How it works

PaperDB is built on one simple idea:

Store JSON documents under collections, with optional schema enforcement — and wrap it all with a fully type-safe SDK.

This is what actually happens under the hood:

1. You define your schema

In your SDK config:

import { createClient } from "paperdb";

const db = createClient({
  apiKey: "your_api_key",
  schema: {
    users: {
      properties: {
        name: { type: "string", required: true },
        email: { type: "string", required: true },
        age: { type: "number" },
        isAdmin: { type: "boolean" },
      },
    },
  },
});

2. You insert documents

Insert a document into your collection:

await db.users.insert({
  name: "Richard Hendricks",
  email: "richard@piedpiper.com",
  age: 28,
});

The SDK:

• Applies default values (like isAdmin)
• Adds metadata (_id, createdAt, updatedAt)
• Sends it to the API

The API:

• Validates it against the schema you defined
• Checks for required & unique fields
• Stores it in the database

3. You query like this

const admins = await db.users.find({
  filter: { isAdmin: true },
  sort: "-createdAt",
  limit: 10,
});

No SQL needed. No learning curve. You just use JavaScript/TypeScript.

4. You can update, delete, and count too

await db.users.update("abc123", { age: 29 });
await db.users.delete("abc123");
const count = await db.users.count();

5. Everything is stored as structured JSON

Data is saved in a key-value store, but the schema you define gives it shape and guarantees — both on the client and the server.