Ensure specific tables and views exist on startup

Install this plugin in the same environment as Datasette.

$ pip install datasette-init

This plugin is configured using metadata.json (or metadata.yaml).

Add a block like this that specifies the tables you would like to ensure exist:

{
  "plugins": {
    "datasette-init": {
      "my_database": {
        "tables": {
          "dogs": {
            "columns": {
              "id": "integer",
              "name": "text",
              "age": "integer",
              "weight": "float"
            },
            "pk": "id"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Any tables that do not yet exist will be created when Datasette first starts.

Valid column types are "integer", "text", "float" and "blob".

The "pk" is optional, and is used to define the primary key. To define a compound primary key (across more than one column) use a list of column names here:

    "pk": ["id1", "id2"]

The plugin can also be used to create views:

{
  "plugins": {
    "datasette-init": {
      "my_database": {
        "views": {
          "my_view": "select 1 + 1"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Each view in the "views" block will be created when the Database first starts. If a view with the same name already exists it will be replaced with the new definition.

To set up this plugin locally, first checkout the code. Then create a new virtual environment:

cd datasette-init
python3 -mvenv venv
source venv/bin/activate

Or if you are using pipenv:

pipenv shell

Now install the dependencies and tests:

pip install -e '.[test]'

To run the tests:

pytest