# SQLite JDBC for Minecraft<\/p>\n
A maintained fork of the dormant SQLite JDBC for Minecraft mod, now tracking the **latest Xerial sqlite-jdbc release** with auto-bumps whenever upstream cuts a new version.<\/p>\n
The mod does nothing on its own \u2014 it ships the SQLite JDBC driver onto the server’s classpath so other plugins\/mods that want to read or write `.db`\/`.sqlite` files via JDBC don’t each have to bundle their own copy.<\/p>\n
Typical consumers: Dynmap, Plan, LuckPerms, Grim Anti-Cheat, and any plugin that wants embedded SQLite without redistributing 10MB of native binaries themselves.<\/p>\n
## What’s in the jar<\/p>\n
`org.xerial:sqlite-jdbc:3.53.0.0` plus minimal loader stubs for Spigot, Forge 1.12, Forge 1.13\u20131.16, Forge 1.17\u20131.20, NeoForge 1.21+, and Fabric. The driver classes stay at their canonical `org.sqlite.*` paths \u2014 no relocation \u2014 so consumers find them with plain `Class.forName(“org.sqlite.JDBC”)`. `META-INF\/services\/java.sql.Driver` is preserved so the driver auto-registers with `DriverManager`.<\/p>\n
The xerial driver bundles native SQLite binaries for every common platform\/architecture (linux x64\/aarch64, macos x64\/arm64, windows x64). They get extracted to the JVM’s tempdir on first use.<\/p>\n
## Compatibility<\/p>\n
| Loader | MC versions | Notes |
\n|—|—|—|
\n| Bukkit \/ Spigot \/ Paper \/ Folia \/ Purpur | 1.8 \u2192 current | drop into `plugins\/` |
\n| Fabric | 1.16.1 \u2192 current | needs Fabric Loader 0.14+ |
\n| Forge | 1.12 \u2192 1.20 | universal jar, no Mixins |
\n| NeoForge | 1.21 \u2192 current | drop into `mods\/` |<\/p>\n
Java 8+ required. Plain BukkitAPI servers without Java 8 (anything older than ~1.8.8) won’t be able to load any modern xerial release; that’s an upstream constraint, not this mod.<\/p>\n
### When you actually need this mod<\/p>\n
CraftBukkit\/Spigot\/Paper have shipped `sqlite-jdbc` on the server’s parent classloader since the 1.4-era ebeans commit. Plugin classloaders delegate parent-first, so for the **default JDBC path** (`Class.forName(“org.sqlite.JDBC”)` \/ `DriverManager.getConnection`) the bundled driver always wins, regardless of what’s in `plugins\/`. Tested empirically on Paper 1.12.2 and 1.21.11.<\/p>\n
You need this mod when:<\/p>\n
– You’re on **Fabric** or **NeoForge** \u2014 vanilla Minecraft ships no JDBC drivers at all
\n– You’re on a **Bukkit fork that’s stripped the bundled driver** (rare, but happens on minified server builds)
\n– You want a **newer SQLite engine version than your server bundles** \u2014 for `RETURNING`, `STRICT` tables, modern UPSERT on a 1.8\u20131.12 server, or just to track the latest Xerial release. See [Using a newer engine via the public API](#using-a-newer-engine-via-the-public-api) below.<\/p>\n
### Using a newer engine via the public API<\/p>\n
The default path uses the bundled driver. To use *this* mod’s driver instead, your plugin softdepends on this holder and calls `MinecraftSqliteJdbc.connect(url)` directly:<\/p>\n
“`java
\n\/\/ in your plugin.yml
\nsoftdepend: [sqlite-jdbc]
\n“`<\/p>\n
“`java
\n\/\/ in your plugin code
\nConnection c;
\ntry {
\n c = MinecraftSqliteJdbc.connect(“jdbc:sqlite:foo.db”);
\n} catch (NoClassDefFoundError | ClassNotFoundException notInstalled) {
\n \/\/ holder isn’t installed \u2014 fall back to the bundled driver
\n c = DriverManager.getConnection(“jdbc:sqlite:foo.db”);
\n}
\n“`<\/p>\n
`MinecraftSqliteJdbc` wraps a child-first `URLClassLoader` pointing at this jar’s URL, parented to the platform classloader so `org.sqlite.*` must come from this jar (not the bundled chain). The returned `Connection` is a standard `java.sql.Connection` \u2014 keep your casts to `java.sql.*` interfaces; the impl class `org.sqlite.SQLiteConnection` lives in the child-first classloader and won’t down-cast across the boundary.<\/p>\n
Verified on Paper 1.12.2 (bundled engine 3.21.0) \u2014 same JVM, same boot:<\/p>\n
“`
\nbaseline DriverManager.getConnection \u2192 engine 3.21.0
\nMinecraftSqliteJdbc.connect() \u2192 engine 3.53.0
\n“`<\/p>\n
API surface (all static):<\/p>\n
| Method | Returns |
\n|—|—|
\n| `connect(String url)` | open `Connection` through this driver |
\n| `connect(String url, Properties props)` | as above with props |
\n| `driver()` | the `java.sql.Driver` instance |
\n| `engineVersion()` | SQLite engine version (e.g. `”3.53.0″`) |
\n| `driverVersion()` | driver version string (e.g. `”3.53.0.0″`) |
\n| `eagerInit()` | warm the classloader at plugin enable |
\n| `shutdown()` | release file handles + JNI on plugin disable |<\/p>\n
Grim Anti-Cheat’s SQLite backend uses this API automatically when this holder is installed and ships a newer engine than the bundled one \u2014 see Grim’s Database wiki page.<\/p>\n
### Bundled SQLite engine versions on common Bukkit lines<\/p>\n
For reference if you’re wondering what engine version your server actually ships:<\/p>\n
| CraftBukkit \/ Paper line | Bundled SQLite engine |
\n|—|—|
\n| 1.8 \u2013 1.10 | 3.7.2 |
\n| 1.11 | 3.16.1 |
\n| 1.12 | 3.21.0.1 |
\n| 1.13 | 3.25.2 |
\n| 1.14 | 3.28.0 |
\n| 1.15 | 3.30.1 |
\n| 1.16 \u2013 1.17 | 3.34.0 |
\n| 1.20.6 | 3.45.3.0 |
\n| Paper 1.21.4 | 3.47.0.0 |
\n| Paper 1.21.5 \u2013 1.21.11 | 3.49.1.0 |
\n| master \/ 26.x | 3.51.3.0 |<\/p>\n
This mod ships engine 3.53.0.0 (or whatever the latest xerial release is), but **none of that matters on Bukkit-family servers** \u2014 the bundled engine is what actually runs your queries. If you need a newer engine for features like `RETURNING` (3.35+) or `STRICT` tables (3.37+), upgrade to a Paper version that bundles a recent enough driver, or move that workload to Fabric\/NeoForge where you can control the driver.<\/p>\n
## Using it from a plugin or mod<\/p>\n
Declare sqlite-jdbc as `compileOnly`:<\/p>\n
“`kotlin
\ncompileOnly(“org.xerial:sqlite-jdbc:3.53.0.0”)
\n“`<\/p>\n
Probe at startup:<\/p>\n
“`java
\ntry {
\n Class.forName(“org.sqlite.JDBC”);
\n} catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
\n getLogger().warning(“SQLite backend disabled \u2014 install minecraft-sqlite-jdbc”);
\n return;
\n}
\ntry (Connection c = DriverManager.getConnection(“jdbc:sqlite:” + dataDir.resolve(“data.db”))) {
\n \/\/ …
\n}
\n“`<\/p>\n
On Paper 1.17+ each plugin’s classloader is isolated. Add this mod to your `plugin.yml` `softdepend` so the driver classes are visible to your plugin:<\/p>\n
“`yaml
\nsoftdepend: [minecraft-sqlite-jdbc]
\n“`<\/p>\n
Fabric and NeoForge unify all mods on one classloader, so no equivalent declaration is needed there.<\/p>\n
## Versioning<\/p>\n
The jar version tracks Xerial’s `sqlite-jdbc` release one-to-one. `3.53.0.0+2026-04-14` ships engine 3.53.0.0; the suffix is the build date. A scheduled GitHub Action checks Maven Central daily \u2014 when xerial cuts a new release, an auto-merge PR opens here and the Modrinth release goes out automatically.<\/p>\n
## License<\/p>\n
Apache 2.0 (Xerial \/ Taro L. Saito). The repackage adds no functional changes and inherits that license. Full text in `LICENSE`.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Issues, source: GitHub.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Up-to-date SQLite JDBC driver wrapped as a universal Forge\/Fabric\/Bukkit library for plugins like Dynmap and Grim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":102083,"template":"","meta":{"_minecraft_slug":"minecraft-sqlite-jdbc","_minecraft_project_id":"bTTf2DEw","_minecraft_author":"Axionize","_minecraft_license":"Apache-2.0","_minecraft_downloads":14396,"_minecraft_follows":18,"_minecraft_client_side":"optional","_minecraft_server_side":"optional","_minecraft_storage_type":"zip","_minecraft_archive_name":"minecraft-sqlite-jdbc.zip","_minecraft_size_bytes":152963372,"_minecraft_version_count":11,"_minecraft_updated_at":"2026-05-15T22:40:28.047847Z","_minecraft_date_created":"2025-04-22T01:55:40.653457Z","_minecraft_date_modified":"2026-05-07T18:07:47.837215Z","_minecraft_project_url":"https:\/\/modrinth.com\/mod\/minecraft-sqlite-jdbc","_minecraft_icon_attachment_id":102083,"_minecraft_imported_at":"2026-06-05T20:45:39+00:00","_minecraft_import_hash":"d215fbabcf1a90fb2054715a8443d8fe","_minecraft_versions":"","_minecraft_links":"","_minecraft_gallery":"","_minecraft_api_metadata":""},"mod_category":[124,97,125,104,873,158,90,127,128,98,129,92],"mod_loader":[130,99,131,106,160,132,133,100,134],"minecraft_version":[385,438,446,449,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,36,60,93,94,101,102,62,37,40,41,73,74,38,78,79,80,81,82,83,167,163],"class_list":["post-102082","mod","type-mod","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","mod_category-bukkit","mod_category-fabric","mod_category-folia","mod_category-forge","mod_category-library","mod_category-neoforge","mod_category-optimization","mod_category-paper","mod_category-purpur","mod_category-quilt","mod_category-spigot","mod_category-utility","mod_loader-bukkit","mod_loader-fabric","mod_loader-folia","mod_loader-forge","mod_loader-neoforge","mod_loader-paper","mod_loader-purpur","mod_loader-quilt","mod_loader-spigot","minecraft_version-1-12-2","minecraft_version-1-13","minecraft_version-1-13-1","minecraft_version-1-13-2","minecraft_version-1-14","minecraft_version-1-14-1","minecraft_version-1-14-2","minecraft_version-1-14-3","minecraft_version-1-14-4","minecraft_version-1-15","minecraft_version-1-15-1","minecraft_version-1-15-2","minecraft_version-1-16","minecraft_version-1-16-1","minecraft_version-1-16-2","minecraft_version-1-16-3","minecraft_version-1-16-4","minecraft_version-1-16-5","minecraft_version-1-17","minecraft_version-1-17-1","minecraft_version-1-18","minecraft_version-1-18-1","minecraft_version-1-18-2","minecraft_version-1-19","minecraft_version-1-19-1","minecraft_version-1-19-2","minecraft_version-1-19-3","minecraft_version-1-19-4","minecraft_version-1-20","minecraft_version-1-20-1","minecraft_version-1-20-2","minecraft_version-1-20-3","minecraft_version-1-20-4","minecraft_version-1-20-5","minecraft_version-1-20-6","minecraft_version-1-21","minecraft_version-1-21-1","minecraft_version-1-21-10","minecraft_version-1-21-11","minecraft_version-1-21-2","minecraft_version-1-21-3","minecraft_version-1-21-4","minecraft_version-1-21-5","minecraft_version-1-21-6","minecraft_version-1-21-7","minecraft_version-1-21-8","minecraft_version-1-21-9","minecraft_version-26-1","minecraft_version-26-1-1","minecraft_version-26-1-2"],"yoast_head":"\n