diff --git a/packages/api/middleware/requireVar.ts b/packages/api/middleware/requireVar.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index d1527e9a..00000000
--- a/packages/api/middleware/requireVar.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
-import { HTTPException } from '@hono/hono/http-exception';
-
-import type { SetRequired } from 'type-fest';
-import type { DittoEnv } from '../DittoEnv.ts';
-import type { DittoMiddleware } from '../DittoMiddleware.ts';
-
-type DittoVars = DittoEnv['Variables'];
-
-export function requireVar<K extends keyof DittoVars>(key: K): DittoMiddleware<SetRequired<DittoVars, K>> {
-  return (c, next) => {
-    if (!c.var[key]) {
-      throw new HTTPException(500, { message: `Missing required variable: ${key}` });
-    }
-
-    return next();
-  };
-}
diff --git a/packages/ditto/storages/EventsDB.test.ts b/packages/ditto/storages/EventsDB.test.ts
index ce138b2f..232c85dc 100644
--- a/packages/ditto/storages/EventsDB.test.ts
+++ b/packages/ditto/storages/EventsDB.test.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,26 @@ import { eventFixture, genEvent } from '@/test.ts';
 import { EventsDB } from '@/storages/EventsDB.ts';
 import { createTestDB } from '@/test.ts';
 
+Deno.test('InternalRelay', async () => {
+  await using db = await createTestDB({ pure: true });
+  const { store: relay } = db;
+
+  const event1 = await eventFixture('event-1');
+
+  const promise = new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(() => resolve(relay.event(event1)), 0));
+
+  for await (const msg of relay.req([{}])) {
+    if (msg[0] === 'EVENT') {
+      assertEquals(relay.subs.size, 1);
+      assertEquals(msg[2], event1);
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+
+  await promise;
+  assertEquals(relay.subs.size, 0); // cleanup
+});
+
 Deno.test('count filters', async () => {
   await using db = await createTestDB({ pure: true });
   const { store } = db;
diff --git a/packages/ditto/storages/EventsDB.ts b/packages/ditto/storages/EventsDB.ts
index 91ad8d6a..7116a6ec 100644
--- a/packages/ditto/storages/EventsDB.ts
+++ b/packages/ditto/storages/EventsDB.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,28 @@
 // deno-lint-ignore-file require-await
 
-import { DittoTables } from '@ditto/db';
+import { DittoEvent } from '@ditto/api';
+import { DittoDatabase, DittoTables } from '@ditto/db';
+import { detectLanguage } from '@ditto/lang';
 import { NPostgres, NPostgresSchema } from '@nostrify/db';
-import { dbEventsCounter } from '@ditto/metrics';
-import { NIP50, NKinds, NostrEvent, NostrFilter, NSchema as n } from '@nostrify/nostrify';
+import { dbEventsCounter, internalSubscriptionsSizeGauge } from '@ditto/metrics';
+import {
+  NIP50,
+  NKinds,
+  NostrEvent,
+  NostrFilter,
+  NostrRelayCLOSED,
+  NostrRelayEOSE,
+  NostrRelayEVENT,
+  NSchema as n,
+} from '@nostrify/nostrify';
+import { Machina } from '@nostrify/nostrify/utils';
 import { logi } from '@soapbox/logi';
 import { JsonValue } from '@std/json';
 import { LanguageCode } from 'iso-639-1';
 import { Kysely } from 'kysely';
 import linkify from 'linkifyjs';
-import { nip27 } from 'nostr-tools';
+import { LRUCache } from 'lru-cache';
+import { matchFilter, nip27 } from 'nostr-tools';
 import tldts from 'tldts';
 import { z } from 'zod';
 
@@ -17,8 +30,6 @@ import { RelayError } from '@/RelayError.ts';
 import { isNostrId } from '@/utils.ts';
 import { abortError } from '../../utils/abort.ts';
 import { purifyEvent } from '../../utils/purify.ts';
-import { DittoEvent } from '@/interfaces/DittoEvent.ts';
-import { detectLanguage } from '../../utils/language.ts';
 import { getMediaLinks } from '../../utils/note.ts';
 
 /** Function to decide whether or not to index a tag. */
@@ -37,30 +48,35 @@ interface TagConditionOpts {
 }
 
 /** Options for the EventsDB store. */
-interface EventsDBOpts {
+interface DittoPgStoreOpts {
   /** Kysely instance to use. */
-  kysely: Kysely<DittoTables>;
+  db: DittoDatabase;
   /** Pubkey of the admin account. */
   pubkey: string;
   /** Timeout in milliseconds for database queries. */
   timeout: number;
   /** Whether the event returned should be a Nostr event or a Ditto event. Defaults to false. */
   pure?: boolean;
+  /** Chunk size for streaming events. Defaults to 100. */
+  chunkSize?: number;
 }
 
 /** SQL database storage adapter for Nostr events. */
-class EventsDB extends NPostgres {
+export class DittoPgStore extends NPostgres {
+  readonly subs = new Map<string, { filters: NostrFilter[]; machina: Machina<NostrEvent> }>();
+  readonly encounters = new LRUCache<string, boolean>({ max: 1000 });
+
   /** Conditions for when to index certain tags. */
   static tagConditions: Record<string, TagCondition> = {
     'a': ({ count }) => count < 15,
     'd': ({ event, count }) => count === 0 && NKinds.parameterizedReplaceable(event.kind),
-    'e': EventsDB.eTagCondition,
+    'e': DittoPgStore.eTagCondition,
     'k': ({ count, value }) => count === 0 && Number.isInteger(Number(value)),
     'L': ({ event, count }) => event.kind === 1985 || count === 0,
     'l': ({ event, count }) => event.kind === 1985 || count === 0,
     'n': ({ count, value }) => count < 50 && value.length < 50,
     'P': ({ count, value }) => count === 0 && isNostrId(value),
-    'p': EventsDB.pTagCondition,
+    'p': DittoPgStore.pTagCondition,
     'proxy': ({ count, value }) => count === 0 && value.length < 256,
     'q': ({ event, count, value }) => count === 0 && event.kind === 1 && isNostrId(value),
     'r': ({ event, count }) => (event.kind === 1985 ? count < 20 : count < 3),
@@ -72,65 +88,48 @@ class EventsDB extends NPostgres {
     },
   };
 
-  static indexExtensions(event: NostrEvent): Record<string, string> {
-    const ext: Record<string, string> = {};
+  constructor(private opts: DittoPgStoreOpts) {
+    super(opts.db.kysely, {
+      indexTags: DittoPgStore.indexTags,
+      indexSearch: DittoPgStore.searchText,
+      indexExtensions: DittoPgStore.indexExtensions,
+      chunkSize: opts.chunkSize,
+    });
 
-    if (event.kind === 1) {
-      ext.reply = event.tags.some(([name]) => name === 'e').toString();
-    } else if (event.kind === 1111) {
-      ext.reply = event.tags.some(([name]) => ['e', 'E'].includes(name)).toString();
-    } else if (event.kind === 6) {
-      ext.reply = 'false';
-    }
+    opts.db.listen('nostr_event', async (id) => {
+      if (this.encounters.has(id)) return;
+      this.encounters.set(id, true);
 
-    if ([1, 20, 30023].includes(event.kind)) {
-      const language = detectLanguage(event.content, 0.90);
+      const [event] = await this.query([{ ids: [id] }]);
 
-      if (language) {
-        ext.language = language;
+      if (event) {
+        this.streamOut(event);
       }
-    }
-
-    const imeta: string[][][] = event.tags
-      .filter(([name]) => name === 'imeta')
-      .map(([_, ...entries]) =>
-        entries.map((entry) => {
-          const split = entry.split(' ');
-          return [split[0], split.splice(1).join(' ')];
-        })
-      );
-
-    // quirks mode
-    if (!imeta.length && event.kind === 1) {
-      const links = linkify.find(event.content).filter(({ type }) => type === 'url');
-      imeta.push(...getMediaLinks(links));
-    }
-
-    if (imeta.length) {
-      ext.media = 'true';
-
-      if (imeta.every((tags) => tags.some(([name, value]) => name === 'm' && value.startsWith('video/')))) {
-        ext.video = 'true';
-      }
-    }
-
-    ext.protocol = event.tags.find(([name]) => name === 'proxy')?.[2] ?? 'nostr';
-
-    return ext;
+    });
   }
 
-  constructor(private opts: EventsDBOpts) {
-    super(opts.kysely, {
-      indexTags: EventsDB.indexTags,
-      indexSearch: EventsDB.searchText,
-      indexExtensions: EventsDB.indexExtensions,
-    });
+  protected matchesFilter(event: NostrEvent, filter: NostrFilter): boolean {
+    // TODO: support streaming by search.
+    return matchFilter(filter, event) && filter.search === undefined;
+  }
+
+  streamOut(event: NostrEvent): void {
+    for (const { filters, machina } of this.subs.values()) {
+      for (const filter of filters) {
+        if (this.matchesFilter(event, filter)) {
+          machina.push(event);
+        }
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   /** Insert an event (and its tags) into the database. */
   override async event(event: NostrEvent, opts: { signal?: AbortSignal; timeout?: number } = {}): Promise<void> {
     event = purifyEvent(event);
+
     logi({ level: 'debug', ns: 'ditto.event', source: 'db', id: event.id, kind: event.kind });
+
+    this.encounters.set(event.id, true);
     dbEventsCounter.inc({ kind: event.kind });
 
     if (await this.isDeletedAdmin(event)) {
@@ -141,6 +140,7 @@ class EventsDB extends NPostgres {
 
     try {
       await super.event(event, { ...opts, timeout: opts.timeout ?? this.opts.timeout });
+      this.streamOut(event);
     } catch (e) {
       if (e instanceof Error && e.message === 'Cannot add a deleted event') {
         throw new RelayError('blocked', 'event deleted by user');
@@ -213,6 +213,47 @@ class EventsDB extends NPostgres {
     }
   }
 
+  override async *req(
+    filters: NostrFilter[],
+    opts?: { signal?: AbortSignal },
+  ): AsyncIterable<NostrRelayEVENT | NostrRelayEOSE | NostrRelayCLOSED> {
+    const subId = crypto.randomUUID();
+    filters = this.normalizeFilters(filters);
+
+    if (filters.length) {
+      const { db, chunkSize = 100 } = this.opts;
+      const rows = this.getEventsQuery(db.kysely as unknown as Kysely<NPostgresSchema>, filters).stream(chunkSize);
+
+      for await (const row of rows) {
+        const event = this.parseEventRow(row);
+        yield ['EVENT', subId, event];
+
+        if (opts?.signal?.aborted) {
+          yield ['CLOSED', subId, 'aborted'];
+          return;
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    yield ['EOSE', subId];
+
+    const machina = new Machina<DittoEvent>(opts?.signal);
+
+    this.subs.set(subId, { filters, machina });
+    internalSubscriptionsSizeGauge.set(this.subs.size);
+
+    try {
+      for await (const event of machina) {
+        yield ['EVENT', subId, event];
+      }
+    } catch {
+      yield ['CLOSED', subId, 'error: something went wrong'];
+    } finally {
+      this.subs.delete(subId);
+      internalSubscriptionsSizeGauge.set(this.subs.size);
+    }
+  }
+
   /** Get events for filters from the database. */
   override async query(
     filters: NostrFilter[],
@@ -323,7 +364,7 @@ class EventsDB extends NPostgres {
 
     return event.tags.reduce<string[][]>((results, tag, index) => {
       const [name, value] = tag;
-      const condition = EventsDB.tagConditions[name] as TagCondition | undefined;
+      const condition = DittoPgStore.tagConditions[name] as TagCondition | undefined;
 
       if (value && condition && value.length < 200 && checkCondition(name, value, condition, index)) {
         results.push(tag);
@@ -334,16 +375,63 @@ class EventsDB extends NPostgres {
     }, []);
   }
 
+  static indexExtensions(event: NostrEvent): Record<string, string> {
+    const ext: Record<string, string> = {};
+
+    if (event.kind === 1) {
+      ext.reply = event.tags.some(([name]) => name === 'e').toString();
+    } else if (event.kind === 1111) {
+      ext.reply = event.tags.some(([name]) => ['e', 'E'].includes(name)).toString();
+    } else if (event.kind === 6) {
+      ext.reply = 'false';
+    }
+
+    if ([1, 20, 30023].includes(event.kind)) {
+      const language = detectLanguage(event.content, 0.90);
+
+      if (language) {
+        ext.language = language;
+      }
+    }
+
+    const imeta: string[][][] = event.tags
+      .filter(([name]) => name === 'imeta')
+      .map(([_, ...entries]) =>
+        entries.map((entry) => {
+          const split = entry.split(' ');
+          return [split[0], split.splice(1).join(' ')];
+        })
+      );
+
+    // quirks mode
+    if (!imeta.length && event.kind === 1) {
+      const links = linkify.find(event.content).filter(({ type }) => type === 'url');
+      imeta.push(...getMediaLinks(links));
+    }
+
+    if (imeta.length) {
+      ext.media = 'true';
+
+      if (imeta.every((tags) => tags.some(([name, value]) => name === 'm' && value.startsWith('video/')))) {
+        ext.video = 'true';
+      }
+    }
+
+    ext.protocol = event.tags.find(([name]) => name === 'proxy')?.[2] ?? 'nostr';
+
+    return ext;
+  }
+
   /** Build a search index from the event. */
   static searchText(event: NostrEvent): string {
     switch (event.kind) {
       case 0:
-        return EventsDB.buildUserSearchContent(event);
+        return DittoPgStore.buildUserSearchContent(event);
       case 1:
       case 20:
         return nip27.replaceAll(event.content, () => '');
       case 30009:
-        return EventsDB.buildTagsSearchContent(event.tags.filter(([t]) => t !== 'alt'));
+        return DittoPgStore.buildTagsSearchContent(event.tags.filter(([t]) => t !== 'alt'));
       case 30360:
         return event.tags.find(([name]) => name === 'd')?.[1] || '';
       default:
@@ -385,7 +473,7 @@ class EventsDB extends NPostgres {
         }
 
         if (domains.size || hostnames.size) {
-          let query = this.opts.kysely
+          let query = this.opts.db.kysely
             .selectFrom('author_stats')
             .select('pubkey')
             .where((eb) => {
@@ -433,5 +521,3 @@ class EventsDB extends NPostgres {
     return super.transaction((store, kysely) => callback(store, kysely as unknown as Kysely<DittoTables>));
   }
 }
-
-export { EventsDB };
diff --git a/packages/ditto/storages/InternalRelay.test.ts b/packages/ditto/storages/InternalRelay.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index c97dcd39..00000000
--- a/packages/ditto/storages/InternalRelay.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-import { assertEquals } from '@std/assert';
-
-import { eventFixture } from '@/test.ts';
-
-import { InternalRelay } from './InternalRelay.ts';
-
-Deno.test('InternalRelay', async () => {
-  const relay = new InternalRelay();
-  const event1 = await eventFixture('event-1');
-
-  const promise = new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(() => resolve(relay.event(event1)), 0));
-
-  for await (const msg of relay.req([{}])) {
-    if (msg[0] === 'EVENT') {
-      assertEquals(relay.subs.size, 1);
-      assertEquals(msg[2], event1);
-      break;
-    }
-  }
-
-  await promise;
-  assertEquals(relay.subs.size, 0); // cleanup
-});
diff --git a/packages/ditto/storages/InternalRelay.ts b/packages/ditto/storages/InternalRelay.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index b2acf58d..00000000
--- a/packages/ditto/storages/InternalRelay.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,86 +0,0 @@
-// deno-lint-ignore-file require-await
-import {
-  NIP50,
-  NostrEvent,
-  NostrFilter,
-  NostrRelayCLOSED,
-  NostrRelayEOSE,
-  NostrRelayEVENT,
-  NRelay,
-} from '@nostrify/nostrify';
-import { Machina } from '@nostrify/nostrify/utils';
-import { matchFilter } from 'nostr-tools';
-import { Gauge } from 'prom-client';
-
-import { DittoEvent } from '@/interfaces/DittoEvent.ts';
-import { purifyEvent } from '../../utils/purify.ts';
-
-interface InternalRelayOpts {
-  gauge?: Gauge;
-}
-
-/**
- * PubSub event store for streaming events within the application.
- * The pipeline should push events to it, then anything in the application can subscribe to it.
- */
-export class InternalRelay implements NRelay {
-  readonly subs = new Map<string, { filters: NostrFilter[]; machina: Machina<NostrEvent> }>();
-
-  constructor(private opts: InternalRelayOpts = {}) {}
-
-  async *req(
-    filters: NostrFilter[],
-    opts?: { signal?: AbortSignal },
-  ): AsyncGenerator<NostrRelayEVENT | NostrRelayEOSE | NostrRelayCLOSED> {
-    const id = crypto.randomUUID();
-    const machina = new Machina<NostrEvent>(opts?.signal);
-
-    yield ['EOSE', id];
-
-    this.subs.set(id, { filters, machina });
-    this.opts.gauge?.set(this.subs.size);
-
-    try {
-      for await (const event of machina) {
-        yield ['EVENT', id, event];
-      }
-    } finally {
-      this.subs.delete(id);
-      this.opts.gauge?.set(this.subs.size);
-    }
-  }
-
-  async event(event: DittoEvent): Promise<void> {
-    for (const { filters, machina } of this.subs.values()) {
-      for (const filter of filters) {
-        if (matchFilter(filter, event)) {
-          if (filter.search) {
-            const tokens = NIP50.parseInput(filter.search);
-
-            const domain = (tokens.find((t) =>
-              typeof t === 'object' && t.key === 'domain'
-            ) as { key: 'domain'; value: string } | undefined)?.value;
-
-            if (domain === event.author_stats?.nip05_hostname) {
-              machina.push(purifyEvent(event));
-              break;
-            }
-          } else {
-            machina.push(purifyEvent(event));
-            break;
-          }
-        }
-      }
-    }
-
-    return Promise.resolve();
-  }
-
-  async query(): Promise<NostrEvent[]> {
-    return [];
-  }
-
-  async close(): Promise<void> {
-    return Promise.resolve();
-  }
-}