The game's static reference data (projects/db/src/pse-db). Everything the games "just know" – every Pokemon, move, item, map, font glyph, trainer, type matchup – loaded from JSON assets into singleton databases. It is read-only and independent of any save file; the savefile layer consults it to resolve ids into names, prices, types, etc. See the macro picture in overview.md.

Shape

Part	What
db.h	DB – the aggregate. Exposes all 26 sub-databases as Q_PROPERTY (QML reaches them as db.pokemon, db.moves, ...) and runs the bootstrap.
db.h / .h (28)	The individual singleton databases (CreditsDB, PokemonDB, MovesDB, ItemsDB, MapsDB, FontsDB, TrainersDB, ...).
entries/*.h (~26)	The entry structs each database stores (CreditDBEntry, the MapDBEntry family, ItemDBEntry, PokemonDBEntry, ...).
util/ (3)	Helpers: GameData (the parsed JSON source), FontSearch, MapSearch.
db_autoport.h	The library import/export macro + the central opaque-pointer list for DB entry types.

The bootstrap (critical order)

DB::inst() is the single entry point; one call brings the whole layer up, in order:

DB::inst()
  -> (construct all 26 sub-DB singletons)
  -> initRes()       // embedded JSON resources
  -> qmlRegister()   // register every DB + entry type with QML
  -> loadAll()       // each DB loads its entries from JSON
  -> indexAll()      // build per-DB key lookups
  -> deepLinkAll()   // resolve cross-DB references

bootDatabase() (app layer) is literally just (void)DB::inst();. No DB may be accessed before DB::inst() runs.

Why constructors must not load: an early design had each DB call load() in its constructor; in Qt 6 that re-enters the singleton mutex and deadlocks. Loading was moved out to DB::loadAll(). See ../decisions/architecture.md.

The two conventions (read one, you've read them all)

DB singleton (canonical example: CreditsDB): static T* inst() + private ctor; a QVector<XxxDBEntry*> store; load() (called by DB::loadAll); QML access via getStore() / getStoreSize / invokable getStoreAt(ind); qmlProtect/ qmlRegister; the entry struct is a friend. Richer DBs add a key->entry index.

DB entry (canonical example: CreditDBEntry): a QObject struct with protected write-once fields exposed through public getters (Q_PROPERTY READ) – always read via the getter, never the field. Protected constructors take the JSON; a static process() parses JSON into the DB's store; the DB is a friend. Entries that reference other DBs add a deepLink() run in the deep-link pass (e.g. a move resolving its type, an evolution its target species).

Both conventions are documented in code on CreditsDB / CreditDBEntry and referenced by the rest.

Opaque pointers (db_autoport.h)

Unlike the savefile tree (whose objects QML traverses, so they must be complete types), DB entry pointers are declared opaque once in db_autoport.h and shared library-wide. QML reaches entries through invokable accessors (getStoreAt, ...At) rather than a deep Q_PROPERTY chain, so opaque is fine and keeps MOC/compile costs down. (Contrast with savefile.md and ../reference/qt-patterns.md.)

Documentation status: spine done – db.h, db_autoport.h, and the convention setters creditsdb.h / creditdbentry.h. The remaining databases, entries, and util/ are in progress; tracked in ../reference/documentation.md.