![Thomas Steiner](https://web.dev/images/authors/thomassteiner.jpg) Thomas Steiner [GitHub](https://github.com/tomayac) [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomassteinerlinkedin) [Mastodon](https://toot.cafe/@tomayac) [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/tomayac.com) [Homepage](https://blog.tomayac.com/)
The [Web SQL Database API](https://www.w3.org/TR/webdatabase/), which allows you to store data in a structured manner on the user's computer (internally based on the SQLite database engine), was [introduced in April 2009](https://www.w3.org/TR/2009/WD-webdatabase-20091222/) and [abandoned in November 2010](https://www.w3.org/TR/webdatabase/#status-of-this-document). While it was implemented in WebKit (which powers Safari) and remained active in the Blink engine (which powers Chrome), Gecko (which powers Firefox) never implemented this feature and [WebKit removed it in 2019](https://lists.webkit.org/pipermail/webkit-dev/2019-November/030968.html). The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) [encourages](https://www.w3.org/TR/webdatabase/#:%7E:text=The%20Web%20Applications%20Working%20Group%20continues%20work%20on%20two%20other%20storage%2Drelated%20specifications%3A%20Web%20Storage%20and%20Indexed%20Database%20API.) those needing web databases to adopt [Web Storage API](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Web_Storage_API) technologies like [`localStorage`](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Window/localStorage) and [`sessionStorage`](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Window/sessionStorage), or [IndexedDB](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/IndexedDB_API/Using_IndexedDB). These technologies show their strengths when it comes to key/value stores and structured data, but acknowledgedly also have weaknesses like the lack of a strong query language. People want SQL on the web for a reason. > [!TIP] > **Success:** Our intention is to empower developers to create their own solutions for structured storage. We've worked with the [SQLite](https://www.sqlite.org/index.html) team to create a SQLite implementation over WebAssembly. This [solution is now ready](https://developer.chrome.com/blog/sqlite-wasm-in-the-browser-backed-by-the-origin-private-file-system) and outperforms Web SQL in many cases. ![Arrow](https://developer.chrome.com/static/blog/deprecating-web-sql/image/arrow-ee03cbb709267.svg) ## Web SQL deprecation and removal steps - \[ Done.\] Web SQL was deprecated and removed for **third-party contexts** in **Chromium 97** ( January 4, 2022). - \[ Done.\] Web SQL access in **insecure contexts** was deprecated as of **Chromium 105** ( January 4, 2022) at which time a warning message was shown in the Chrome DevTools Issue panel. ![Chrome DevTools Issues panel with a warning that reads Web SQL in non-secure contexts is deprecated.](https://developer.chrome.com/static/blog/deprecating-web-sql/image/chrome-devtools-issues-pa-c2b82651b3d1b.png) - \[ Done.\] Web SQL access in **insecure contexts** is no longer available as of **Chromium 110** ( January 4, 2022). An **enterprise policy** to keep using the feature is available from **Chromium 110** ( January 4, 2022) to **Chromium 123** ( January 4, 2022). - \[ Done.\] Web SQL access in **all contexts** is deprecated as of **Chromium 115** ( January 4, 2022) and a warning message is shown in the Chrome DevTools Issue panel. - \[ Done.\] A [deprecation trial](https://developer.chrome.com/origintrials#/view_trial/494270059103911937) to keep using Web SQL was available from **Chromium 117** ( January 4, 2022) to **Chromium 123** ( January 4, 2022). To learn more about deprecation trials, see [Get started with origin trials](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/web-platform/origin-trials#deprecation_trials). - \[ Done.\] Web SQL access in **all contexts** is no longer available from **Chromium 119**. ## Where to go from here As pointed out in the introduction, [Web Storage API](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Web_Storage_API) technologies like [`localStorage`](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Window/localStorage) and [`sessionStorage`](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/Window/sessionStorage), or the [IndexedDB](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/API/IndexedDB_API/Using_IndexedDB) standard are good alternatives in many, but by far not all cases. > [!NOTE] > **Note:** We recommend most users switch to [SQLite compiled to WebAssembly, backed by the Origin Private File System (OPFS)](https://developer.chrome.com/blog/sqlite-wasm-in-the-browser-backed-by-the-origin-private-file-system), especially those with strong performance requirements. ### Rationale for leaving storage to web developers With the advent of Wasm, SQL or NoSQL solutions can come to the web. One example is [DuckDB-Wasm](https://duckdb.org/2021/10/29/duckdb-wasm.html), another is [absurd-sql](https://github.com/jlongster/absurd-sql). Based on these creations, we feel that the developer community can iterate on and create new storage solutions faster and better than browser vendors. We're not planning to just remove Web SQL. In fact, we replaced it with [something](https://developer.chrome.com/blog/sqlite-wasm-in-the-browser-backed-by-the-origin-private-file-system) that will be maintained by the open source community, served as a package that can be updated at will---without the burden of introducing fixes and new features directly into browsers. Our objective really is to let developers bring their own database to the web. What's more, we're hoping that this example will help a new ecosystem of open source databases to flourish! The release of [file system access handles](https://web.dev/articles/file-system-access#accessing_files_optimized_for_performance_from_the_origin_private_file_system) finally provides the new primitive on which custom storage solutions can be built. ## Reasons for deprecating Web SQL ### Sustainability and security concerns The Web SQL specification cannot be implemented sustainably, which limits innovation and new features. The last version of the standard literally [states](https://www.w3.org/TR/webdatabase/#web-sql) *"User agents must implement the SQL dialect supported by Sqlite 3.6.19"*. SQLite was not initially designed to run malicious SQL statements, yet implementing Web SQL means browsers have to do exactly this. The need to keep up with security and stability fixes dictates updating SQLite in Chromium. This comes in direct conflict with Web SQL's requirement of behaving exactly as SQLite 3.6.19. ### API shape Web SQL also is an API that shows its age. Being a child of the late 2000s, it's a great example of "callback hell," as the following code sample ([courtesy of Nolan Lawson](https://nolanlawson.com/2014/04/26/web-sql-database-in-memoriam/)) demonstrates. As you can see, the SQL statements (using the [SQLite](https://www.sqlite.org/index.html) SQL dialect) are passed as strings to database methods. openDatabase( // Name 'mydatabase', // Version 1, // Display name 'mydatabase', // Estimated size 5000000, // Creation callback function (db) { db.transaction( // Transaction callback function (tx) { // Execute SQL statement tx.executeSql( // SQL statement 'create table rainstorms (mood text, severity int)', // Arguments [], // Success callback function () { // Execute SQL statement tx.executeSql( // SQL statement 'insert into rainstorms values (?, ?)', // Arguments ['somber', 6], // Success callback function () { // Execute SQL statement tx.executeSql( // SQL statement 'select * from rainstorms where mood = ?', // Arguments ['somber'], // Success callback function (tx, res) { // Do something with the result var row = res.rows.item(0); console.log( 'rainstorm severity: ' + row.severity + ', my mood: ' + row.mood, ); }, ); }, ); }, ); }, // Error callback function (err) { console.log('Transaction failed!: ' + err); }, // Success callback); function () { console.log('Transaction succeeded!'); }, ); }, ); > [!WARNING] > **Warning:** This code is obsolete. Don't use it. If you were to run this code and [inspect the created table with Chrome DevTools](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/devtools/storage/websql), this is the result: ![Inspecting the Web SQL section in Chrome DevTools shows a database called mydatabase with a table called rainstorms with the columns mood (textual) and severity (integer) that has one entry with a mood of somber and a severity of six.](https://developer.chrome.com/static/blog/deprecating-web-sql/image/inspecting-web-sql-secti-7fa6237c9478a.png) ### Lack of implementer support Apart from the arcane API shape (at least from today's point of view), Mozilla had many [concerns](https://hacks.mozilla.org/2010/06/beyond-html5-database-apis-and-the-road-to-indexeddb/) about Web SQL being built upon SQLite: *"We don't think \[SQLite\] is the right basis for an API exposed to general web content, not least of all because there isn't a credible, widely accepted standard that subsets SQL in a useful way. Additionally, we don't want changes to SQLite to affect the web later, and don't think harnessing major browser releases (and a web standard) to SQLite is prudent."* You can read about Mozilla's concerns in [former Mozillan Vladimir Vukićević's blog post](https://web.archive.org/web/20090412154147/http://blog.vlad1.com/2009/04/06/html5-web-storage-and-sql/). For some more history, check out the [W3C Web Applications Working Group minutes](http://www.w3.org/2009/11/02-webapps-minutes.html#item10) (and, if you really want to go into the details, read the [IRC logs](http://www.w3.org/2009/11/02-webapps-irc)) and the [mailing list archives](http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-webapps/2009OctDec/0526.html)). Additionally, [Nolan Lawson's blog post](https://nolanlawson.com/2014/04/26/web-sql-database-in-memoriam/) provides a good overview of what happened. ## Feedback If you have *any* concerns about the deprecation steps communicated in this post, let us know on the [blink-dev mailing list](https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/blink-dev). Membership in this group is open to anyone, and anyone is allowed to post. ## Related links - ChromeStatus entry: [Deprecate and remove WebSQL in third-party contexts](https://chromestatus.com/feature/5684870116278272) - ChromeStatus entry: [Deprecate and remove WebSQL in non-secure contexts](https://chromestatus.com/feature/5175124599767040) - Intent to Deprecate and Remove: [WebSQL in third-party contexts](https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/blink-dev/c/TM6YDx1Hh08/m/FxebaDQKAgAJ) - Intent to Deprecate and Remove: [WebSQL in non-secure contexts](https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/blink-dev/c/xdcl4yc8Ihk/m/lq35JuYOAAAJ) - Chromium issue: [Deprecate and remove WebSQL in third-party contexts](https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1212491) - Chromium issue: [Deprecate and remove WebSQL in insecure contexts](https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1212492) - Chromium issue: [Deprecate and remove WebSQL (Window#openDatabase)](https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=695592) - [SQLite Wasm in the browser backed by the Origin Private File System](https://developer.chrome.com/blog/sqlite-wasm-in-the-browser-backed-by-the-origin-private-file-system) ## Acknowledgements This article was reviewed by [Joe Medley](https://github.com/jpmedley) and [Ben Morss](https://github.com/morsssss), and [Joshua Bell](https://github.com/inexorabletash).