Quick Start

Get up and running with Astroladb in three simple steps: initialize, configure, and create your first schema.

Step 1: Initialize Project

mkdir myapp && cd myapp
alab init

This creates the basic project structure with configuration files and sample directories.

Project Structure

After running alab init, you’ll have:

myapp/
├── alab.yaml        # Configuration file
├── schemas/         # Your schema definitions
├── migrations/      # Generated SQL migrations
└── types/           # TypeScript definitions for IDE support

File/Folder	Purpose
alab.yaml	Database connection and project settings
schemas/	JavaScript files defining your tables
migrations/	Auto-generated SQL migration files
types/	TypeScript definitions for col and table autocomplete

Step 2: Configure Database

Edit alab.yaml with your database connection:

PostgreSQL Configuration

database:
  dialect: postgres
  url: postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb

schemas: ./schemas
migrations: ./migrations

SQLite Configuration (for development)

database:
  dialect: sqlite
  url: ./dev.db

schemas: ./schemas
migrations: ./migrations

Configuration Options

Setting	Description	Example
database.dialect	Database type	postgres or sqlite
database.url	Connection string	See examples above
schemas	Path to schema definitions	./schemas
migrations	Path to migration output	./migrations

Step 3: Create Your First Table

Use the alab table command to scaffold a new schema file:

alab table auth user

This creates schemas/auth/user.js with a basic template. Edit it to define your columns:

schemas/auth/user.js

export default table({
  id: col.id(),
  email: col.email().unique(),
  username: col.username().unique(),
  password: col.password_hash(),
  is_active: col.flag(true),
}).timestamps();

Step 4: Generate and Apply Migration

Generate a migration from your schema:

alab new create_users

Preview the SQL before applying:

alab migrate --dry

Apply the migration to your database:

alab migrate

What’s Next?

You now have a working Astroladb project! Here are some next steps:

• Create your first schema - Learn more about schema definitions
• Explore semantic types - Discover all available column types
• Learn about relationships - Connect tables with foreign keys
• Export types - Generate TypeScript, Go, or Python types

Common Patterns

Multiple Tables in One Namespace

alab table blog post
alab table blog comment
alab table blog tag

Creates:

• schemas/blog/post.js
• schemas/blog/comment.js
• schemas/blog/tag.js

Different Namespaces

alab table auth user
alab table catalog product
alab table orders order

Organizes tables by domain: