Documentation

nLink Data Tables

A lightweight, built-in database for your workflows. Save and manage your data instantly without provisioning external databases.

Overview

nLink Data Tables are designed specifically for your workflows. Instead of spending time connecting to external databases like MySQL or PostgreSQL for simple tasks, you can use Data Tables to save, update, and manage your data directly within nLink. Enjoy sub-millisecond read/write operations as data never traverses the public internet.

Security First: Your data is isolated and safely stored inside your Workspace. Only authorized workflows can access it.

Auto-Schema (Semi-schema-less)

Unlike rigid relational databases, nLink Tables automatically adapt to your data. When you insert a new JSON field that the table hasn't encountered before, the system organically registers the new field into the schema.

This enables highly agile workflow development where the database shapes itself around your logic, not the other way around.

Key Operations

  • Insert Row
    Append new data easily. Map dynamic variables like {{ $json.email }} to table fields. This is ideal for permanently saving webhook form submissions.
  • Update Row
    Provide the explicit rowId and a new payload. The engine will merge and update only the specified fields, preserving the rest of the record.
  • Delete Row
    Permanently delete a row based on its unique identifier.

Advanced Querying (Get Many)

Perform complex queries to extract an array of records using the Get Many operation. nLink provides a powerful dynamic JSON querying engine.

Query Capabilities
  • Filters: Apply nested conditions (e.g., Status == Active AND Age != 18).
  • Sorting: Enforce sorting on any JSON field (Ascending or Descending).
  • Pagination: Set Limit (max 1000) and Offset to manage tables with millions of records without exceeding memory limits.

Event-Driven Architecture

The BaaS Tables Trigger acts as the central nervous system for your built-in database tables. It allows nLink to function similarly to Supabase or Firebase by triggering serverless functions instantly upon data mutations.

Synergy with Triggers: Any Insert, Update, or Delete operation performed by the Data Tables node will automatically broadcast a systemic event. The Trigger node will instantly fire and inject the complete changed data payload directly into your downstream workflow.

Data Lifecycle & Security (TTL)

nLink BaaS introduces enterprise-grade data lifecycle management through TTL (Time To Live) Auto-Delete policies. You can configure tables to automatically purge records that exceed a specific age (e.g., deleting logs older than 30 days).

Destructive Operation Control: To prevent accidental data loss, modifying TTL configurations is strictly protected by the baas:manage_ttl RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) permission. Unauthorized users are subjected to Silent Metadata Preservation, meaning they can update the table schema without inadvertently disabling the TTL policy.

High-Speed Deterministic Indexing

By simply marking a field as Index or Unique in your schema, nLink automatically lifts that field out of the JSON blob and maps it to a physical Flex Column in the underlying MySQL/PostgreSQL database.

The BaaS engine utilizes deterministic alphabetical sorting to guarantee that your dynamic JSON keys consistently map to physical database columns. This provides sub-millisecond query performance on massive datasets without requiring complex database administration.

Limits & Quotas

To ensure high availability and sub-millisecond latency for all workspaces, the following quotas are strictly enforced at the database level:

  • Maximum Rows: Unlimited (Scales with your self-hosted server's disk space).
  • Maximum Row Size: 512KB per JSON payload.