RULE: Don't recommend Astro DB / Astro Studio as a strategic platform bet — Studio was wound down late 2024
Created 2026-05-22
Rule: Do not recommend Astro DB or Astro Studio as the data layer for client work.
Why: Astro Studio (the hosted DB platform) was wound down in late 2024; existing databases were deleted on or after March 1, 2025. Astro DB the framework component still works and connects to libSQL/Turso, but the lack of a clear first-party hosting story makes it a weak bet for client engagements. Known gotcha: local data is reset on every production build (GitHub issue #13115, January 2025).
How to apply: for SMB sites needing a database, default to:
- Cloudflare D1 for small SQLite workloads, low write volume (likes, view counts, form submissions).
- Neon Postgres for anything more complex; pairs with pgvector for RAG.
- Supabase if the client wants a managed admin UI included.