Question

[jessekrubin]

Why does journal mode have to be memory? Is there any way to just set the journal mode as memory on connect?

[darkskygit]

In journal mode, executing any query that can produce write operations will directly result in an error, while memory mode is not affected.

[jessekrubin]

Can I connect and then set the journal mode?

[darkskygit]

If there are no write operations in the query statement you are using, it doesn't matter whether you keep the journal mode before upload or switch to journal mode after reading.

You can start a simple local HTTP server to verify this.