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+# Database Drivers
+
+DECNET persists dashboard state, deployment metadata, event/capture rows, and auth
+data through a single `BaseRepository` interface. Two concrete backends implement
+that interface: SQLite (default) and MySQL. Both extend the same
+`SQLModelRepository` base and only override the dialect-specific bits (engine
+construction, URL resolution, schema bootstrap). This is a load-bearing design
+choice — adding a new backend means subclassing the shared repo, not reimplementing
+the query surface.
+
+Source: `decnet/web/db/repository.py`, `decnet/web/db/sqlmodel_repo.py`,
+`decnet/web/db/sqlite/repository.py`, `decnet/web/db/mysql/repository.py`.
+
+## Why two backends
+
+- **SQLite** fits single-host UNIHOST deploys. Zero setup, file-backed,
+  limited to one writer at a time.
+- **MySQL** fits SWARM and any deployment with multi-process ingest or high
+  write volume (many sniffer/capture workers pushing concurrently). Scales
+  horizontally and survives multi-writer contention that SQLite cannot.
+
+The wire format, ORM models, and repository API are identical — only the engine
+and connection URL change.
+
+## SQLite (default)
+
+Driver: `aiosqlite >= 0.20.0` (see `pyproject.toml`). Pulled in automatically
+by `pip install -e .` — nothing else to install.
+
+Behavior:
+
+- WAL journal mode and `synchronous=NORMAL` are enabled on every connect
+  (`decnet/web/db/sqlite/database.py`).
+- Default `busy_timeout` is 30s to absorb short write contention.
+- The DB file lives at the path passed to `SQLiteRepository(db_path=...)`
+  (defaults set by the caller; repo bootstrap will `create_all` on first use).
+- WAL sidecar files (`*-wal`, `*-shm`) are expected and are ignored by
+  `.gitignore`.
+
+Limits:
+
+- Single-writer. Concurrent writes serialize; under heavy load you will see
+  `SQLITE_BUSY`. Raise `DECNET_DB_POOL_SIZE` / timeouts only as a stopgap —
+  switch to MySQL if contention is real.
+- Not safe to share across hosts over NFS or similar.
+
+## MySQL
+
+Driver: `asyncmy >= 0.2.9` (see `pyproject.toml`). Installed by
+`pip install -e .`. No separate package step.
+
+### Setup
+
+Create the database and a dedicated user:
+
+```sql
+CREATE DATABASE decnet CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
+CREATE USER 'decnet'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'change-me';
+GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON decnet.* TO 'decnet'@'%';
+FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
+```
+
+Point DECNET at it with either a full URL or component vars (see
+[Environment variables](Environment-Variables) for the complete list):
+
+```bash
+# Option A — full URL
+export DECNET_DB_TYPE=mysql
+export DECNET_DB_URL="mysql+asyncmy://decnet:change-me@db.internal:3306/decnet"
+
+# Option B — components (password is percent-encoded automatically)
+export DECNET_DB_TYPE=mysql
+export DECNET_DB_HOST=db.internal
+export DECNET_DB_PORT=3306
+export DECNET_DB_NAME=decnet
+export DECNET_DB_USER=decnet
+export DECNET_DB_PASSWORD='change-me'
+```
+
+Precedence: explicit `url=` kwarg to `get_async_engine` > `DECNET_DB_URL` >
+components. An empty password outside pytest raises — this is intentional.
+
+Schema bootstrap: tables are created via `SQLModel.metadata.create_all` on the
+first repository initialization. There is no migrator.
+
+### Tuning
+
+Pool sizing and recycle knobs (`DECNET_DB_POOL_SIZE`, `DECNET_DB_MAX_OVERFLOW`,
+`DECNET_DB_POOL_RECYCLE`, `DECNET_DB_POOL_PRE_PING`) apply to both backends
+and are documented on [Environment variables](Environment-Variables). MySQL
+defaults `pool_pre_ping=true` to fail fast on dropped idle connections; SQLite
+leaves it off since the "server" is a local file.
+
+## Switching backends
+
+Set `DECNET_DB_TYPE` to `sqlite` or `mysql` and restart the web/CLI process.
+There is **no migration tool** — switching backends starts from an empty
+schema. Export anything you care about beforehand. For MySQL teardown /
+rebuild during development, `decnet db-reset` exists (MySQL-only; see
+`decnet/cli.py`).
+
+## Factory and DI
+
+All code paths that need a repository must go through the factory:
+
+```python
+from decnet.web.db.factory import get_repository
+
+repo = get_repository()  # DECNET_DB_TYPE decides the subclass
+```
+
+In FastAPI handlers, depend on `get_repo` from `decnet/web/dependencies.py`
+instead of constructing a repo inline. The factory also wraps the instance
+with telemetry (`decnet.telemetry.wrap_repository`), so bypassing it loses
+metrics.
+
+**Rule (from `CLAUDE.md`):** never import `SQLiteRepository` (or
+`MySQLRepository`) directly in feature code. Use `get_repository()` or the
+`get_repo` FastAPI dependency. Direct imports break backend switching and
+silently drop telemetry wrapping.
+
+See the [Developer guide](Developer-Guide) for how repository-bound services
+are wired into handlers and background workers.