Storage Backends

Choose where sessions are kept¶

Mewbo keeps session transcripts, compaction summaries, titles and metadata in a pluggable backend. The default JSON store needs no dependencies and works straight after install. Switch to MongoDB for multiple API workers, persistence across container restarts, or the Web IDE, which keeps container state in MongoDB.

JSON (Default)¶

The JSON driver writes one file per session under $MEWBO_HOME/sessions/, defaulting to ~/.mewbo/sessions/.

# These two are equivalent. JSON is the default
MEWBO_STORAGE_DRIVER=json
# or simply leave it unset

There is no cross process locking, so this fits a single instance, local development and CLI sessions. It does not fit several API workers running at once, or any deployment that needs the Web IDE.

MongoDB¶

.env

MEWBO_STORAGE_DRIVER=mongodb
MEWBO_MONGODB_URI=mongodb://mewbo:mewbo@localhost:27018/mewbo?authSource=admin
MEWBO_MONGODB_DATABASE=mewbo

Required for the Web IDE

The Web IDE feature needs MongoDB to persist container state across API restarts. Without MongoDB, the Web IDE button stays disabled.

Adding MongoDB to the Docker Compose Stack¶

MongoDB is already defined as a service in docker-compose.yml. Point the driver at it from .env, or from docker-compose.override.yml.

.env

# .env
MEWBO_STORAGE_DRIVER=mongodb
MEWBO_MONGODB_URI=mongodb://mewbo:[email protected]:27018/mewbo?authSource=admin
MEWBO_MONGODB_DATABASE=mewbo

The MongoDB service publishes ports: ["${MEWBO_MONGO_PORT:-27018}:27017"] on the host. The API container runs with network_mode: host, so 127.0.0.1:27018 reaches MongoDB from inside it. The same two variables work as an environment: block on the api service if you prefer keeping them in the override file.

External MongoDB¶

For Atlas or another hosted service, set MEWBO_MONGODB_URI to your connection string. Include the authSource parameter where your provider requires it.

.env

MEWBO_MONGODB_URI=mongodb+srv://user:[email protected]/mewbo
MEWBO_MONGODB_DATABASE=mewbo

Switching Between Drivers¶

Nothing migrates between drivers. Sessions written by the old store stay unreachable from the new one, in either direction.

Export what you want to keep before you switch.

Export sessions via GET/api/sessions/{session_id}/export.
Change MEWBO_STORAGE_DRIVER and restart.

Configuration Reference¶

Variable / Config key	Source	Default	Description
`MEWBO_STORAGE_DRIVER`	Env var	`json`	Storage driver: `json` or `mongodb`. Env var takes precedence over configs/app.json.
`MEWBO_MONGODB_URI`	Env var	`mongodb://localhost:27017`	Full MongoDB connection URI.
`MEWBO_MONGODB_DATABASE`	Env var	`mewbo`	MongoDB database name.
`MEWBO_HOME`	Env var	`~/.mewbo`	Data root for the JSON driver. In Docker, set to `/app/data` (mapped to the `api-data` named volume).
`storage.driver`	configs/app.json	`json`	Config file equivalent of `MEWBO_STORAGE_DRIVER` (env var wins).
`storage.mongodb.uri`	configs/app.json	`mongodb://localhost:27017`	Config file equivalent of `MEWBO_MONGODB_URI` (env var wins).
`storage.mongodb.database`	configs/app.json	`mewbo`	Config file equivalent of `MEWBO_MONGODB_DATABASE` (env var wins).