Database & ORM

Nyx utilizes PostgreSQL for its persistent data store, accessed exclusively through Drizzle ORM for end-to-end type safety.

Database Design

The database schema is defined in server/src/platform/db/schema/index.ts. Drizzle handles schema creation and migrations natively.

Core Tables

1. users: Contains wallet addresses, display names, and profile pictures. No passwords or email addresses are stored.
2. conversations: Represents both 1:1 Direct Messages and Group Chats.
3. conversation_members: The join table associating users with conversations. Defines roles (admin, user) and tracks when a user was added or removed.
4. messages: Stores the end-to-end encrypted ciphertexts. The server cannot read the ciphertext column.
5. message_deliveries: Tracks the individual status (sent, delivered, read) of a message for every recipient in a conversation.

Drizzle ORM

Drizzle was chosen for its zero-dependency runtime and native PostgreSQL support, resulting in high performance and excellent TypeScript integration.

Migrations

Migrations are generated locally using drizzle-kit and applied during the application boot process or via a CI pipeline using drizzle-orm/postgres-js/migrator.

Connection Pooling

The server utilizes a standard Postgres connection pool configured for high concurrency, appropriate for a heavily asynchronous WebSockets environment.