beekeeper-studio/beekeeper-studio · error

Creating database on remote server is not supported

Error message

Creating database on remote server is not supported

What it means

_createDatabase in the libsql client throws 'Creating database on remote server is not supported' when isRemote is true. Creating a database means creating a new local SQLite/libsql file via new Database(path); remote servers (http/https/ws endpoints) cannot have files created this way, so the operation is rejected.

Source

Thrown at apps/studio/src-commercial/backend/lib/db/clients/libsql.ts:131

        : undefined,
    });
  }

  protected createCursor(
    ...args: ConstructorParameters<typeof SqliteCursor>
  ): LibSQLCursor {
    const options: LibSQLCursorOptions = {
      isRemote: this.isRemote,
      authToken: this.useAuthToken ? this.libsqlOptions.authToken : undefined,
    };
    args[4] = options;
    // @ts-expect-error not fully typed
    return new LibSQLCursor(...args);
  }

  protected _createDatabase(path: string) {
    if (this.isRemote) {
      throw new Error("Creating database on remote server is not supported");
    }
    const conn = new Database(path);
    conn.close();
  }

  private get useAuthToken(): boolean {
    return this.libsqlOptions.mode === "url" && !!this.libsqlOptions.authToken;
  }

  private get libsqlOptions() {
    return this.server.config.libsqlOptions;
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 4e3e03e322)

Solutions

1. Create the remote database via the provider's CLI/API (e.g. turso db create), then connect to it
2. Check client.isRemote before attempting createDatabase and surface a clear message
3. For local-only flows, supply a file path instead of a remote URL

Example fix

// before
await client.createDatabase('https://my.turso.io/db');
// after
if (client.isRemote) {
  // run: turso db create mydb, then connect
} else {
  await client.createDatabase('/path/new.db');
}

if (client.isRemote) {
  // route to provider CLI/API instead: turso db create <name>
} else {
  await client.createDatabase(localFilePath);
}

function isLocalLibsqlTarget(path: string): boolean {
  return !/^:memory:$|libsql:|^http:|^https:|^ws:|^wss:/.test(path);
}

try {
  await client.createDatabase(path);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.includes('Creating database on remote server')) {
    notifyUser('Create the database via your provider CLI (e.g. turso db create), then connect');
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling _createDatabase (or the create-database flow that routes through it) while the client is connected to a remote libsql endpoint (isRemote true, e.g. https://xxx.turso.io).

Common situations: User tries 'create database' against a Turso/libsql server URL; app-level code creates a database as part of a setup flow without checking whether the target is remote.

Related errors

• Schemas are not supported
• Query Streaming is not currently supported for clickhouse
• Dropping ${typeOfElement} is not supported.
• Copy to SQL is not supported for DynamoDB connections.
• DynamoDB does not support dropping ${typeOfElement}

AI-assisted analysis of beekeeper-studio/beekeeper-studio@4e3e03e322 (2026-08-31). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a3878b57498d4458. Report an issue: GitHub.