P-BitM uses SQLAlchemy with SQLite as the default persistence layer.
Timestamps
- Persist timestamps through
UTCDateTime.
- Accept timezone-aware values and compare in UTC.
- Serialize timestamps as ISO 8601 at API boundaries.
- Use
utc_now as a callable column default.
SQLite stores UTC timestamps without an offset internally; UTCDateTime
restores UTC awareness when values are read.
Structured values
Use SQLAlchemy JSON columns for structured objects and arrays. Assign Python
dict and list values directly and validate size and shape in request
models. Do not manually encode JSON before persistence.
Identifiers
Public identifiers remain strings because they are also used in routes,
container names, labels, network names, and tracking contracts.
Migrations
Base.metadata.create_all creates new databases but does not upgrade released
schemas. Put in-place changes in ordered, idempotent, tested migrations in
schema_migrations.py. Last modified on August 28, 2026
