#readwise
# Connection String - LiteDB :: A .NET Embedded NoSQL Database
## Metadata
- Author: [[litedb.org]]
- Full Title: Connection String - LiteDB :: A .NET Embedded NoSQL Database
- URL: http://www.litedb.org/docs/connection-string/
## Highlights
- **LiteDatabase can be initialized using a string connection, with key1=value1; key2=value2; ... syntax.** If there is no = in your connection string, LiteDB assume that your connection string contains only the Filename. Values can be quoted (" or ') if they contain special characters (like ; or =). Keys and values are case-insensitive.
### Connection String Options
| Key | Type | Description | Default |
| ----------- | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- |
| Filename | string | Full or relative path to the datafile. Supports `:memory:` for memory database or `:temp:` for in disk temporary database (file will deleted when database is closed) *required*. | |
| Connection | string | direct or shared | direct |
| Password | string | Encrypt (using AES) your datafile with a password | null (no encryption) |
| InitialSize | string or long | Initial size for the datafile (string supports "KB", "MB" and "GB") | 0 |
| ReadOnly | bool | Open datafile in read-only mode | false |
| Upgrade | bool | Check if datafile is of an older version and upgrade it before opening | false |
### Connection Type
LiteDB offers 2 types of connections: Direct and Shared. This affects how the engine opens the data file.
**Direct: The engine will open the datafile in exclusive mode and will keep it open until Dispose(). The datafile cannot be opened by another process. This is
the recommended mode because it’s faster and cachable.**
**Shared: The engine will be close the datafile after each operation. Locks are made using Mutex. This is more expensive but you can open same file from
multiple processes.
The Shared mode only works in .NET implementations that provide named mutexes.** Its multi-process capabilities will only work in platforms that implement named mutexes as system-wide mutexes.