Is it possible with SQLAlchemy to share SQLite database among multiple Python processes?

Question

Is it possible to share an in memory SQLite database using SQLAlchemy among multiple Python processes? All applications are reading and writing from/to it. If so, is it desirable?

Answer 1

No, you cannot share an in-memory SQLite database between processes. An in-memory SQLite database is private to the connection that created it; even within the same process, a new connection to :memory: creates a new database. SQLAlchemy does not lift this limitation.

You can only share a file-based database. SQLite uses as system of locking to make that possible.

That said, SQLite is not the best choice for concurrent database access. A database using a separate server to manage multiple clients (such as MySQL or PostgreSQL) is a better choice if performance is an issue.