Storage

Server data lives under SVEX_DATA_DIR (default ./data). SVEX uses a hybrid layout: SQLite for metadata and tokens, and files for whiteboard scene content.

File directory layout

data/
├── db.sqlite              # SQLite DB (workspaces, collections, whiteboards, sessions, tokens)
├── workspaces/
│   └── <workspaceId>/
│       ├── <docId>/       # Root whiteboard
│       │   └── scene.json
│       └── <collection>/  # Collection subdirectory
│           └── <docId>/   # Collection whiteboard
│               └── scene.json
└── ephemerals/
    └── <id>/
        └── scene.json

Workspace whiteboards

• Root whiteboard: data/workspaces/<workspaceId>/<docId>/scene.json
• Collection whiteboard: data/workspaces/<workspaceId>/<collection>/<docId>/scene.json

Room IDs map to paths as follows:

• workspaceId/docId → root whiteboard
• workspaceId/collection/docId → collection whiteboard

Ephemeral rooms

• data/ephemerals/<id>/scene.json: Deleted automatically after TTL with no activity (see Config for ephemeral.ttlHours).

Local (folder) whiteboards

Data flows through the server for real-time collaboration (SSE, etc.) but is never stored on the server. Persistence is only on the user’s machine. On the local filesystem, the user picks a folder; each whiteboard is a file there: <name>.excalidraw (Excalidraw JSON). Collections are subdirectories. No SQLite or index files—the directory structure is the source of truth. Example: my-folder/scene.excalidraw, my-folder/board1.excalidraw, my-folder/meeting-notes/dash.excalidraw.

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SQLite schema

data/db.sqlite holds all metadata. No migrations; the schema is created on first run. WAL mode is enabled.

Tables

Table	Purpose
workspaces	id, is_remote, name, description, timestamps
collections	workspace_id, slug, name, description, timestamps
whiteboards	id, workspace_id, collection, doc_id, name, description, timestamps, host_user_id
sessions	id, user_kind, username, color, created_at, last_presence_at, login_token (static, for login links), ip, user_agent, fingerprint
session_grants	session_id, workspace_id OR whiteboard_id, access (read/readWrite). Cascade on delete.
share_tokens	token, kind, workspace_id, room_id, access, expires_at (one-time use, max 24h or room liveness)
upgrade_tokens	token, target_user_kind, expires_at (one-time use)

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Storage limits

See Config for storage.* keys.

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Lifecycle cleanup

Runs every cleanupIntervalMinutes (see hooks.server.ts):

1. Ephemeral rooms: Remove in-memory and on-disk rooms past TTL
2. Sessions: Delete expired sessions (grants cascade)
3. Orphaned workspaces: Remove empty workspaces with no grants and no whiteboards