Version control system for files and application data

Lix is a version control system for files and application data. Store files of any format alongside SQL tables in one repository. Branch, diff, merge, and roll back changes to both. Lix runs inside your app or connects to a server:

One Lix repository holding files of every format and the application's own database tables

📄 Any format. Store text, binaries, and large files. Plugins provide structured diffs and merges for supported formats, including Markdown and CSV.
🧩 Embeddable. Runs in-process as a library. Storage is pluggable: memory, filesystem, browser OPFS, or S3.
🗄️ Designed as a database. File content, app tables, and history are rows in one ACID OLTP database. Query millions of rows with SQL.
⚡ Real-time collaboration. People and agents share a repository and see changes as they happen.
🔒 Permissions (planned). Per file, per group, stored in the repository and versioned like any other change.

Why not Git?

Git versions files well, but application data usually lives in a separate database. Committing a SQLite database to Git versions its bytes, not its rows: changes are hard to review or merge, and each database revision adds to the repository. Lix stores queryable tables alongside files and versions changes to both.

	Git	Lix
Process model	Separate CLI process	Library in your process
Storage	Local disk	Memory · filesystem · OPFS · S3
Application data	Separate database	SQL rows, ACID, with the files
Recording changes	Manual commits	Tracked writes commit automatically
Formats	Text lines	Structured diffs with plugins for supported formats
Collaboration	Push and pull	Real time

Getting started

JavaScript · Rust · Python · Go

npm install @lix-js/sdk @lix-js/storage-filesystem

Run locally with FilesystemStorage:

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

const lix = await openLix({
  storage: new FilesystemStorage({ path: "./repository" }),
});

await lix.execute("INSERT INTO lix_file (path, content) VALUES ($1, $2)", [
  "/notes/status.txt",
  new TextEncoder().encode("ready"),
]);

Or against a server:

const lix = await openLix({
  server: {
    url: "https://example.com/lix/01936f4e-7b6c-7c3d-8f9a-123456789abc",
  },
});

Lix is in alpha.

Prime use cases

Co-locate code, documents, and app state

Code lives in Git. Documents, design files, and media live in Drive, Figma, and S3. App state lives in Postgres. No system versions all of them together. Lix stores them in one repository with one history.

// A script, a 4.8 GB video, and an app table in one transaction.
await lix.executeBatch([
  {
    sql: "INSERT INTO lix_file (path, content) VALUES ($1, $2)",
    params: ["/automations/weekly-report.js", source],
  },
  {
    sql: "INSERT INTO lix_file (path, content) VALUES ($1, $2)",
    params: ["/media/launch.mp4", video],
  },
  {
    sql: "UPDATE orders SET status = 'shipped' WHERE id = $1",
    params: [1002],
  },
]);

// Branch, diff, and roll back all of it together.

Give each customer a repository

Your customers want agents that write automations and edit their documents, with a way to review and undo. Drive has no version control. Your customers do not have GitHub repos. Embed Lix and give each customer a repository that holds their code, documents, spreadsheets, and media.

Your product creates one Lix repository per customer, each holding a different mix of automations, handbooks, pricing, and knowledge files

// One hosted repository per customer.
const lix = await openLix({
  server: {
    url: `https://example.com/lix/${customer.repositoryId}`,
  },
});

// The agent writes an automation. Lix commits the change automatically.
await lix.execute("INSERT INTO lix_file (path, content) VALUES ($1, $2)", [
  "/automations/booking.ts",
  code,
]);

// Your UI shows the diff. The customer clicks accept or undo.

Apps with version control

Your app reads and writes SQL rows and normal files. Lix records every change with its author, so history, blame, branching, and rollback are queries instead of features you build.

An app window with a document diff, an accept and undo control, and a history sidebar with checkpoints, all provided by Lix

// A normal app write. "orders" is a table you registered with a Lix schema.
await lix.execute("UPDATE orders SET status = 'shipped' WHERE id = 1002");

// The history sidebar, diff view, and undo button are queries:
const changes = await lix.execute(`
  SELECT created_at, account_id, schema_key, row_pk, snapshot_content
  FROM lix_change
  ORDER BY created_at DESC
`);