node:sqlite not available in Bun?

[digitalnature]

getting this error error: No such built-in module: node:sqlite if I try to import node:sqlite:

import { DatabaseSync, type SQLInputValue } from "node:sqlite";

I know there's a bun:sqlite verison but I need the node compat, if possible without creating some wrapper for both

[alii]

node:sqlite is currently not implemented in Bun. You could consider using bun:sqlite or Bun.SQL. It is possible that Bun will support node:sqlite in the future, and would likely wrap bun:sqlite.

[wesleysmyth]

Bun doesn't implement node:sqlite — this module was added to Node.js in v22.5.0 (behind --experimental-sqlite) and became stable more recently, but Bun hasn't added compatibility for it yet.

Current state

Runtime	node:sqlite	Native SQLite
Node.js 22.5+	Yes (node:sqlite)	N/A
Bun	No	Yes (bun:sqlite)
Deno	No	Via npm packages

Option 1: Conditional import (runtime detection)

If you need the same code to work on both Node.js and Bun:

// db.ts
let Database: any;

if (typeof Bun !== "undefined") {
  // Bun runtime
  Database = (await import("bun:sqlite")).Database;
} else {
  // Node.js runtime
  const { DatabaseSync } = await import("node:sqlite");
  Database = DatabaseSync;
}

export { Database };

Note: The APIs are slightly different — bun:sqlite is synchronous by default (like better-sqlite3), and node:sqlite's DatabaseSync is also synchronous, so the core usage is similar.

Option 2: Use better-sqlite3 as a universal alternative

better-sqlite3 works on both Node.js and Bun and has a very similar API to both node:sqlite and bun:sqlite:

bun add better-sqlite3
# or
npm install better-sqlite3

import Database from "better-sqlite3";

const db = new Database("mydb.sqlite");
const rows = db.prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?").all(1);

This is the most portable option and avoids any runtime-specific imports.

Option 3: Thin adapter layer

If you want to use native SQLite on each runtime without a third-party package:

// sqlite-adapter.ts
interface SQLiteAdapter {
  prepare(sql: string): {
    all(...params: any[]): any[];
    get(...params: any[]): any;
    run(...params: any[]): void;
  };
  close(): void;
}

export function openDatabase(path: string): SQLiteAdapter {
  if (typeof Bun !== "undefined") {
    const { Database } = require("bun:sqlite");
    const db = new Database(path);
    return {
      prepare: (sql: string) => {
        const stmt = db.prepare(sql);
        return {
          all: (...params: any[]) => stmt.all(...params),
          get: (...params: any[]) => stmt.get(...params),
          run: (...params: any[]) => stmt.run(...params),
        };
      },
      close: () => db.close(),
    };
  }

  // Node.js
  const { DatabaseSync } = require("node:sqlite");
  const db = new DatabaseSync(path);
  return {
    prepare: (sql: string) => {
      const stmt = db.prepare(sql);
      return {
        all: (...params: any[]) => stmt.all(...params),
        get: (...params: any[]) => stmt.get(...params),
        run: (...params: any[]) => stmt.run(...params),
      };
    },
    close: () => db.close(),
  };
}

Tracking the issue

There's no official Bun issue tracking node:sqlite compatibility yet. You could open a feature request at oven-sh/bun since they aim for Node.js compatibility — but given Bun already has bun:sqlite with a very similar API, it may not be prioritized.

Recommendation: Use better-sqlite3 for cross-runtime compatibility, or use the conditional import pattern if you want zero dependencies.