diff --git a/isso/__init__.py b/isso/__init__.py
index 6a85c88..eb24248 100644
--- a/isso/__init__.py
+++ b/isso/__init__.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 #
 # Isso – a lightweight Disqus alternative
 
-from __future__ import print_function
+from __future__ import print_function, unicode_literals
 
 import pkg_resources
 dist = pkg_resources.get_distribution("isso")
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ if sys.argv[0].startswith("isso"):
 import os
 import errno
 import logging
-import tempfile
 
 from os.path import dirname, join
 from argparse import ArgumentParser
@@ -62,7 +61,12 @@ from werkzeug.contrib.profiler import ProfilerMiddleware
 local = Local()
 local_manager = LocalManager([local])
 
-from isso import config, db, migrate, wsgi, ext, views
+try:
+    import uwsgi
+except ImportError:
+    uwsgi = None
+
+from isso import cache, config, db, migrate, wsgi, ext, views
 from isso.core import ThreadedMixin, ProcessMixin, uWSGIMixin
 from isso.wsgi import origin, urlsplit
 from isso.utils import http, JSONRequest, html, hash
@@ -80,10 +84,18 @@ logger = logging.getLogger("isso")
 
 class Isso(object):
 
-    def __init__(self, conf):
+    def __init__(self, conf, cacheobj=None, connection=None,
+                             multiprocessing=False):
+        if cacheobj is None:
+            cacheobj = cache.Cache(threshold=1024)
+
+        if connection is None:
+            connection = db.SQLite3(":memory:")
 
         self.conf = conf
-        self.db = db.SQLite3(conf.get('general', 'dbpath'), conf)
+        self.cache = cacheobj
+        self.connection = connection
+        self.db = db.Adapter(connection, conf)
         self.signer = URLSafeTimedSerializer(self.db.preferences.get("session-key"))
         self.markup = html.Markup(
             conf.getlist("markup", "options"),
@@ -92,6 +104,7 @@ class Isso(object):
         self.hasher = hash.new(
             conf.get("hash", "algorithm"),
             conf.get("hash", "salt"))
+        self.shared = True if multiprocessing else False
 
         super(Isso, self).__init__(conf)
 
@@ -142,6 +155,10 @@ class Isso(object):
                 return InternalServerError()
             else:
                 return response
+            finally:
+                # FIXME: always close connection but rather fix tests
+                if self.shared:
+                    self.connection.close()
 
     def wsgi_app(self, environ, start_response):
         response = self.dispatch(JSONRequest(environ))
@@ -151,22 +168,29 @@ class Isso(object):
         return self.wsgi_app(environ, start_response)
 
 
-def make_app(conf=None, threading=True, multiprocessing=False, uwsgi=False):
+def make_app(conf, multiprocessing=True):
 
-    if not any((threading, multiprocessing, uwsgi)):
-        raise RuntimeError("either set threading, multiprocessing or uwsgi")
+    connection = db.SQLite3(conf.get("general", "dbpath"))
+    cacheobj = cache.SQLite3Cache(connection, threshold=2048)
 
-    if threading:
+    if multiprocessing:
+        if uwsgi is not None:
+            class App(Isso, uWSGIMixin):
+                pass
+
+            cacheobj = cache.uWSGICache(timeout=3600)
+        else:
+            class App(Isso, ProcessMixin):
+                pass
+    else:
         class App(Isso, ThreadedMixin):
             pass
-    elif multiprocessing:
-        class App(Isso, ProcessMixin):
-            pass
-    else:
-        class App(Isso, uWSGIMixin):
-            pass
 
-    isso = App(conf)
+    isso = App(
+        conf,
+        cacheobj=cacheobj,
+        connection=connection,
+        multiprocessing=multiprocessing)
 
     # check HTTP server connection
     for host in conf.getiter("general", "host"):
@@ -226,12 +250,11 @@ def main():
         conf.set("guard", "enabled", "off")
 
         if args.dryrun:
-            xxx = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile()
-            dbpath = xxx.name
+            dbpath = ":memory:"
         else:
             dbpath = conf.get("general", "dbpath")
 
-        mydb = db.SQLite3(dbpath, conf)
+        mydb = db.Adapter(db.SQLite3(dbpath), conf)
         migrate.dispatch(args.type, mydb, args.dump)
 
         sys.exit(0)
@@ -240,13 +263,15 @@ def main():
         logger.error("No website(s) configured, Isso won't work.")
         sys.exit(1)
 
+    app = make_app(conf, multiprocessing=False)
+
     if conf.get("server", "listen").startswith("http://"):
         host, port, _ = urlsplit(conf.get("server", "listen"))
         try:
             from gevent.pywsgi import WSGIServer
-            WSGIServer((host, port), make_app(conf)).serve_forever()
+            WSGIServer((host, port), app).serve_forever()
         except ImportError:
-            run_simple(host, port, make_app(conf), threaded=True,
+            run_simple(host, port, app, threaded=True,
                        use_reloader=conf.getboolean('server', 'reload'))
     else:
         sock = conf.get("server", "listen").partition("unix://")[2]
@@ -255,4 +280,4 @@ def main():
         except OSError as ex:
             if ex.errno != errno.ENOENT:
                 raise
-        wsgi.SocketHTTPServer(sock, make_app(conf)).serve_forever()
+        wsgi.SocketHTTPServer(sock, app).serve_forever()
diff --git a/isso/cache/__init__.py b/isso/cache/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ec69d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/isso/cache/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+# -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
+
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
+import abc
+import json
+
+from isso.utils import types
+from isso.compat import string_types
+
+
+def pickle(value):
+    return json.dumps(value).encode("utf-8")
+
+
+def unpickle(value):
+    return json.loads(value.decode("utf-8"))
+
+
+class Base(object):
+    """Base class for all cache objects.
+
+    Arbitrary values are set by namespace and key. Namespace and key must be
+    strings, the underlying cache implementation may use :func:`pickle` and
+    :func:`unpickle:` to safely un-/serialize Python primitives.
+
+    :param threshold: maximum size of the cache
+    :param timeout: key expiration
+    """
+
+    __metaclass__ = abc.ABCMeta
+
+    # enable serialization of Python primitives
+    serialize = False
+
+    def __init__(self, threshold, timeout):
+        self.threshold = threshold
+        self.timeout = timeout
+
+    def get(self, ns, key, default=None):
+        types.require(ns, string_types)
+        types.require(key, string_types)
+
+        try:
+            value = self._get(ns.encode("utf-8"), key.encode("utf-8"))
+        except KeyError:
+            return default
+        else:
+            if self.serialize:
+                value = unpickle(value)
+            return value
+
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def _get(self, ns, key):
+        return
+
+    def set(self, ns, key, value):
+        types.require(ns, string_types)
+        types.require(key, string_types)
+
+        if self.serialize:
+            value = pickle(value)
+
+        return self._set(ns.encode("utf-8"), key.encode("utf-8"), value)
+
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def _set(self, ns, key, value):
+        return
+
+    def delete(self, ns, key):
+        types.require(ns, string_types)
+        types.require(key, string_types)
+
+        return self._delete(ns.encode("utf-8"), key.encode("utf-8"))
+
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def _delete(self, ns, key):
+        return
+
+
+class Cache(Base):
+    """Implements a simple in-memory cache; once the threshold is reached, all
+    cached elements are discarded (the timeout parameter is ignored).
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, threshold=512, timeout=-1):
+        super(Cache, self).__init__(threshold, timeout)
+        self.cache = {}
+
+    def _get(self, ns, key):
+        return self.cache[ns + b'-' + key]
+
+    def _set(self, ns, key, value):
+        if len(self.cache) > self.threshold - 1:
+            self.cache.clear()
+        self.cache[ns + b'-' + key] = value
+
+    def _delete(self, ns, key):
+        self.cache.pop(ns + b'-' + key, None)
+
+
+from .uwsgi import uWSGICache
+from .sqlite import SQLite3Cache
+
+__all__ = ["Cache", "SQLite3Cache", "uWSGICache"]
diff --git a/isso/cache/sqlite.py b/isso/cache/sqlite.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dcb35f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/isso/cache/sqlite.py
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
+
+from __future__ import absolute_import, unicode_literals
+
+import time
+
+from . import Base
+from isso.db import SQLite3
+
+
+class SQLite3Cache(Base):
+    """Implements a shared cache using SQLite3. Works across multiple processes
+    and threads, concurrent writes are not supported.
+
+    JSON is used to serialize python primitives in a safe way.
+    """
+
+    serialize = True
+
+    def __init__(self, connection, threshold=1024, timeout=-1):
+        super(SQLite3Cache, self).__init__(threshold, timeout)
+        self.connection = connection
+        self.connection.execute(
+            'CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS cache ('
+            '    key TEXT PRIMARY KEY,'
+            '    value BLOB,'
+            '    time FLOAT)')
+
+        # drop trigger, in case threshold has changed
+        self.connection.execute('DROP TRIGGER IF EXISTS sweeper')
+        self.connection.execute([
+            'CREATE TRIGGER sweeper AFTER INSERT ON cache',
+            'BEGIN',
+            '    DELETE FROM cache WHERE key NOT IN ('
+            '        SELECT key FROM cache',
+            '        ORDER BY time DESC LIMIT {0}'.format(threshold),
+            '    );',
+            'END'])
+
+    def _get(self, ns, key, default=None):
+        rv = self.connection.execute(
+            'SELECT value FROM cache WHERE key = ?',
+            (ns + b'-' + key, )).fetchone()
+
+        if rv is None:
+            raise KeyError
+
+        return rv[0]
+
+    def _set(self, ns, key, value):
+        with self.connection.transaction as con:
+            con.execute(
+                'INSERT OR REPLACE INTO cache (key, value, time) VALUES (?, ?, ?)',
+                (ns + b'-' + key, value, time.time()))
+
+    def _delete(self, ns, key):
+        with self.connection.transaction as con:
+            con.execute('DELETE FROM cache WHERE key = ?', (ns + b'-' + key, ))
diff --git a/isso/cache/uwsgi.py b/isso/cache/uwsgi.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29d2709
--- /dev/null
+++ b/isso/cache/uwsgi.py
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
+
+from __future__ import absolute_import, unicode_literals
+
+try:
+    import uwsgi
+except ImportError:
+    uwsgi = None
+
+from . import Base
+
+
+class uWSGICache(Base):
+    """Utilize uWSGI caching framework, in-memory and SMP-safe.
+    """
+
+    serialize = True
+
+    def __init__(self, threshold=-1, timeout=3600):
+        if uwsgi is None:
+            raise RuntimeError("uWSGI not available")
+
+        super(uWSGICache, self).__init__(threshold, timeout)
+
+    def _get(self, ns, key):
+        if not uwsgi.cache_exists(key, ns):
+            raise KeyError
+        return uwsgi.cache_get(key, ns)
+
+    def _delete(self, ns, key):
+        uwsgi.cache_del(key, ns)
+
+    def _set(self, ns, key, value):
+        uwsgi.cache_set(key, value, self.timeout, ns)
diff --git a/isso/core.py b/isso/core.py
index 368c8e3..c2f4055 100644
--- a/isso/core.py
+++ b/isso/core.py
@@ -19,34 +19,13 @@ if PY2K:
 else:
     import _thread as thread
 
-from werkzeug.contrib.cache import NullCache, SimpleCache
-
 logger = logging.getLogger("isso")
 
 
-class Cache:
-    """Wrapper around werkzeug's cache class, to make it compatible to
-    uWSGI's cache framework.
-    """
-
-    def __init__(self, cache):
-        self.cache = cache
-
-    def get(self, cache, key):
-        return self.cache.get(key)
-
-    def set(self, cache, key, value):
-        return self.cache.set(key, value)
-
-    def delete(self, cache, key):
-        return self.cache.delete(key)
-
-
 class Mixin(object):
 
     def __init__(self, conf):
         self.lock = threading.Lock()
-        self.cache = Cache(NullCache())
 
     def notify(self, subject, body, retries=5):
         pass
@@ -72,8 +51,6 @@ class ThreadedMixin(Mixin):
         if conf.getboolean("moderation", "enabled"):
             self.purge(conf.getint("moderation", "purge-after"))
 
-        self.cache = Cache(SimpleCache(threshold=1024, default_timeout=3600))
-
     @threaded
     def purge(self, delta):
         while True:
@@ -90,28 +67,6 @@ class ProcessMixin(ThreadedMixin):
         self.lock = multiprocessing.Lock()
 
 
-class uWSGICache(object):
-    """Uses uWSGI Caching Framework. INI configuration:
-
-    .. code-block:: ini
-
-        cache2 = name=hash,items=1024,blocksize=32
-
-    """
-
-    @classmethod
-    def get(self, cache, key):
-        return uwsgi.cache_get(key, cache)
-
-    @classmethod
-    def set(self, cache, key, value):
-        uwsgi.cache_set(key, value, 3600, cache)
-
-    @classmethod
-    def delete(self, cache, key):
-        uwsgi.cache_del(key, cache)
-
-
 class uWSGIMixin(Mixin):
 
     def __init__(self, conf):
@@ -119,7 +74,6 @@ class uWSGIMixin(Mixin):
         super(uWSGIMixin, self).__init__(conf)
 
         self.lock = multiprocessing.Lock()
-        self.cache = uWSGICache
 
         timedelta = conf.getint("moderation", "purge-after")
         purge = lambda signum: self.db.comments.purge(timedelta)
diff --git a/isso/db/__init__.py b/isso/db/__init__.py
index e1f0485..4b6c2c2 100644
--- a/isso/db/__init__.py
+++ b/isso/db/__init__.py
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
 # -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
 
-import sqlite3
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
 import logging
+import sqlite3
 import operator
+import threading
+
 import os.path
 
 from collections import defaultdict
@@ -15,7 +19,75 @@ from isso.db.spam import Guard
 from isso.db.preferences import Preferences
 
 
-class SQLite3:
+class Transaction(object):
+    """A context manager to lock the database across processes and automatic
+    rollback on failure. On success, reset the isolation level back to normal.
+
+    SQLite3's DEFERRED (default) transaction mode causes database corruption
+    for concurrent writes to the database from multiple processes. IMMEDIATE
+    ensures a global write lock, but reading is still possible.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, con):
+        self.con = con
+
+    def __enter__(self):
+        self._orig = self.con.isolation_level
+        self.con.isolation_level = "IMMEDIATE"
+        self.con.execute("BEGIN IMMEDIATE")
+        return self.con
+
+    def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb):
+        try:
+            if exc_type:
+                self.con.rollback()
+            else:
+                self.con.commit()
+        finally:
+            self.con.isolation_level = self._orig
+
+
+class SQLite3(object):
+    """SQLite3 connection pool across multiple threads. Implementation idea
+    from `Peewee <https://github.com/coleifer/peewee>`_.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, db):
+        self.db = os.path.expanduser(db)
+        self.lock = threading.Lock()
+        self.local = threading.local()
+
+    def connect(self):
+        with self.lock:
+            self.local.conn = sqlite3.connect(self.db, isolation_level=None)
+
+    def close(self):
+        with self.lock:
+            self.local.conn.close()
+            self.local.conn = None
+
+    def execute(self, sql, args=()):
+        if isinstance(sql, (list, tuple)):
+            sql = ' '.join(sql)
+
+        return self.connection.execute(sql, args)
+
+    @property
+    def connection(self):
+        if not hasattr(self.local, 'conn') or self.local.conn is None:
+            self.connect()
+        return self.local.conn
+
+    @property
+    def transaction(self):
+        return Transaction(self.connection)
+
+    @property
+    def total_changes(self):
+        return self.connection.total_changes
+
+
+class Adapter(object):
     """DB-dependend wrapper around SQLite3.
 
     Runs migration if `user_version` is older than `MAX_VERSION` and register
@@ -24,9 +96,8 @@ class SQLite3:
 
     MAX_VERSION = 3
 
-    def __init__(self, path, conf):
-
-        self.path = os.path.expanduser(path)
+    def __init__(self, conn, conf):
+        self.connection = conn
         self.conf = conf
 
         rv = self.execute([
@@ -40,9 +111,9 @@ class SQLite3:
         self.guard = Guard(self)
 
         if rv is None:
-            self.execute("PRAGMA user_version = %i" % SQLite3.MAX_VERSION)
+            self.execute("PRAGMA user_version = %i" % Adapter.MAX_VERSION)
         else:
-            self.migrate(to=SQLite3.MAX_VERSION)
+            self.migrate(to=Adapter.MAX_VERSION)
 
         self.execute([
             'CREATE TRIGGER IF NOT EXISTS remove_stale_threads',
@@ -51,14 +122,6 @@ class SQLite3:
             '    DELETE FROM threads WHERE id NOT IN (SELECT tid FROM comments);',
             'END'])
 
-    def execute(self, sql, args=()):
-
-        if isinstance(sql, (list, tuple)):
-            sql = ' '.join(sql)
-
-        with sqlite3.connect(self.path) as con:
-            return con.execute(sql, args)
-
     @property
     def version(self):
         return self.execute("PRAGMA user_version").fetchone()[0]
@@ -77,7 +140,7 @@ class SQLite3:
             from isso.utils import Bloomfilter
             bf = buffer(Bloomfilter(iterable=["127.0.0.0"]).array)
 
-            with sqlite3.connect(self.path) as con:
+            with self.connection.transaction as con:
                 con.execute('UPDATE comments SET voters=?', (bf, ))
                 con.execute('PRAGMA user_version = 1')
                 logger.info("%i rows changed", con.total_changes)
@@ -85,7 +148,7 @@ class SQLite3:
         # move [general] session-key to database
         if self.version == 1:
 
-            with sqlite3.connect(self.path) as con:
+            with self.connection.transaction as con:
                 if self.conf.has_option("general", "session-key"):
                     con.execute('UPDATE preferences SET value=? WHERE key=?', (
                         self.conf.get("general", "session-key"), "session-key"))
@@ -98,7 +161,7 @@ class SQLite3:
 
             first = lambda rv: list(map(operator.itemgetter(0), rv))
 
-            with sqlite3.connect(self.path) as con:
+            with self.connection.transaction as con:
                 top = first(con.execute("SELECT id FROM comments WHERE parent IS NULL").fetchall())
                 flattened = defaultdict(set)
 
@@ -117,3 +180,6 @@ class SQLite3:
 
                 con.execute('PRAGMA user_version = 3')
                 logger.info("%i rows changed", con.total_changes)
+
+    def execute(self, sql, args=()):
+        return self.connection.execute(sql, args)
diff --git a/isso/db/preferences.py b/isso/db/preferences.py
index 275819e..3b334a0 100644
--- a/isso/db/preferences.py
+++ b/isso/db/preferences.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
 
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
 import os
 import binascii
 
diff --git a/isso/run.py b/isso/run.py
index 2b5fa9b..37c6cd0 100644
--- a/isso/run.py
+++ b/isso/run.py
@@ -8,5 +8,4 @@ from isso import dist, config
 application = make_app(
     config.load(
         os.path.join(dist.location, "isso", "defaults.ini"),
-        os.environ.get('ISSO_SETTINGS')),
-    multiprocessing=True)
+        os.environ.get('ISSO_SETTINGS')))
diff --git a/isso/tests/test_cache.py b/isso/tests/test_cache.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..85e468b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/isso/tests/test_cache.py
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+# -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
+
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
+try:
+    import unittest2 as unittest
+except ImportError:
+    import unittest
+
+from isso.compat import text_type as str
+
+from isso.db import SQLite3
+from isso.cache import Cache, SQLite3Cache
+
+ns = "test"
+
+
+class TestCache(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.cache = Cache(threshold=8)
+
+    def test_cache(self):
+        cache = self.cache
+
+        cache.delete(ns, "foo")
+        self.assertIsNone(cache.get(ns, "foo"))
+
+        cache.set(ns, "foo", "bar")
+        self.assertEqual(cache.get(ns, "foo"), "bar")
+
+        cache.delete(ns, "foo")
+        self.assertIsNone(cache.get(ns, "foo"))
+
+    def test_full(self):
+        cache = self.cache
+
+        cache.set(ns, "foo", "bar")
+
+        for i in range(7):
+            cache.set(ns, str(i), "Spam!")
+
+        for i in range(7):
+            self.assertEqual(cache.get(ns, str(i)), "Spam!")
+
+        self.assertIsNotNone(cache.get(ns, "foo"))
+
+        cache.set(ns, "bar", "baz")
+        self.assertIsNone(cache.get(ns, "foo"))
+
+    def test_primitives(self):
+        cache = self.cache
+
+        for val in (None, True, [1, 2, 3], {"bar": "baz"}):
+            cache.set(ns, "val", val)
+            self.assertEqual(cache.get(ns, "val"), val, val.__class__.__name__)
+
+
+class TestSQLite3Cache(TestCache):
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.cache = SQLite3Cache(SQLite3(":memory:"), threshold=8)
diff --git a/isso/tests/test_comments.py b/isso/tests/test_comments.py
index 29af342..6e2c053 100644
--- a/isso/tests/test_comments.py
+++ b/isso/tests/test_comments.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import os
 import json
-import tempfile
 
 try:
     import unittest2 as unittest
@@ -31,9 +30,7 @@ http.curl = curl
 class TestComments(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
-        fd, self.path = tempfile.mkstemp()
         conf = config.load(os.path.join(dist.location, "isso", "defaults.ini"))
-        conf.set("general", "dbpath", self.path)
         conf.set("guard", "enabled", "off")
         conf.set("hash", "algorithm", "none")
 
@@ -49,9 +46,6 @@ class TestComments(unittest.TestCase):
         self.post = self.client.post
         self.delete = self.client.delete
 
-    def tearDown(self):
-        os.unlink(self.path)
-
     def testGet(self):
 
         self.post('/new?uri=%2Fpath%2F', data=json.dumps({'text': 'Lorem ipsum ...'}))
@@ -379,9 +373,7 @@ class TestComments(unittest.TestCase):
 class TestModeratedComments(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
-        fd, self.path = tempfile.mkstemp()
         conf = config.load(os.path.join(dist.location, "isso", "defaults.ini"))
-        conf.set("general", "dbpath", self.path)
         conf.set("moderation", "enabled", "true")
         conf.set("guard", "enabled", "off")
         conf.set("hash", "algorithm", "none")
@@ -393,9 +385,6 @@ class TestModeratedComments(unittest.TestCase):
         self.app.wsgi_app = FakeIP(self.app.wsgi_app, "192.168.1.1")
         self.client = JSONClient(self.app, Response)
 
-    def tearDown(self):
-        os.unlink(self.path)
-
     def testAddComment(self):
 
         rv = self.client.post('/new?uri=test', data=json.dumps({"text": "..."}))
@@ -411,9 +400,7 @@ class TestModeratedComments(unittest.TestCase):
 class TestPurgeComments(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
-        fd, self.path = tempfile.mkstemp()
         conf = config.load(os.path.join(dist.location, "isso", "defaults.ini"))
-        conf.set("general", "dbpath", self.path)
         conf.set("moderation", "enabled", "true")
         conf.set("guard", "enabled", "off")
         conf.set("hash", "algorithm", "none")
diff --git a/isso/tests/test_db.py b/isso/tests/test_db.py
index 3bfd498..08e1c7c 100644
--- a/isso/tests/test_db.py
+++ b/isso/tests/test_db.py
@@ -1,28 +1,51 @@
 # -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
 
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
 try:
     import unittest2 as unittest
 except ImportError:
     import unittest
 
-import os
-import sqlite3
-import tempfile
-
 from isso import config
-from isso.db import SQLite3
+from isso.db import SQLite3, Adapter
 
 from isso.compat import iteritems
 
 
+class TestSQLite3(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def test_connection(self):
+        con = SQLite3(":memory:")
+
+        con.connect()
+        self.assertTrue(hasattr(con.local, "conn"))
+
+        con.close()
+        self.assertIsNone(con.local.conn)
+
+    def test_autoconnect(self):
+        con = SQLite3(":memory:")
+        con.execute("")
+        self.assertTrue(hasattr(con.local, "conn"))
+
+    def test_rollback(self):
+        con = SQLite3(":memory:")
+        con.execute("CREATE TABLE foo (bar INTEGER)")
+        con.execute("INSERT INTO foo (bar) VALUES (42)")
+
+        try:
+            with con.transaction as con:
+                con.execute("INSERT INTO foo (bar) VALUES (23)")
+                raise ValueError("some error")
+        except ValueError:
+            pass
+
+        self.assertEqual(len(con.execute("SELECT bar FROM foo").fetchall()), 1)
+
+
 class TestDBMigration(unittest.TestCase):
 
-    def setUp(self):
-        fd, self.path = tempfile.mkstemp()
-
-    def tearDown(self):
-        os.unlink(self.path)
-
     def test_defaults(self):
 
         conf = config.new({
@@ -31,9 +54,9 @@ class TestDBMigration(unittest.TestCase):
                 "max-age": "1h"
             }
         })
-        db = SQLite3(self.path, conf)
+        db = Adapter(SQLite3(":memory:"), conf)
 
-        self.assertEqual(db.version, SQLite3.MAX_VERSION)
+        self.assertEqual(db.version, Adapter.MAX_VERSION)
         self.assertTrue(db.preferences.get("session-key", "").isalnum())
 
     def test_session_key_migration(self):
@@ -46,21 +69,23 @@ class TestDBMigration(unittest.TestCase):
         })
         conf.set("general", "session-key", "supersecretkey")
 
-        with sqlite3.connect(self.path) as con:
+        connection = SQLite3(":memory:")
+
+        with connection.transaction as con:
             con.execute("PRAGMA user_version = 1")
             con.execute("CREATE TABLE threads (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY)")
 
-        db = SQLite3(self.path, conf)
+        db = Adapter(connection, conf)
 
-        self.assertEqual(db.version, SQLite3.MAX_VERSION)
+        self.assertEqual(db.version, Adapter.MAX_VERSION)
         self.assertEqual(db.preferences.get("session-key"),
                          conf.get("general", "session-key"))
 
         # try again, now with the session-key removed from our conf
         conf.remove_option("general", "session-key")
-        db = SQLite3(self.path, conf)
+        db = Adapter(connection, conf)
 
-        self.assertEqual(db.version, SQLite3.MAX_VERSION)
+        self.assertEqual(db.version, Adapter.MAX_VERSION)
         self.assertEqual(db.preferences.get("session-key"),
                          "supersecretkey")
 
@@ -76,7 +101,9 @@ class TestDBMigration(unittest.TestCase):
             6: None
         }
 
-        with sqlite3.connect(self.path) as con:
+        connection = SQLite3(":memory:")
+
+        with connection.transaction as con:
             con.execute("PRAGMA user_version = 2")
             con.execute("CREATE TABLE threads ("
                         "    id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,"
@@ -106,7 +133,7 @@ class TestDBMigration(unittest.TestCase):
                 "max-age": "1h"
             }
         })
-        SQLite3(self.path, conf)
+        Adapter(connection, conf)
 
         flattened = [
             (1, None),
@@ -118,6 +145,6 @@ class TestDBMigration(unittest.TestCase):
             (7, 2)
         ]
 
-        with sqlite3.connect(self.path) as con:
+        with connection.transaction as con:
             rv = con.execute("SELECT id, parent FROM comments ORDER BY created").fetchall()
             self.assertEqual(flattened, rv)
diff --git a/isso/tests/test_guard.py b/isso/tests/test_guard.py
index c76eb82..a1cb954 100644
--- a/isso/tests/test_guard.py
+++ b/isso/tests/test_guard.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ from werkzeug import __version__
 from werkzeug.test import Client
 from werkzeug.wrappers import Response
 
-from isso import Isso, config, core, dist
+from isso import Isso, config, core, db, dist
 from isso.utils import http
 
 from fixtures import curl, FakeIP
@@ -33,12 +33,11 @@ class TestGuard(unittest.TestCase):
     data = json.dumps({"text": "Lorem ipsum."})
 
     def setUp(self):
-        self.path = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile().name
+        self.connection = db.SQLite3(":memory:")
 
     def makeClient(self, ip, ratelimit=2, direct_reply=3, self_reply=False):
 
         conf = config.load(os.path.join(dist.location, "isso", "defaults.ini"))
-        conf.set("general", "dbpath", self.path)
         conf.set("hash", "algorithm", "none")
         conf.set("guard", "enabled", "true")
         conf.set("guard", "ratelimit", str(ratelimit))
@@ -48,7 +47,7 @@ class TestGuard(unittest.TestCase):
         class App(Isso, core.Mixin):
             pass
 
-        app = App(conf)
+        app = App(conf, connection=self.connection)
         app.wsgi_app = FakeIP(app.wsgi_app, ip)
 
         return Client(app, Response)
diff --git a/isso/tests/test_migration.py b/isso/tests/test_migration.py
index 7b73d75..6c1cf15 100644
--- a/isso/tests/test_migration.py
+++ b/isso/tests/test_migration.py
@@ -7,12 +7,11 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     import unittest
 
-import tempfile
 from os.path import join, dirname
 
 from isso import config
 
-from isso.db import SQLite3
+from isso.db import SQLite3, Adapter
 from isso.migrate import Disqus, WordPress, autodetect
 
 conf = config.new({
@@ -28,9 +27,8 @@ class TestMigration(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_disqus(self):
 
         xml = join(dirname(__file__), "disqus.xml")
-        xxx = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile()
 
-        db = SQLite3(xxx.name, conf)
+        db = Adapter(SQLite3(":memory:"), conf)
         Disqus(db, xml).migrate()
 
         self.assertEqual(len(db.execute("SELECT id FROM comments").fetchall()), 2)
@@ -50,9 +48,8 @@ class TestMigration(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_wordpress(self):
 
         xml = join(dirname(__file__), "wordpress.xml")
-        xxx = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile()
 
-        db = SQLite3(xxx.name, conf)
+        db = Adapter(SQLite3(":memory:"), conf)
         WordPress(db, xml).migrate()
 
         self.assertEqual(db.threads["/2014/test/"]["title"], "Hello, World…")
diff --git a/isso/tests/test_vote.py b/isso/tests/test_vote.py
index e90686e..fd3236f 100644
--- a/isso/tests/test_vote.py
+++ b/isso/tests/test_vote.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import os
 import json
-import tempfile
 
 try:
     import unittest2 as unittest
@@ -12,7 +11,7 @@ except ImportError:
 
 from werkzeug.wrappers import Response
 
-from isso import Isso, core, config, dist
+from isso import Isso, cache, core, config, dist
 from isso.utils import http
 
 from fixtures import curl, loads, FakeIP, JSONClient
@@ -22,22 +21,17 @@ http.curl = curl
 class TestVote(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
-        self.path = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile().name
-
-    def makeClient(self, ip):
-
         conf = config.load(os.path.join(dist.location, "isso", "defaults.ini"))
-        conf.set("general", "dbpath", self.path)
         conf.set("guard", "enabled", "off")
         conf.set("hash", "algorithm", "none")
 
         class App(Isso, core.Mixin):
             pass
 
-        app = App(conf)
-        app.wsgi_app = FakeIP(app.wsgi_app, ip)
+        self.app = App(conf)
 
-        return JSONClient(app, Response)
+    def makeClient(self, ip):
+        return JSONClient(FakeIP(self.app.wsgi_app, ip), Response)
 
     def testZeroLikes(self):
 
diff --git a/isso/utils/types.py b/isso/utils/types.py
index bee9b33..ee12609 100644
--- a/isso/utils/types.py
+++ b/isso/utils/types.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 def _TypeError(expected, val):
     if isinstance(expected, (list, tuple)):
-        expected = ", ".join(expected.__name__)
+        expected = ", ".join(ex.__name__ for ex in expected)
     else:
         expected = expected.__name__
     return TypeError("Expected {0}, not {1}".format(
@@ -11,5 +11,14 @@ def _TypeError(expected, val):
 
 
 def require(val, expected):
+    """Assure that :param val: is an instance of :param expected: or raise a
+    :exception TypeError: indicating what's expected.
+
+    >>> require(23, int)
+    >>> require(None, bool)
+    Traceback (most recent call last):
+        ...
+    TypeError: Expected bool, not NoneType
+    """
     if not isinstance(val, expected):
         raise _TypeError(expected, val)
diff --git a/isso/views/comments.py b/isso/views/comments.py
index 928bf06..54643a6 100644
--- a/isso/views/comments.py
+++ b/isso/views/comments.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
 
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
 import re
 import cgi
 import time
@@ -195,7 +197,7 @@ class API(object):
         rv["text"] = self.isso.render(rv["text"])
         rv["hash"] = self.hash(rv['email'] or rv['remote_addr'])
 
-        self.cache.set('hash', (rv['email'] or rv['remote_addr']).encode('utf-8'), rv['hash'])
+        self.cache.set('hash', (rv['email'] or rv['remote_addr']), rv['hash'])
 
         for key in set(rv.keys()) - API.FIELDS:
             rv.pop(key)
@@ -286,7 +288,7 @@ class API(object):
         if item is None:
             raise NotFound
 
-        self.cache.delete('hash', (item['email'] or item['remote_addr']).encode('utf-8'))
+        self.cache.delete('hash', (item['email'] or item['remote_addr']))
 
         with self.isso.lock:
             rv = self.comments.delete(id)
@@ -337,7 +339,7 @@ class API(object):
         else:
             with self.isso.lock:
                 self.comments.delete(id)
-            self.cache.delete('hash', (item['email'] or item['remote_addr']).encode('utf-8'))
+            self.cache.delete('hash', (item['email'] or item['remote_addr']))
             self.signal("comments.delete", id)
 
         return Response("Yo", 200)
@@ -422,11 +424,11 @@ class API(object):
         for item in fetched_list:
 
             key = item['email'] or item['remote_addr']
-            val = self.cache.get('hash', key.encode('utf-8'))
+            val = self.cache.get('hash', key)
 
             if val is None:
                 val = self.hash(key)
-                self.cache.set('hash', key.encode('utf-8'), val)
+                self.cache.set('hash', key, val)
 
             item['hash'] = val
 
diff --git a/share/isso.conf b/share/isso.conf
index c815c81..4797be3 100644
--- a/share/isso.conf
+++ b/share/isso.conf
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
 [general]
 
 # file location to the SQLite3 database, highly recommended to change this
-# location to a non-temporary location!
-dbpath = /tmp/comments.db
+# location to a persistent location, e.g. /var/lib/isso/comments.db.
+dbpath = :memory:
 
 # required to dispatch multiple websites, not used otherwise.
 name =