---
title: WebSQL and SQLite
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  type: web
  sql: true
---

import current from '/version.js';
import CodeBlock from '@theme/CodeBlock';

WebSQL is a popular SQL-based in-browser database available on Chrome.  In
practice, it is powered by SQLite, and most simple SQLite-compatible queries
work as-is in WebSQL.

The public demo <https://sheetjs.com/sql> generates a database from workbook.

:::caution pass

WebSQL is only supported in Chromium-based browsers including Chrome.

Safari historically supported WebSQL but Safari 13 dropped support.  Legacy
browsers including Internet Explorer and Firefox never added support.

:::

## WebSQL Details

Importing data from spreadsheets is straightforward using the `generate_sql`
helper function from ["Generating Tables"](/docs/demos/data/sql#generating-tables).

The Web SQL Database API is callback-based.  The following snippet wraps
transactions in Promise objects:

```js
const db = openDatabase('sheetql', '1.0', 'SheetJS WebSQL Test', 2097152);
const stmts = generate_sql(ws, wsname);

// NOTE: tx.executeSql and db.transaction use callbacks. This wraps in Promises
for(var stmt of stmts) await new Promise((res, rej) => {
  db.transaction(tx =>
    tx.executeSql(stmt, [],
      (tx, data) => res(data), // if the query is successful, return the data
      (tx, err) => rej(err) // if the query fails, reject with the error
  ));
});
```

The result of a SQL SELECT statement is a `SQLResultSet`.  The `rows` property
is a `SQLResultSetRowList`.  It is an "array-like" structure that has `length`
and properties like `0`, `1`, etc.  However, this is not a real Array object!

A real Array can be created using `Array.from`:

```js
db.readTransaction(tx =>
  tx.executeSQL("SELECT * FROM DatabaseTable", [], (tx, data) => {
    // data.rows is "array-like", so `Array.from` can make it a real array
    const aoo = Array.from(data.rows);
    const ws = XLSX.utils.json_to_sheet(aoo);
    // ... perform an export here OR wrap in a Promise
  })
);
```

### Live Demo

:::note

This browser demo was tested in the following environments:

| Browser     | Date       |
|:------------|:-----------|
| Chrome 117  | 2023-10-11 |

Some lesser-used browsers do not support WebSQL:

| Browser     | Date       | Support                             |
|:------------|:-----------|:------------------------------------|
| Safari 17.0 | 2023-10-11 | Error `Web SQL is deprecated`       |
| Firefox 118 | 2023-10-11 | Error `openDatabase is not defined` |

:::

The following demo generates a database with 5 fixed SQL statements. Queries
can be changed in the Live Editor.  The WebSQL database can be inspected in the
"WebSQL" section of the "Application" Tab of Developer Tools:

![WebSQL view in Developer Tools](pathname:///files/websql.png)

```jsx live
function SheetQL() {
  const [out, setOut] = React.useState("");
  const queries = [
    'DROP TABLE IF EXISTS Presidents',
    'CREATE TABLE Presidents (Name TEXT, Idx REAL)',
    'INSERT INTO Presidents  (Name, Idx) VALUES ("Barack Obama", 44)',
    'INSERT INTO Presidents  (Name, Idx) VALUES ("Donald Trump", 45)',
    'INSERT INTO Presidents  (Name, Idx) VALUES ("Joseph Biden", 46)'
  ];
  const xport = React.useCallback(async() => {
    /* prep database */
    const db = openDatabase('sheetql', '1.0', 'SheetJS WebSQL Test', 2097152);

    for(var q of queries) await new Promise((res, rej) => {
      db.transaction((tx) => {
        tx.executeSql(q, [], (tx, data) => res(data), (tx, err) => rej(err));
      });
    });

    /* pull data and generate rows */
    db.readTransaction(tx => {
      tx.executeSql("SELECT * FROM Presidents", [], (tx, data) => {
        const aoo = Array.from(data.rows);
        setOut("QUERY RESULT:\n" + aoo.map(r => JSON.stringify(r)).join("\n") + "\n")
        const ws = XLSX.utils.json_to_sheet(aoo);
        const wb = XLSX.utils.book_new();
        XLSX.utils.book_append_sheet(wb, ws, "Presidents");
        XLSX.writeFile(wb, "SheetQL.xlsx");
      });
    });
  });
  return ( <pre>{out}<button onClick={xport}><b>Fetch!</b></button></pre> );
}
```

## Server-Side SQLite

Most platforms offer a simple way to query SQLite database files.

The following example shows how to query for each table in an SQLite database,
query for the data for each table, add each non-empty table to a workbook, and
export as XLSX.

The Chinook database is a MIT-licensed sample database. The original source code
repository `http://chinookdatabase.codeplex.com` is no longer available, so the
[raw SQL queries are mirrored here](pathname:///sqlite/chinook.sql).

:::note

This demo was last tested on 2023 May 28

:::

### NodeJS

The `better-sqlite3` module provides an API for working with SQLite databases.
`Statement#all` runs a prepared statement and returns an array of objects:

```js
import Database from "better-sqlite3";
import * as XLSX from "xlsx";

/* open database */
var db = Database("chinook.db");

/* get data from the `Invoice` table */
var aoo = db.prepare("SELECT * FROM 'Invoice' LIMIT 100000").all();

/* create worksheet from the row objects */
var ws = XLSX.utils.json_to_sheet(aoo, {dense: true});
```

0) Build `chinook.db` from [the SQL statements](pathname:///sqlite/chinook.sql):

```bash
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/sqlite/chinook.sql
sqlite3 chinook.db ".read chinook.sql"
```

1) Install the dependencies:

<CodeBlock language="bash">{`\
npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz better-sqlite3@8.1.0`}
</CodeBlock>

2) Download [`SheetJSQLiteNode.mjs`](pathname:///sqlite/SheetJSQLiteNode.mjs):

```bash
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/sqlite/SheetJSQLiteNode.mjs
```

3) Run `node SheetJSQLiteNode.mjs` and open `SheetJSQLiteNode.xlsx`

### Bun

Bun ships with a built-in high-performance module `bun:sqlite`:

```js
import { Database } from "bun:sqlite";
import * as XLSX from "xlsx";

/* open database */
var db = Database.open("chinook.db");

/* get data from the `Invoice` table */
var aoo = db.prepare("SELECT * FROM 'Invoice' LIMIT 100000").all();

/* create worksheet from the row objects */
var ws = XLSX.utils.json_to_sheet(aoo, {dense: true});
```

0) Build `chinook.db` from [the SQL statements](pathname:///sqlite/chinook.sql):

```bash
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/sqlite/chinook.sql
sqlite3 chinook.db ".read chinook.sql"
```

1) Install the dependencies:

<CodeBlock language="bash">{`\
npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz`}
</CodeBlock>

2) Download [`SheetJSQLiteBun.mjs`](pathname:///sqlite/SheetJSQLiteBun.mjs):

```bash
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/sqlite/SheetJSQLiteBun.mjs
```

3) Run `bun run SheetJSQLiteBun.mjs` and open `SheetJSQLiteBun.xlsx`

### Deno

Deno `sqlite` library returns raw arrays of arrays:

<CodeBlock language="ts">{`\
import { DB } from "https://deno.land/x/sqlite/mod.ts";
// @deno-types="https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/package/types/index.d.ts"
import * as XLSX from "https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/package/xlsx.mjs";
\n\
/* open database */
var db = new DB("chinook.db");
\n\
/* get data from the \`Invoice\` table */
var aoa = db.prepareQuery("SELECT * FROM 'Invoice' LIMIT 100000").all();
\n\
/* create worksheet from the row objects */
var data = [query.columns().map(x => x.name)].concat(aoa);
var ws = XLSX.utils.aoa_to_sheet(data, {dense: true});`}
</CodeBlock>

0) Build `chinook.db` from [the SQL statements](pathname:///sqlite/chinook.sql):

```bash
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/sqlite/chinook.sql
sqlite3 chinook.db ".read chinook.sql"
```

1) Download [`SheetJSQLiteDeno.ts`](pathname:///sqlite/SheetJSQLiteDeno.ts):

```bash
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/sqlite/SheetJSQLiteDeno.ts
```

2) Run `deno run --allow-read --allow-write SheetJSQLiteDeno.ts` and open `SheetJSQLiteDeno.xlsx`