States and instances
A state is the immutable result of a preparation. For raw psql preparation, state identity includes the preparation kind, resolved base image, normalized SQL content, and engine version. Existing work can be reused when the same identity is requested again.
Instance
Section titled “Instance”An instance is a mutable SQL database environment derived from a state. It is where a test, migration experiment, or ordinary CLI-driven agent experiment is allowed to change data.
Why the distinction matters
Section titled “Why the distinction matters”The prepared point can remain reusable while a failed mutable attempt is discarded. Reproducible startup and storage benchmarks will be published separately.
| Property | Prepared state | Running instance |
|---|---|---|
| Mutation | Immutable | Mutable |
| Purpose | Reusable starting point | One experiment or working session |
| Created by | prepare |
Derived as part of prepare/materialization |
| Used by | Future prepares/runs | run commands and external work |