Ask HN: What's Got You Stuck?

I want to switch from Postgres to SQLite for a side project. Managed Postgres is an unnecessary expense, and introduces complexity which I don't want to deal with or troubleshoot. SQLite is simple and appropriate for my current needs. I believe a simple rsync script is enough to keep backups. I'm also attracted to the fact that the database is stored in the same file system in SQLite, instead of being a network request away for Postgres.

However, I am hosting the application via DigitalOcean App Platform, which has an ephemeral storage and lacks the ability to mount volumes. I looked into storing the file in DO Spaces (S3-like storage), but App Platform seems to lack the ability to install/run s3cmd to retrieve files. I also cannot easily curl the file over, because the Spaces files are private and require a new presigned URL which needs to be manually generated as needed.

I really like the App Platform's zero-downtime capabilities and minimal configuration hassle, but I don't like that I lack granular abilities to install what I want on the managed VM (such as s3cmd). I could switch to a droplet, but then I have to manually script the shutdown and startup sequence so that it pulls the db.sqlite file from Spaces on startup.

I'm a little frustrated that App Platform is just barely not compliant enough for me to run SQLite.

How to get gigs on Upwork. I've invested so much time into it and it's not paying off so far.

I want to be one of the successful guys on there. I feel stuck.