Release Notes (Developer Guide)

What changed in recent FLASH releases and how to adopt it in your apps.

Current version: 1.0.0 · Tests: 155/155

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v1.0.0 — npm @moaaz-i/flash-db

npm rejected the unscoped name flash-db (too similar to the existing flashdb package). The official npm name is @moaaz-i/flash-db.

npm install @moaaz-i/flash-db

import { FlashClient } from "@moaaz-i/flash-db";

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v1.3.2 — Default Buffer Pipeline

Summary

The engine now keeps records as FlashBinary Buffers end-to-end. The SDK still accepts and returns plain JavaScript objects — conversion happens once at the client boundary.

Your app (object) → encryptToBuffer() → Buffer → WAL / SSTable
WAL / SSTable → Buffer → decryptFromBuffer() → Your app (object)

New APIs

API	Where	Purpose
client.encryptToBuffer(doc)	FlashClient	Plain doc → encrypted Buffer (one serialize)
client.decryptFromBuffer(buf)	FlashClient	Encrypted Buffer → plain doc (partial field read)
FlashRecordCodec	export	Low-level encode/decode helpers
FlashBinary.decodeRecord(buf)	export	Engine buffer → object (for SQL/Wire/etc.)
FlashBinary.decodeRecords(bufs)	export	Batch decode

Behavior changes (low-level)

If you use FlashCollection directly (not FlashClient.collection()):

Method	Before	Now
find()	object[]	Buffer[]
findOne()	object | null	Buffer | null
insertOne()	object only	object | Buffer
insertMany()	object[] only	(object | Buffer)[]

Use FlashBinary.decodeRecord() when you need plain objects from engine buffers.

Remote / FlashServer wire format

Records over HTTP are sent as:

{ "_flashRecord": "<base64 FlashBinary buffer>" }

The remote client decodes automatically. No app changes if you use FlashClient with uri.

insertMany over remote uses POST /api/v1/insertMany/:collection (single round-trip batch).

Performance (v1.3.2)

Feature	API
Turbo profile	engineOptions: { performanceProfile: 'turbo' }
In-memory engine	inMemory: true or storagePath: ':memory:'
Lazy field decrypt	.select('field1 field2')
Partial buffer decrypt	FlashRecordCodec.decryptFields() / decryptFieldsFromBuffer()
Skip Merkle (turbo)	disableMerkle: true (turbo default)

See Foundations §15.

Compact storage (storageProfile: 'compact')

Minimal on-disk footprint — use for bulk archives and non-searchable payloads:

const client = new FlashClient({
  secretKey: "key",
  storageProfile: "compact",
  fieldPolicy: {
    title: "exact", // equality search only
    body: "encrypted", // encrypt only — smallest
    tags: "plaintext", // compressible metadata
  },
  engineOptions: { compressionLevel: 6 },
});

Policy	Blind index	Typical size vs searchable
encrypted / zk-secret	none	~5–15× smaller (strings)
exact	exact trapdoor only	~3–8× smaller
searchable	exact + ngrams + range	baseline
plaintext	none	smallest + SSTable compresses

Plugin hooks

beforeUpdate and afterUpdate are fully supported:

client.use({
  name: "audit",
  beforeUpdate(doc, col, previous) {
    doc.lastEditedBy = "system";
    return doc;
  },
  afterUpdate(doc, col) {
    console.log("updated", doc._id);
  },
});

TypeScript

• FlashQueryWhereBuilder<T> — fixes fluent .where().gt() typing
• FlashRecordCodec, encryptToBuffer, decryptFromBuffer
• FlashCollection buffer return types
• FlashPlugin.afterUpdate
• FlashDatabase constructor accepts engineOptions

See Buffer Pipeline and TypeScript Support.

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v1.3.1 — Engine Fixes + Foundations

Bug fixes

Issue	Fix
TTL only scanned memtable	TTL sweeps memtable + SSTables
getMerkleProof() async bug	Sync returns null if dirty; use getMerkleProofAsync()
count() loaded all docs	Uses engine count() when no filter
Missing beforeUpdate hook	Added on updateOne
Schema expireAfterSeconds	Also registers lifecycle()

New client foundations

API	Use case
client.eventLog(name)	Append-only time-ordered stream
client.counter(name)	Atomic counters
client.queue(name)	FIFO jobs with ack/fail
client.health()	Engine capacity report
client.snapshot()	.flashpack export/import
autoTimestamps: true (default)	Auto createdAt / updatedAt

See Universal Foundations.

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v1.3.0 — Universal Foundations (Cross-Domain)

Introduced generic primitives instead of domain-named modules:

• lifecycle(), paginate(), maintenance(), pipeline()
• events(), use() plugins, tenant()
• Positioning as zero-knowledge encrypted intelligence DB

See Positioning & Identity.

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Migration checklist

From ≤1.3.0 → 1.3.2

1. No breaking changes if you only use FlashClient.collection() CRUD.
2. Engine-level code (FlashDatabase.collection().find()): decode buffers with FlashBinary.decodeRecord().
3. Custom server clients: expect _flashRecord base64 over REST if reading raw responses.
4. Enable timestamps: default on — pass autoTimestamps: false to disable.
5. Run tests after upgrade; 146 tests cover buffer + remote + foundations paths.

Recommended client setup (2026)

import { FlashClient } from "@moaaz-i/flash-db";

const client = new FlashClient({
  secretKey: process.env.FLASH_SECRET_KEY,
  storagePath: "./data",
  engineOptions: { durability: "balanced" },
  autoTimestamps: true,
});

// Foundations
client.maintenance({ autoStart: true });
const log = client.eventLog("events");
const jobs = client.queue("tasks");

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Related

• Buffer Pipeline
• Universal Foundations
• FlashClient API
• Client-Server Mode
• TypeScript Support