---
title: Memory Store
description: In-memory store for development, testing, and prototyping.
---

The memory store keeps all data in Go maps protected by a `sync.RWMutex`. It requires zero configuration and is the default store for unit tests.

## When to use

- **Unit tests** — fast, deterministic, no external dependencies.
- **Local development** — get started without setting up a database.
- **Prototyping** — validate business logic before choosing a persistence layer.
- **CI pipelines** — no database containers needed.

Data is lost when the process exits.

## Configuration

The memory store has no configuration. Just call `New()`:

```go
import "github.com/xraph/ctrlplane/store/memory"

s := memory.New()
```

Or use it with the app:

```go
cp, err := app.New(
    app.WithStore(memory.New()),
)
```

## Internals

| Aspect | Detail |
|--------|--------|
| **Concurrency** | `sync.RWMutex` — reads can run concurrently, writes are exclusive |
| **Indexing** | Map keys by ID string; linear scan for list/filter operations |
| **Migrate** | No-op |
| **Ping** | No-op (always succeeds) |
| **Close** | No-op |

### Data layout

Entities are stored in typed maps keyed by their TypeID string:

```go
instances   map[string]*instance.Instance
deployments map[string]*deploy.Deployment
releases    map[string]*deploy.Release
// ...
```

Secrets use a composite key `instanceID:key` for direct lookup by instance and key name.

## Limitations

- **No persistence** — all data lost on restart.
- **No indexing** — list operations are O(n) scans.
- **Single process** — cannot be shared across multiple instances.
- **No transactions** — individual operations are atomic via mutex, but there are no multi-operation transactions.

## Comparison

| Feature | Memory | Badger | PostgreSQL | SQLite | MongoDB |
|---------|--------|--------|------------|--------|---------|
| Setup | None | Path only | DSN | File path | URI |
| Persistence | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-process | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Query flexibility | Low | Low | High | Medium | High |
| Best for | Tests | Embedded KV | Production SQL | Embedded SQL | Production NoSQL |