---
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.

Data is lost when the process exits.

## Usage

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

s := memory.New()

r, err := relay.New(relay.WithStore(s))
```

## Internals

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

## Limitations

- No persistence -- all data lost on restart.
- List operations are O(n) scans.
- Single process only.
- No multi-operation transactions.