tursodatabase/turso · error · Error

Database not connected. Call connect() first.

Error message

Database not connected. Call connect() first.

What it means

Second branch of checkOpen(): _closed is false but _connected or _connection is unset. The constructor only stores options; the native database, connection, and sync bootstrap all happen inside connect(). Until `await db.connect()` resolves, the Database is a shell and any statement-level call throws this.

Solutions

1. Always `await db.connect()` before any query, ideally once in a dedicated init module that exports a ready promise
2. If connect() can fail, surface and fix that error first — this message is just the downstream symptom
3. Guard entry points with `db.open` (true only when connected and not closed)
4. Initialize the Database lazily: export `getDb()` that connects on first call and caches the promise

Example fix

// before
const db = new Database({ path: getDbPath('app.db') });
db.connect(); // missing await
const row = await db.get('SELECT 1'); // throws 'Database not connected...'

// after
const db = new Database({ path: getDbPath('app.db') });
const ready = db.connect();
await ready;
const row = await db.get('SELECT 1');

const ready = db.connect(); // once, at startup
// ...
await ready; // every consumer awaits this before querying
await db.get('SELECT 1');

function isConnected(db: Database): boolean {
  return db.open; // !_closed && _connection !== null
}

try {
  await db.get(sql, params);
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message.includes('Call connect() first')) {
    await db.connect();
    return db.get(sql, params);
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling db.prepare/exec/all/run/get immediately after `new Database(...)` without awaiting connect(); calling them from code that runs before an async init routine finishes (e.g. render firing before the connect() promise resolves); connect() rejected and the error swallowed, leaving callers to hit this on the next use.

Common situations: Forgetting the await on connect() in app bootstrap; React component effects querying before a `ready` flag is set; connect() failing (bad path, native error) inside a try that logs but continues, after which every query fails with this message instead of the original error.

Related errors

• Database is closed
• jsContextPointer == 0
• No connection available
• Statement has been finalized
• The transaction has already completed

AI-assisted analysis of tursodatabase/turso@244cde92a7 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4d725f8bb45f05c4. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at bindings/react-native/src/Database.ts:483

  /**
   * Get last insert rowid
   */
  get lastInsertRowid(): number {
    if (!this._connection) {
      return 0;
    }
    return this._connection.lastInsertRowid();
  }

  /**
   * Check if open and throw if not
   */
  private checkOpen(): void {
    if (this._closed) {
      throw new Error('Database is closed');
    }
    if (!this._connected || !this._connection) {
      throw new Error('Database not connected. Call connect() first.');
    }
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 244cde92a7)