Build an internal app#

Lix repositories have a SQL interface and JavaScript bindings. Your company can build internal apps on top of its repository, with application data and files in the same versioned store.

This example works with files and a custom task table in a shared repository. Lix tracks changes to both automatically.

Install#

npm install @lix-js/[email protected]

Connect to your repository#

Create an access token, then set LIX_REPOSITORY_URL and LIX_ACCESS_TOKEN in your Node.js environment. Open the hosted repository:

import { openLix } from "@lix-js/sdk";

const lix = await openLix({
  server: {
    url: process.env.LIX_REPOSITORY_URL,
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.LIX_ACCESS_TOKEN}`,
    },
  },
});

LIX_REPOSITORY_URL is the SDK endpoint for your repository: https://lixray.com/lix/REPOSITORY_ID. Use the repository ID, not its name or browser page URL. Keep the token in your server environment, outside browser code.

Work with files#

Continue in the same script:

const path = `/tasks/${crypto.randomUUID()}.txt`;
const encode = (text) => new TextEncoder().encode(text);

// Add a task to the shared repository.
await lix.execute("INSERT INTO lix_file (path, content) VALUES ($1, $2)", [
  path,
  encode("TODO: Review the launch plan"),
]);

// Read it back.
const result = await lix.execute(
  "SELECT content FROM lix_file WHERE path = $1",
  [path],
);
console.log(new TextDecoder().decode(result.rows[0].content));

// Mark it complete. Lix records the change automatically.
await lix.execute("UPDATE lix_file SET content = $1 WHERE path = $2", [
  encode("DONE: Review the launch plan"),
  path,
]);

The script prints TODO: Review the launch plan. The task file then contains DONE: Review the launch plan in the shared repository, with both writes in its history. The $1 and $2 placeholders pass values separately from SQL.

Register a custom table#

For structured application data, register a schema once when setting up your repository. This defines an acme_task table with an ID, title, and completion status:

const schema = {
  $schema: "https://lix.dev/schema-v1.json",
  key: "acme_task",
  columns: [
    { name: "id", type: "uuid", nullable: false },
    { name: "title", type: "text", nullable: false },
    { name: "done", type: "boolean", nullable: false },
  ],
  primary_key: ["id"],
};

await lix.execute(
  "INSERT INTO lix_registered_schema (schema_key, value) VALUES ($1, $2::jsonb)",
  [schema.key, JSON.stringify(schema)],
);

Use your custom table#

Query the registered table with the same SQL interface you used for files:

const taskId = crypto.randomUUID();

await lix.execute(
  "INSERT INTO acme_task (id, title, done) VALUES ($1, $2, $3)",
  [taskId, "Review the launch plan", false],
);

await lix.execute("UPDATE acme_task SET done = $1 WHERE id = $2", [
  true,
  taskId,
]);

const tasks = await lix.execute("SELECT id, title, done FROM acme_task");
console.table(tasks.rows);

Files and custom rows live in the same repository and share its version history. When your script is finished, close the connection:

await lix.close();

See schemas for more column types and live queries to react to changes from teammates and agents.