@a83/orbiter-core

@a83/orbiter-core

SQLite persistence layer for Orbiter CMS — the .pod file engine.

---

A .pod file is a standard SQLite database. This package opens it, creates the schema, and exposes typed methods for everything Orbiter stores: collections, entries, media, users, sessions, and site config.

You rarely need this package directly — use @a83/orbiter-admin for the full admin UI and @a83/orbiter-integration to read content in Astro. orbiter-core is for scripting, migrations, or building custom tooling on top of the pod format.

---

Install

npm install @a83/orbiter-core

Requires Node.js 20+. Uses better-sqlite3 — a native module, so it needs a real Node.js environment with filesystem access.

---

Quick start

import { createPod, openPod, hashPassword } from '@a83/orbiter-core';
import { randomUUID } from 'node:crypto';

// Create a new pod with site config
const db = createPod('./content.pod', {
  site: { name: 'My Site', url: 'https://example.com', locale: 'en' }
});

// Add an admin user
const hash = await hashPassword('my-password');
db.insertUser(randomUUID(), 'admin', hash, 'admin');
db.close();

// Open an existing pod
const db2 = openPod('./content.pod');
const entries = db2.getEntries('posts', { status: 'published' });
db2.close();

---

API

createPod(path, options?)

Creates a new .pod file at path with the Orbiter schema. Returns an OrbiterDB instance.

const db = createPod('./content.pod', {
  site: {
    name:   'My Site',
    url:    'https://example.com',
    locale: 'en',
  }
});

openPod(path)

Opens an existing .pod file. Applies any pending schema migrations automatically. Returns an OrbiterDB instance.

const db = openPod('./content.pod');

---

OrbiterDB

Collections

db.getCollections()                         // → Collection[]
db.getCollection(id)                        // → Collection | null
db.createCollection(id, label, schema)      // → void
db.updateCollection(id, label, schema)      // → boolean
db.deleteCollection(id)                     // → boolean

Entries

db.getEntries(collectionId, { status? })    // → Entry[]
db.getEntry(collectionId, slug)             // → Entry | null
db.createEntry(collectionId, slug, data, status)  // → id
db.updateEntry(collectionId, slug, { slug, data, status })  // → boolean
db.deleteEntry(collectionId, slug)          // → boolean

Media

db.listMedia(folder?)                       // → MediaMeta[] (no binary data)
db.getMediaItem(id)                         // → MediaItem | null (includes data/url/path)
db.insertMedia(id, filename, mimeType, size, data, alt?, folder?, url?, path?)
db.deleteMedia(id)                          // → void

Users & sessions

db.insertUser(id, username, passwordHash, role)
db.getUser(username)                        // → User | null
db.updatePassword(username, newHash)        // → boolean
db.updateUsername(id, newUsername)          // → boolean
db.insertSession(token, userId, expiresAt)
db.getSession(token)                        // → Session | null
db.deleteSession(token)

Site config (_meta)

db.getMeta(key)             // → string | null
db.setMeta(key, value)      // → void

Common keys: site.name, site.url, site.locale, build.webhook_url, media.backend.

Version history

// Versions are stored automatically on updateEntry.
// Access the raw table via db.db (the underlying better-sqlite3 instance):
db.db.prepare('SELECT * FROM _versions WHERE entry_id = ? ORDER BY created_at DESC').all(entryId)

Raw SQLite access

db.db   // → better-sqlite3 Database instance
db.close()

---

Auth utilities

import { hashPassword, verifyPassword, generateToken } from '@a83/orbiter-core/auth';

const hash    = await hashPassword('my-password')       // → string (scrypt)
const ok      = await verifyPassword('my-password', hash) // → boolean
const token   = generateToken()                          // → 64-char hex string

---

Media backends

getMediaBackend(db) returns the configured backend based on media.backend in _meta:

import { openPod, getMediaBackend } from '@a83/orbiter-core';

const db      = openPod('./content.pod');
const backend = getMediaBackend(db);

// Upload
await backend.upload(id, filename, mimeType, size, buffer, alt, folder);

// Get (returns { data, mimeType } for blob/local, { url, mimeType } for github)
const result = await backend.get(id);

// Delete (also removes from external storage if applicable)
await backend.delete(id);
db.close();

Backend	media.backend value	Storage
Blob (default)	blob	SQLite BLOB in _media.data
Local filesystem	local	Disk path in _media.path
GitHub + jsDelivr	github	GitHub Contents API → CDN URL in _media.url

---

Schema migrations

Migrations run automatically when openPod() or createPod() is called. The _meta table stores a format_version key. New columns are added with ALTER TABLE … ADD COLUMN wrapped in try-catch, so they're idempotent.

---

The .pod format

content.pod                         ← SQLite 3 database
├── _meta          TEXT key/value   ← site config, media backend config
├── _collections   JSON schema      ← field definitions per collection
├── _entries       JSON data        ← all content, slug + status
├── _versions      JSON snapshots   ← version history per entry
├── _media         BLOB or URL ref  ← uploaded files or external links
├── _users         scrypt hashes    ← admin accounts
└── _sessions      tokens           ← active login sessions

The file is a standard SQLite 3 database. Inspect it with any SQLite tool:

sqlite3 content.pod ".tables"
sqlite3 content.pod "SELECT slug, status FROM _entries ORDER BY updated_at DESC LIMIT 10"

---

Part of Orbiter

Package	Description
@a83/orbiter-core	This package — SQLite engine
@a83/orbiter-admin	Standalone admin server (Hono, port 4322)
@a83/orbiter-integration	Astro integration, orbiter:collections virtual module
@a83/orbiter-cli	orbiter init, add-user, export, pack, unpack

orbiter.sh · MIT · github.com/aeon022/orbiter