---
title: "Architecture Overview"
description: "Simple overview of NocoDB architecture"
hide_table_of_contents: true
---

By default, if `NC_DB` is not specified, then SQLite will be used to store your meta data. We suggest users to separate the meta data and user data in different databases.

![image](/img/architecture.png)

| Project Type | Metadata stored in | Data stored in |
|---------|-----------|--------|
| Create new project | NC_DB | NC_DB |
| Create new project with External Database | NC_DB | External Database |
| Create new project from Excel | NC_DB | NC_DB |