Why are we forcing a DB in version 3+?

[happydog-bot]

Maybe I'm missing something, but introducing a DB also disables you from running your Nuxt app entirely on something like Vercel if you have .env variables that are used in your app.

This is true because the only way to deploy with a Nuxt Content DB is to force static site generation, which then exposes your variables and makes the /server folder basically useless.

We should consider the option to use a DB or not, or somehow. I brought this up on Discord but didn't get much in response.

Unless someone can tell me how I am wrong, I don't see a way to use Nuxt Content v3 on a Nuxt site on a platform like Vercel since it forces a DB.

[moebiusmania]

I'm kinda sad of saying this since I love Nuxt and really appreciate the people and work behind it, but this release looks completely out of touch from its userbase.

This looks like a typical React-related release where you have to refactor 50% of your code for the sake of refactor itself rather than having improvements.

None of the changes are actually improving DX for us. Also introducing such breaking changes without any deprecation warnings or middle ground release and with a changelog that doesn't even cover the most simple refactor case makes you think that impact on existing projects wasn't even considered.

I guess that as some other people stated, its better to stay with v2 a little longer

[hdwebpros]

It's such a drastic change... I just don't understand why do such a drastic change for an improvement that as an end user, I don't even know if I see.

I'm hoping someone from the Nuxt Content team sees this and at least offers a way to opt in to a DB-less config in a future release.

[kalnode]

I'm not sure what all of you are going on about.

I'm under the impression that all of your content, at build time, is compiled into files (sql dump?). Then when a user opens your website, in their browser, an instance of SQLite (WASM) is run, and the content files are downloaded (as per your fetch logic). So the only "db"-like I see at play, technically, is SQLite running client-side.

Are you all saying this can't run on Vercel?

And how does this expose private env variables?

[moebiusmania]

(EDIT: im talking about using nuxt-content with markdown files) beside the fact that this was meant to be a file based solution and suddenly we are required to have a SQL or SQLlite DB, why the hell do I need to add a WASM DB to the users of my apps if I'm planning to build an SSG site or a small to medium SSR one?

the problem is that v3 architecture just targets a certain slice of the userbase and forces changes and over-engineered solution for everyone else

my biggest complaint is that this DB requirement hasnt been made opt in/out

[kalnode]

You don't manage a DB at all, and no one would know about SQLite or WASM, unless they inspect the network resources in the client browser.

It still is a file-based solution... all of the content is in markdown files. On build, these files get automatically collated into SQLite dump files (collections). When a visitor visits your website, the dump files are loaded dynamically as they browse your website.

There is no database for you to install or manage; it's all file-based and automatic.

As far as I can tell, Nuxt Content has no problem dealing with SSG or SSR.

Are you just seeing the word "database" and making assumptions that you have to manage a 3rd-party resource like an SQL server (mysql, postgres, etc) ??? This is not the case at all. The term "database" can also mean a local dictionary file too; it's not always some external managed thing.

[moebiusmania]

The fact that I asked "WHY this extra overhead is needed in the first place to do something that already worked without it" has been answered with a detailed explanation about HOW it works, perfectly summarize the issue.