Does Django Work With Turso?
Django works with Turso via libSQL drivers, but requires custom ORM configuration since Django's built-in SQLite support doesn't fully leverage Turso's edge-replication features.
Quick Facts
How Django Works With Turso
Django can connect to Turso using the libSQL Python driver by configuring a custom database backend or using psycopg-style adapters. Turso is built on libSQL (a SQLite fork), so it maintains SQLite compatibility, but Django's default SQLite backend doesn't support Turso's replication and authentication tokens. The recommended approach is using the `libsql-client-py` package to handle token-based connections and replica management, then either wrapping it in a custom Django backend or using raw database connections for critical operations. This works well for read-heavy applications and edge-distributed architectures where you want SQLite's simplicity with geographic distribution. However, you lose some ORM conveniences—transactions, connection pooling, and migrations need careful handling since Turso's replication model differs from traditional SQLite setups.
Best Use Cases
Quick Setup with libSQL Client
pip install django libsql-client# settings.py
import os
from libsql_client import create_client
# Configure custom database connection
TURSO_URL = os.getenv('TURSO_CONNECTION_URL')
TURSO_TOKEN = os.getenv('TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN')
# In your views or services
from libsql_client import create_client
client = create_client(
db_name="default",
db_url=TURSO_URL,
auth_token=TURSO_TOKEN,
)
# Example: Raw query alongside Django ORM
results = client.execute("SELECT * FROM myapp_article LIMIT 10")
# For ORM operations, use Django normally
from myapp.models import Article
articles = Article.objects.all()[:10]
# Hybrid approach: use Turso for reads, Django ORM for writes
response = client.execute("SELECT COUNT(*) as count FROM myapp_article")
print(response.rows[0])Known Issues & Gotchas
Django's built-in SQLite backend doesn't support Turso's authentication tokens or replication
Fix: Use libsql-client-py directly or create a custom Django database backend that wraps libSQL connections with token management
Migrations may conflict with Turso's replication lag or read-replica inconsistencies
Fix: Run migrations against the primary database only, then verify consistency. Consider using Django's migration executor with explicit transaction control
Connection pooling behavior differs between SQLite and Turso's HTTP-based protocol
Fix: Implement explicit connection management; Turso connections are not file-based and benefit from caching strategies unavailable with standard SQLite
Django admin and ORM assume ACID guarantees that edge replicas may momentarily violate
Fix: Route write operations to primary, reads to replicas; use database routing or explicit connection management for critical consistency requirements
Alternatives
- •PostgreSQL + Django (traditional, full ORM support, but higher operational overhead)
- •Neon + Django (edge-hosted PostgreSQL with native Django compatibility and automatic scaling)
- •SQLite + Railway/Fly.io replication (simpler but manual replication management)
Resources
Related Compatibility Guides
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