Does FastAPI Work With Turso?
FastAPI and Turso work together seamlessly for building modern edge-ready APIs with distributed SQL databases.
Quick Facts
How FastAPI Works With Turso
FastAPI pairs naturally with Turso through Python's libsql client library. You connect to Turso using the libsql-client-py package, which provides async support that integrates cleanly with FastAPI's async request handlers. The connection uses HTTP requests under the hood to Turso's edge servers, making it lightweight and compatible with serverless deployments. FastAPI's dependency injection system works perfectly for managing database connections—you can create a dependency that provides a Turso client to your route handlers. The main architectural advantage is that both are designed for distributed, low-latency scenarios: FastAPI handles request routing efficiently, while Turso handles data at the edge with replication. There's no official integration because Turso deliberately keeps its client libraries minimal and framework-agnostic. You're managing the integration yourself, which is straightforward—just instantiate a client and pass it through FastAPI's Depends() system. This approach scales well from prototypes to production, though you'll want to implement connection pooling and handle network timeouts explicitly since requests cross the internet.
Best Use Cases
Quick Setup
pip install fastapi uvicorn libsql-client-pyfrom fastapi import FastAPI, Depends
from libsql_client import create_client
import os
app = FastAPI()
async def get_db():
client = create_client(
url=os.getenv("TURSO_CONNECTION_URL"),
auth_token=os.getenv("TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN")
)
return client
@app.post("/posts")
async def create_post(title: str, content: str, db=Depends(get_db)):
result = await db.execute(
"INSERT INTO posts (title, content) VALUES (?, ?)",
[title, content]
)
return {"id": result.last_insert_rowid}
@app.get("/posts/{post_id}")
async def get_post(post_id: int, db=Depends(get_db)):
result = await db.query("SELECT * FROM posts WHERE id = ?", [post_id])
return result.rows[0] if result.rows else NoneKnown Issues & Gotchas
Network latency on every database query since Turso requests go over HTTP
Fix: Implement query batching, use caching layers (Redis), and optimize N+1 queries. Consider Turso's local replicas for read-heavy workloads.
Connection limits and rate limiting on Turso's free tier
Fix: Implement connection pooling with a library like sqlalchemy async mode, or upgrade to a paid Turso plan for production.
SQLite's single-writer limitation can cause lock contention under high write load
Fix: Design schemas with Turso's replication in mind; use read replicas for scaling reads, and batch writes where possible.
Error handling differences between local SQLite and remote Turso
Fix: Catch libsql-specific exceptions and implement retry logic with exponential backoff for transient network failures.
Alternatives
- •FastAPI + PostgreSQL (Neon): More traditional, better for complex queries, but higher latency at the edge
- •FastAPI + SQLite (local): Zero network overhead but no replication or edge distribution
- •FastAPI + MongoDB (Atlas): Document-based, better for unstructured data, but different query paradigm
Resources
Related Compatibility Guides
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