sqlite-wal-safe-ops

To back up a SQLite WAL mode database safely, you must checkpoint the WAL file into the main database and copy all three sidecar files (.db, .db-wal, .db-shm). Backing up only the .db file omits recent transactions and risks data loss.

Your SQLite backup corrupts because WAL mode stores recent transactions in the .db-wal file. Copying only the .db file omits the .db-wal and .db-shm sidecar files, silently rolling back your latest state.

The best way to move a SQLite WAL database during a k8s deployment is to checkpoint the WAL, verify integrity using PRAGMA integrity_check, and copy the complete trio of .db, .db-wal, and .db-shm files with timestamps to the target directory.

You checkpoint a SQLite WAL file by triggering a checkpoint command to merge WAL transactions into the main database. This ensures the .db file contains the latest state before you copy the .db, .db-wal, and .db-shm files for backup.

Yes, you need to copy the .db-shm file along with the .db and .db-wal files when backing up a SQLite WAL database. Omitting the .db-shm sidecar file can lead to corrupted database images and recovery failures.

To troubleshoot SQLite disk I/O errors and locked database events in WAL mode, follow an operational recovery playbook that checks WAL and SHM file integrity, runs PRAGMA integrity_check, and guides data reinitialization if the database image is malformed.