Turso Quickstart (SQL over HTTP)

In this quickstart we will learn how to:

Connect to a remote Turso database
Execute SQL queries using SQL over HTTP

	`@tursodatabase/serverless`	`@libsql/client`	Raw HTTP
Status	Production-ready	Production-ready	Always available
Dependencies	Uses only `fetch` — zero native dependencies	Requires Node.js or `/web` subpath	None (any HTTP client)
ORM support	Not yet supported	Drizzle, Prisma, and others	N/A

@tursodatabase/serverless is the lightest option with zero native dependencies. Use @libsql/client if you need a battle-tested driver today with ORM integration.

@tursodatabase/serverless
@libsql/client
Raw HTTP

The @tursodatabase/serverless package connects to Turso using only the fetch API — no native dependencies, making it the smallest option for edge and serverless runtimes.

Install

npm install @tursodatabase/serverless

Connect and query

import { connect } from "@tursodatabase/serverless";

const conn = connect({
  url: process.env.TURSO_DATABASE_URL,
  authToken: process.env.TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN,
});

const stmt = conn.prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?");
const row = await stmt.get([123]);

For compatibility with the libSQL client API, use the compat module:

import { createClient } from "@tursodatabase/serverless/compat";

const client = createClient({
  url: process.env.TURSO_DATABASE_URL,
  authToken: process.env.TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN,
});

const result = await client.execute("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?", [123]);

The @libsql/client package is the production-ready libSQL driver used across the Turso ecosystem. Use the /web import for serverless and edge runtimes.

Install

npm install @libsql/client

Connect and query

import { createClient } from "@libsql/client/web";

const client = createClient({
  url: process.env.TURSO_DATABASE_URL!,
  authToken: process.env.TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN!,
});

const result = await client.execute({
  sql: "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?",
  args: [123],
});

Use @libsql/client/web instead of @libsql/client for edge and serverless runtimes. The /web import uses the HTTP protocol.

You can also send queries directly over HTTP using any HTTP client.

Create HTTP Database URL

Using the Turso CLI or Platform API, fetch your database URL:

turso db show <database-name> --http-url

Append /v2/pipeline to the URL and continue.

Create Database Auth Token

Using the Turso CLI or Platform API, create a new auth token for your database:

turso db tokens create <database-name>

Create JSON Request Payload

We’ll be sending the query using JSON, so let’s create a JSON payload that executes a SQL statement and closes the connection immediately:

{
  "requests": [
    { "type": "execute", "stmt": { "sql": "SELECT * FROM users" } },
    { "type": "close" }
  ]
}

Make sure to update the stmt.sql to select from a table you already have.Bound parameter examples included on the Reference Page,

Execute HTTP Request

Depending on your language, you can use a HTTP client library to send the request to the URL you created as well as the Authorization header set to the token you created, and the request body as JSON with your SQL statement.You must append to the Base URL the actual pipeline URL that accepts requests — /v2/pipeline.

const url = "https://[databaseName]-[organizationSlug].turso.io/v2/pipeline";
const authToken = "...";

fetch(url, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${authToken}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    requests: [
      { type: "execute", stmt: { sql: "SELECT * FROM users" } },
      { type: "close" },
    ],
  }),
})
  .then((res) => res.json())
  .then((data) => console.log(data))
  .catch((err) => console.log(err));

Response

The response will be a JSON object with a results array containing the results of your query that looks something like this:

{
  "baton": null,
  "base_url": null,
  "results": [
    {
      "type": "ok",
      "response": {
        "type": "execute",
        "result": {
          "cols": [],
          "rows": [],
          "affected_row_count": 0,
          "last_insert_rowid": null,
          "replication_index": "1"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "ok",
      "response": {
        "type": "close"
      }
    }
  ]
}

If you need to use placeholders for values, you can do that:

{
  "type": "execute",
  "stmt": {
    "sql": "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?",
    "args": [
      {
        "type": "integer",
        "value": "1"
      }
    ]
  }
}

The type field within each arg corresponds to the column datatype and can be one of the following: null, integer, float, text, or blob.

In JSON, the value is a String to avoid losing precision, because some JSON implementations treat all numbers as 64-bit floats.

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Turso Quickstart (SQL over HTTP)

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