--- name: ai-persistence/build-custom-adapter description: Use when an app needs TanStack AI chat persistence on a database with no dedicated recipe — raw Postgres (pg/postgres.js), Kysely, node:sqlite, MongoDB, Supabase, Redis. Writes a chat-persistence.ts against the app's existing client, covering the four stores, the idempotency invariants, and the conformance gate. Route to the Drizzle, Prisma, or Cloudflare skills instead when one of those matches. --- # Custom Chat Persistence The deliverable is **one file in the app** — `src/lib/chat-persistence.ts` — exporting a `ChatPersistence` built from the database client the app already has. Plus whatever DDL that database needs, added through the app's existing migration flow. Do not create a package, a second client, or a migration runner. **Route first.** If the app already runs one of these, stop and use that skill — it has the driver-specific code: | App runs | Use | | ------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | | Drizzle ORM (any dialect) | ai-persistence/build-drizzle-adapter | | Prisma | ai-persistence/build-prisma-adapter | | Cloudflare Workers + D1 | ai-persistence/build-cloudflare-adapter | Everything else lands here. The full contracts and their invariants are in **ai-persistence/stores** and `docs/persistence/store-reference.md`; the complete worked `node:sqlite` walkthrough is `docs/persistence/build-your-own-chat-adapter.md` and `examples/ts-react-chat/src/lib/sqlite-persistence.ts`. ## 1. Read the app before writing anything | Find | Where to look | What it decides | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | The client | `src/db.ts`, `src/lib/db.ts`, `src/server/db.ts` | What the file imports — never construct a second pool | | Client lifetime | module singleton vs per-request factory (`getDb()`, bindings) | `export const chatPersistence` vs `export function` | | Migration flow | `migrations/`, `drizzle/`, `supabase/migrations/`, an ORM CLI | How the DDL gets applied — use theirs, add nothing new | | Naming conventions | existing tables/collections | Prefix (`chat_*`) so nothing collides | | JSON support | `jsonb` (Postgres), `json` (MySQL 5.7+), text (SQLite) | Whether mappers stringify/parse | | Import alias | `tsconfig.json` `paths` | `@/db`, `~/db`, `#/db`, or a relative path | ## 2. Shape the storage Four logical records. Whatever the engine, keep these keys — the store methods look records up by exactly these: | Record | Key | Fields | | --------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | thread | `threadId` | `messages` (array, full transcript) | | run | `runId` | `threadId`, `status`, `startedAt`, `finishedAt?`, `error?`, `usage?`, `sandboxKey?`, `detachedSince?`, `cancelRequested?`, `driverEpoch?` | | interrupt | `interruptId` | `runId`, `threadId`, `status`, `requestedAt`, `resolvedAt?`, `payload`, `response?` | | metadata | `(namespace, key)` | `value` | - Timestamps are **epoch milliseconds** (`number`) in records. Store them however the engine prefers and convert in the mapper. - `(namespace, key)` is a **composite** key. Never join with a separator — `('a:b','c')` and `('a','b:c')` must stay distinct records, and the conformance suite checks it. - Index `runs(threadId, status)`, `runs(threadId, startedAt)`, and `interrupts(threadId, requestedAt)` for the listing paths. If the backend implements `listReclaimable`, also index `runs(status, detachedSince)`; that is the query it runs. - `run.error` is a structured `RunError` (`{ message: string, code?: string }`), not a bare string. `message` is the provider's prose; `code` is the stable, machine-branchable classification an operator filters and groups by. In a SQL-backed table, store it as two columns (`error`, `error_code`) rather than one JSON blob, moved together in `update` so a later code-less failure can never leave a stale `code` from an earlier one behind. `run.status` is one of `'running' | 'interrupted' | 'completed' | 'failed' | 'aborted'`; `'interrupted'` is a pause, not terminal, and only `'completed' | 'failed' | 'aborted'` are terminal. - Extra app-owned columns are fine (a `userId`, audit columns) as long as they are nullable or defaulted. The stores never read columns they do not know about. ## 3. The invariants Getting one of these wrong is the usual source of stuck approvals and wiped history. They are engine-independent: 1. **`saveThread` is a full overwrite**, never an append. The argument is the complete authoritative transcript. 2. **`loadThread` returns `[]`** for an unknown thread, never `null`. 3. **`createOrResume` is insert-if-absent** — an existing `runId` comes back _unchanged_, ignoring the new field values. Resume and double-submit depend on it. After a racy insert, re-read rather than trusting your own write. 4. **`runs.update` on an unknown id is a silent no-op** — it must not throw and must not insert. (Drivers that throw on zero rows affected need the `updateMany`-style call, not the `update`-one-or-throw call.) 5. **`runs.update` distinguishes "field omitted" from "field explicitly cleared" for the durable-run fields** (`sandboxKey`, `detachedSince`, `cancelRequested`, `driverEpoch`). A reattach clears `detachedSince` by passing it explicitly as `undefined` — `update(runId, { detachedSince: undefined })` — and that must write `NULL`, not be silently dropped. Check `'detachedSince' in patch`, never `patch.detachedSince !== undefined`; the latter cannot tell a clear from an omission and leaves every reattached run looking permanently detached to the reaper. Same rule for `cancelRequested` (`false` is a real value, not "unset") and for `sandboxKey` / `driverEpoch`. See `examples/ts-react-chat/src/lib/sqlite-persistence.ts` for the pattern. 6. **`interrupts.create` is insert-if-absent** — never clobber a resolved interrupt back to pending. Every `list*` is ordered by `requestedAt` ascending. 7. **`runs.listReclaimable` uses an inclusive cutoff** (if implemented): `status === 'running' AND detachedSince <= now - ttlMs`. It is a query, not automatic reclamation: `reapDetachedRuns` from `@tanstack/ai-sandbox` is the sweep that consumes it, and the application schedules that sweep. A store without this method cannot be reaped. `runs.findActiveRun` is required; `runs.listByThread` / `runs.listReclaimable` are optional: implement only what the app needs and leave the rest off the object. Row mappers omit absent optionals (`...(row.sandbox_key != null ? { sandboxKey: row.sandbox_key } : {})`) so records compare cleanly against the reference in-memory backend. For a two-column `error`/`error_code` layout, the mapper is `...(row.error != null ? { error: { message: row.error, ...(row.error_code != null ? { code: row.error_code } : {}) } } : {})`. ## 4. Write `src/lib/chat-persistence.ts` Four factories and one assembly. Postgres via `pg` shown here; the shape is the same for any driver. ```ts ignore import { defineAIPersistence } from '@tanstack/ai-persistence' import type { Pool } from 'pg' import type { ChatPersistence, MessageStore, RunStore, } from '@tanstack/ai-persistence' import { pool } from '@/db' function createMessageStore(db: Pool): MessageStore { return { async loadThread(threadId) { const { rows } = await db.query( 'SELECT messages_json FROM chat_threads WHERE thread_id = $1', [threadId], ) return rows[0]?.messages_json ?? [] }, // Full overwrite — `messages` is the complete authoritative transcript. async saveThread(threadId, messages) { await db.query( `INSERT INTO chat_threads (thread_id, messages_json, updated_at) VALUES ($1, $2, $3) ON CONFLICT (thread_id) DO UPDATE SET messages_json = EXCLUDED.messages_json, updated_at = EXCLUDED.updated_at`, [threadId, JSON.stringify(messages), Date.now()], ) }, } } function createRunStore(db: Pool): RunStore { async function get(runId: string) { const { rows } = await db.query( 'SELECT * FROM chat_runs WHERE run_id = $1', [runId], ) return rows[0] ? mapRun(rows[0]) : null } return { get, // Idempotent: an existing runId is returned untouched. async createOrResume({ runId, threadId, startedAt, status }) { const existing = await get(runId) if (existing) return existing await db.query( `INSERT INTO chat_runs (run_id, thread_id, status, started_at) VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4) ON CONFLICT (run_id) DO NOTHING`, [runId, threadId, status ?? 'running', startedAt], ) // Re-read: a concurrent createOrResume may have won the race, and that // row is the authoritative one. const stored = await get(runId) return ( stored ?? { runId, threadId, status: status ?? 'running', startedAt } ) }, // ... update (no-op on unknown id; sandboxKey/detachedSince/ // cancelRequested/driverEpoch are checked with `'field' in patch`, not // `patch.field !== undefined`, so an explicit `undefined` (a clear) still // writes NULL instead of being silently dropped — status/finishedAt/usage // can use the simpler `!== undefined` check since they are never // explicitly cleared; writes patch.error as two columns, // error = patch.error.message and error_code = patch.error.code ?? null, // together in the same call), // findActiveRun (latest 'running', required), listByThread (ascending // by startedAt, optional), listReclaimable (status = 'running' AND // detachedSince <= now - ttlMs, inclusive cutoff, optional) } } /** The four chat state stores backed by the app's database. */ export const chatPersistence: ChatPersistence = defineAIPersistence({ stores: { messages: createMessageStore(pool), runs: createRunStore(pool), interrupts: createInterruptStore(pool), metadata: createMetadataStore(pool), }, }) ``` Annotate `ChatPersistence` — bare `AIPersistence` is the all-optional bag and `withPersistence` rejects it. There is no `locks` store: `stores` accepts only `messages`, `runs`, `interrupts`, `metadata`, and anything else throws `Unknown AIPersistence store key`. Coordination is wired separately with `withLocks` (see **ai-core/locks**). If the client is per-request (Workers bindings, request-scoped transactions), export a `chatPersistence()` factory instead of a const and call it inside the handler. ## Engine notes **Postgres (`pg`, `postgres.js`, Neon, Supabase)** — `jsonb` columns round-trip objects, so skip the `JSON.stringify` on read paths (`pg` parses `jsonb` for you; check what the driver returns before assuming). `bigint` columns come back as strings in `pg` — use `bigint` with an explicit `Number()` in the mapper, or store epoch ms in a `double precision`/`bigint` and convert once. Composite key is `PRIMARY KEY (namespace, key)`. **Kysely** — define the four tables in the app's `Database` interface, then the stores are `db.insertInto('chat_runs').values(...).onConflict((oc) => oc.column('run_id').doNothing())` and `.executeTakeFirst()`. `updateTable(...).execute()` is already a no-op on zero matches, so invariant 4 comes free. **node:sqlite / better-sqlite3** — the complete implementation is in the guide and in `examples/ts-react-chat/src/lib/sqlite-persistence.ts`. Prepared statements at factory scope, `INSERT ... ON CONFLICT`, JSON as `text`, epoch ms as `integer`. Wrap sync calls in `async` methods; the contracts are promise-based. **MongoDB** — one collection per record type, `_id` set to the natural key (`threadId`, `runId`, `interruptId`). For `metadata`, use `_id: { namespace, key }` — a compound `_id` subdocument, or a unique index on `{ namespace, key }` — never a delimiter-joined string. Invariant: `('a:b','c')` and `('a','b:c')` must stay distinct records, and the conformance suite checks it. `createOrResume` is `updateOne({ _id }, { $setOnInsert: doc }, { upsert: true })` then a `findOne` — `$setOnInsert` is the insert-if-absent primitive. Guard the `E11000` duplicate-key race and re-read. `list*` need `.sort({ requestedAt: 1 })`. **Redis / Upstash** — workable for `metadata` and excellent for `LockStore`, but think before putting `interrupts` there: the listings need ordered secondary indexes you have to maintain by hand (a sorted set per thread and per run, scored by `requestedAt`). A common split is Postgres for `messages`/`runs`/ `interrupts` and Redis for locks; compose them with `composePersistence`. **Anything else** — you only need the seven invariants above. The core never inspects your storage. ## Adopt part of it You rarely need all four stores at once. Implement what you own and fill the rest from another base: ```ts ignore import { composePersistence, memoryPersistence } from '@tanstack/ai-persistence' import { messages, runs } from './my-stores' export const chatPersistence = composePersistence(memoryPersistence(), { overrides: { messages, runs }, }) ``` Only listed keys move. There is **no cross-store transaction** — if `messages` lives in Postgres and `interrupts` in Redis, a write touching both is two writes. The idempotency invariants are exactly what make those retries safe. ## Wire it into the chat route ```ts ignore import { chat, chatParamsFromRequest, toServerSentEventsResponse, } from '@tanstack/ai' import { openaiText } from '@tanstack/ai-openai' import { withPersistence } from '@tanstack/ai-persistence' import { chatPersistence } from '@/lib/chat-persistence' export async function POST(request: Request) { const params = await chatParamsFromRequest(request) const stream = chat({ adapter: openaiText('gpt-5.5'), messages: params.messages, threadId: params.threadId, runId: params.runId, ...(params.resume ? { resume: params.resume } : {}), middleware: [withPersistence(chatPersistence)], }) return toServerSentEventsResponse(stream) } ``` `threadId` is a bare string to the stores. **Authorize thread access at the route** — derive the user from the session, never trust a client-supplied id. ## Verify (required) This matters more here than anywhere else: there is no reference driver to compare against, so the testkit is the only thing standing between a subtle idempotency bug and stuck approvals in production. ```ts ignore import { runPersistenceConformance } from '@tanstack/ai-persistence/testkit' import { chatPersistence } from '../src/lib/chat-persistence' runPersistenceConformance('app-custom', () => chatPersistence, { skip: ['generationRuns', 'artifacts', 'blobs'], }) ``` Point it at a throwaway database and reset between runs. The suite covers all seven stores, so declare every intentional omission — a chat adapter skips the generation half above, and adds e.g. `'metadata'` if it drops that too. `skip` never accepts `'locks'`, which is not a store. If your recipe leaves an optional `runs` method (`listByThread`/ `listReclaimable`) unimplemented, declare it separately with `skipMethods`, e.g. `{ skipMethods: ['runs.listByThread'] }`. An omitted method that is not declared fails the suite instead of silently passing. `findActiveRun` is **not** in that set — it is required, so there is nothing to declare.