I consolidated a bunch of personal information and notes into a little SQLite database and I am really enjoying it.

I wish I understood the benefits of SQLite earlier for stuff like this.

Benefits, in short:

No server needed!

SQLite is just one file you connect to so unlike MySQL or Postgres which require a server and therefore the need to “keep something running” SQLite just lives on its own forever without babysitting, which I really like.

No latency

This is connected to the above but requires stating directly as I had been running some stuff in Airtable.

A .csv file with superpowers

Related to the above, because SQLite doesn’t require a server it’s basically just like a .csv or .xlsx file but with superpowers. I love storing little lists in a .csv and using new .csv viewers like “Modern CSV” to view them because .csvs are so durable and simple but at some point you’re like, I wish I could map this data to another dataset or do some advanced filtering and then you hit the limit of what a .csv can do. Excel is better but then you’re locked into something proprietary that also has limits. SQLite allows you to just use any existing SQL skills to create whatever you want. If you decided what you’re working on should actually be a web app you’re actually quite close to having a data structure you can use versus if you were still working in Excel.