Choose the right store backend

Goal: choose between memory, sqlite, and external store backends.

When to use this:

Use this guide when the run lifecycle matters more than the scoring logic itself.

Procedure

Choose memory when:

• the run is local and short-lived
• you do not need cross-process resume or later reporting

Choose sqlite when:

• you want the default persistent local backend
• you need resume, report, compare, or export
• you want something easy to inspect and copy locally

Choose jsonl, mongodb, or postgres when your environment or data lifecycle makes those backends a better operational fit.

Variants

Variant	Best when	Tradeoff	Related APIs / commands
Tutorial or smoke-test runs	The run is short-lived and does not need reopen support	No cross-process persistence or later reporting	memory, InMemoryRunStore
Most local persisted work	You want the default persistent backend for resume, report, and compare	Less flexible than environment-specific external stores	sqlite, SqliteRunStore, sqlite_store
Environment-driven persistence requirements	Team or infrastructure constraints already require an external backend	More setup and operational dependencies	jsonl, mongodb, postgres, StorageConfig

Expected result

You should know which store to configure and whether the run can be reopened outside the current process.

Troubleshooting

• Store backend model
• Config schema
• Resume and inspect runs