# Where SQLite Gives Up - Locks, Writers, and the Single-File Problem

DevFeed: [Where SQLite Gives Up - Locks, Writers, and the Single-File Problem](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/where-sqlite-gives-up-locks-writers-and-the-single-file-problem-39660.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.gauravsarma.com/posts/2026-05-12_where-sqlite-gives-up>)

Published: 2026-05-12T00:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Gaurav Sarma's Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/gaurav-sarma-s-blog.md>)

Topics: [SQLite](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/sqlite.md>), [benchmarking](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/benchmarking.md>), [Concurrency](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/concurrency.md>), [file](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/file.md>)

Tags: [benchmark](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/benchmark.md>), [concurrency](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/concurrency.md>), [embedded](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/embedded.md>), [filesystem](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/filesystem.md>), [locks](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/locks.md>), [python](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/python.md>), [sql](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sql.md>), [sqlite](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sqlite.md>)

## AI overview

This article examines three production limitations of SQLite: unfair lock acquisition, globally serialized write transactions, and scaling constraints from its single-file, single-machine design. It uses small benchmarks and compares these trade-offs with the server-based deployment costs of Postgres and MySQL.

## Source excerpt

. [Where SQLite Gives Up](where-sqlite-gives-up-cover...