postgresql, sqlite
Domain
backend, database, devops, documentation

Research direction

Start by reading backend/db.js to map the existing database operations and schema, then inspect SQLite-specific SQL in backend/routes/ and backend/server.js. Run npm test and node scripts/check-boundary.js to establish the current baseline. This is explicitly a large, multi-PR change; done means both database test runs pass, a seeded SQLite database migrates with table row counts reported, and self-hosting docs are updated.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

enhancement help wanted

CodeArena runs on SQLite only. That is perfect for a small instance, but a busy self-hosted copy wants a managed database with backups, replicas and more than one backend process.

Goal

Optional Postgres support selected by DATABASE_URL, with SQLite remaining the default and zero-config.

What to do

  • Put database access behind a small adapter with the operations the code already uses (run, get, all, transactions), with one implementation per engine.
  • Translate schema and migrations in backend/db.js for Postgres: autoincrement ids, INTEGER booleans, text dates and INSERT OR IGNORE style statements all differ.
  • Find and fix SQLite-only SQL across backend/routes/ and backend/server.js. List each pattern you changed in the pull request.
  • A one-way migration script that copies an existing SQLite database into an empty Postgres database and checks row counts per table.

Rules

  • Run the whole backend test suite against both engines in CI, using a Postgres service container. A feature is not done if it only passes on one.
  • No ORM rewrite. Keep the SQL readable and close to what is there.

Definition of done

  • npm test green on SQLite and Postgres.
  • A real migration of a seeded local database, with row counts in the pull request.
  • Self-hosting docs updated, including the Docker setup if #10 has landed.
  • node scripts/check-boundary.js passes.

Large change: please comment with a plan and split it into several pull requests.

Dominant language
JavaScript
Stars
0
Forks
2
No merged PRs in 30d

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