> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tape.network/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Litestream

[Litestream](https://litestream.io) streams a SQLite database's changes to S3 storage and restores the database from there. It works against a Tapedrive bucket with the replica URL, the endpoint and your keys.

## Before you start

You need a bucket and a credential. A bucket is a tape that has delegated writes to the gateway, and a credential is an access key pair the gateway operator issues you. [Set up a bucket](/tools/s3-gateway#set-up-a-bucket) walks through both.

Litestream writes continuously. Run it against your own gateway ([gateway setup](/protocol/node-setup/gateway)) rather than a public one.

## Configure

```yaml litestream.yml theme={null}
dbs:
  - path: /data/app.db
    replica:
      url: s3://my-bucket/app.db
      endpoint: https://s3.example.com
      access-key-id: TAPE4Q7ZK2M9XH3PD8AW
      secret-access-key: mZ9vQ3nL8kR2tW6yB4cX7dF1hJ5pS0aG3uE8iO2q
```

## Everyday commands

```bash theme={null}
# replicate continuously
litestream replicate -config litestream.yml

# restore to a new file
litestream restore -config litestream.yml -o restored.db /data/app.db

# confirm the restored database is sound
sqlite3 restored.db 'PRAGMA integrity_check'

# see what Litestream keeps in the bucket
litestream generations -config litestream.yml /data/app.db
litestream snapshots -config litestream.yml /data/app.db
```

With a writer inserting a row every 50 ms for five minutes, Litestream shipped every segment and the restored database had every row.

## Good to know

* The gateway acknowledges each upload immediately and writes it to the chain in the background. A 1 KB upload returns in about half a millisecond, so Litestream keeps up with a busy database.
* A restore contains exactly what Litestream had shipped when you ran it.
* Retention deletes and compaction work as on any S3 store. Each retention delete is a transaction on the chain.

## Next

* [Deletions](/tools/s3-gateway/deletions) for what retention deletes cost on chain.
* [Uploads](/tools/s3-gateway/uploads) for how an upload reaches the chain.