Using Node 24 and SQLite for a Tiny Appointment API in Pompano Beach

As a local plumber operating a small business in Pompano Beach, the author faced the challenge of managing appointments without the need for a hosted database or third-party SaaS solution. He desired a local, zero-maintenance data store that could be accessed by both the web front-end and mobile forms used by technicians.

The author chose Node 24 due to its built-in SQLite driver, which allows the database to be stored in a single file. This choice was made because the performance was sufficient for handling a few dozen appointments per day, and the driver was part of the Node runtime, eliminating the need for additional npm packages.

To set up the project, the author created a folder called plumbing-api on his home server. The steps he followed included initializing the project, creating a minimal package.json file, and defining the SQLite schema in a file named schema.sql. The schema consists of an appointments table with fields for customer name, address, phone, service, scheduled time, and notes.

The Express server (server.mjs) was created with three essential routes: GET /api/appointments to list all upcoming jobs, POST /api/appointments to create a new job, and DELETE /api/appointments/:id to cancel a job. The schema is initialized when the server starts by opening the SQLite database and executing the schema SQL. The routes handle querying, inserting, and deleting data from the appointments table based on the incoming requests.