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The tursodb CLI includes a built-in sync server that you can run locally. This lets you develop and test sync workflows entirely on your machine — no Turso Cloud account required.
The local sync server implements the same sync protocol as Turso Cloud, so your application code works the same way in both environments.

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Starting the server

Pass --sync-server with an address to start the sync server. The database argument specifies where the server stores its data: 
tursodb ./server.db --sync-server 0.0.0.0:8080
This starts a sync server listening on port 8080, backed by ./server.db.

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Connecting clients

Point your sync client at http://localhost:8080. No auth token is needed for the local server. 
import { connect } from '@tursodatabase/sync';

const db = await connect({
  path: './local-replica.db',
  url: 'http://localhost:8080',
});
Once connected, all sync operations (push, pull, checkpoint, stats) work exactly as described in the Usage guide.

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Example: full local sync workflow

This example walks through a complete workflow — starting the server, writing data from one client, and syncing it to another.
1

1. Start the sync server

Open a terminal and start the server:
tursodb ./server.db --sync-server 0.0.0.0:8080
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2. Write and push from Client A

import { connect } from '@tursodatabase/sync';

const clientA = await connect({
  path: './client-a.db',
  url: 'http://localhost:8080',
});

await clientA.exec("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS notes (id TEXT PRIMARY KEY, body TEXT)");
await clientA.exec("INSERT INTO notes VALUES ('n1', 'hello from client A')");

await clientA.push();
3

3. Pull from Client B

import { connect } from '@tursodatabase/sync';

const clientB = await connect({
  path: './client-b.db',
  url: 'http://localhost:8080',
});

const changed = await clientB.pull();
console.log('changes pulled:', changed);

const rows = await clientB.query("SELECT * FROM notes");
console.log(rows);
// [{ id: 'n1', body: 'hello from client A' }]