I love `dbm` in python for this usecase. It supports a handful of backends, including sqlite.

Exactly! Python's dbm is a great comparison. tinykv aims for similar simplicity but with some Rust-specific advantages. The key difference is dbm gives you flexibility in storage format, tinykv gives you zero-ceremony type safety + readability. If you want the Python dbm experience in Rust with modern ergonomics, that's basically tinykv's sweet spot.

Both solve the "I just need simple persistence" problem, tinykv just does it the "Rust way" with strong typing and serde.