OrbitDB API

The instance returned by module:OrbitDB.

Source:

Open a database or create one if it does not already exist.

By default, OrbitDB will create a database of type DefaultDatabaseType:

const mydb = await orbitdb.open('mydb')

To create a database of a different type, specify the type param:

const mydb = await orbitdb.open('mydb', {type: 'documents'})

The type must be listed in databaseTypes or an error is thrown. To open an existing database, pass its address to the open function:

const existingDB = await orbitdb.open(dbAddress)

The address of a newly created database can be retrieved using db.address.

Name Type Description

address

string

The address of an existing database to open, or the name of a new database.

params

Object

One or more database configuration parameters.

Name	Type	Attributes	Default	Description
`type`	string	<optional>	events	The database's type.
`meta`	*	<optional>	{}	The database's metadata. Only applies when creating a database and is not used when opening an existing database.
`sync`	boolean	<optional>	true	If true, sync databases automatically. Otherwise, false.
`Database`	module:Database	<optional>	Events	A Database-compatible module.
`AccessController`	module:AccessControllers	<optional>	IPFSAccessController	An AccessController-compatible module.
`headsStorage`	module:Storage	<optional>	ComposedStorage	A compatible storage instance for storing log heads. Defaults to ComposedStorage(LRUStorage, LevelStorage).
`entryStorage`	module:Storage	<optional>	ComposedStorage	A compatible storage instance for storing log entries. Defaults to ComposedStorage(LRUStorage, IPFSBlockStorage).
`indexStorage`	module:Storage	<optional>	ComposedStorage	A compatible storage instance for storing an " index of log entries. Defaults to ComposedStorage(LRUStorage, LevelStorage).
`referencesCount`	number	<optional>		The number of references to use for Log entries.
`encryption`	number	<optional>		Encryption module to encrypt/decrypt database payloads and entries. If provided, the encryption object must take the form { replication: { encrypt, decrypt }, data: { encrypt, decrypt } }.