NodeDB-Lite

All seven NodeDB engines as an embedded library. Vector search, graph traversal, documents, full-text search, timeseries, spatial, and key-value -- all in-process with sub-millisecond reads. No server required. CRDT-based offline-first sync to Origin when connectivity returns.

When to Use

• Mobile apps that need to work offline
• AI agents that need local memory (vectors + graph + documents)
• Browser-based apps (WASM, ~4.5 MB)
• Desktop applications with local-first data
• IoT gateways with intermittent connectivity

Platforms

Platform	Crate	Backend	Size
Linux	nodedb-lite	redb (file-backed)	Native
macOS	nodedb-lite	redb (file-backed)	Native
Windows	nodedb-lite	redb (file-backed)	Native
Android	nodedb-lite-ffi	redb + C FFI + Kotlin/JNI	Native
iOS	nodedb-lite-ffi	redb + C FFI (cbindgen)	Native
Browser	nodedb-lite-wasm	redb (in-memory + OPFS)	~4.5 MB

Install

# Rust
cargo add nodedb-lite

# JavaScript / TypeScript (WASM)
npm install @nodedb/lite

Quick Start

use nodedb_lite::NodeDbLite;
use nodedb_client::NodeDb;

let db = NodeDbLite::open("./my-app-data").await?;

// Insert a document
db.execute("CREATE COLLECTION notes").await?;
db.execute("INSERT INTO notes { title: 'Hello', body: 'World' }").await?;

// Vector search
db.execute("CREATE COLLECTION articles ENGINE vector DIMENSION 384").await?;
db.vector_search("articles", &embedding, 10).await?;

// Graph traversal
db.execute("MATCH (a)-[:KNOWS*1..3]->(b) WHERE a.name = 'Alice' RETURN b").await?;

Same API, Any Runtime

The NodeDb trait is identical across Lite and Origin. Application code doesn't change:

// Works with both NodeDbLite (in-process) and NodeDbRemote (over network)
async fn search(db: &dyn NodeDb, query: &[f32]) -> Result<Vec<Article>> {
    db.vector_search("articles", query, 10).await
}

Moving from embedded to server is a connection string change, not a rewrite.

CRDT Sync

Every write produces a delta. Deltas sync to Origin over WebSocket when online. Multiple devices converge regardless of operation order.

Offline:    App writes locally -> Loro generates delta -> delta persisted to redb
Reconnect:  Device opens WebSocket -> sends vector clock + accumulated deltas
Cloud:      Origin validates (RLS, UNIQUE, FK) -> merges -> pushes back missed changes
Conflict:   Rejected deltas -> dead-letter queue + CompensationHint -> device handles
Converged:  Device and cloud share identical Loro state hash

• Shape subscriptions -- Control what data each device holds: WHERE user_id = $me, not the entire database
• Conflict resolution -- Declarative per-collection policies. SQL constraints (UNIQUE, FK) enforced on Origin at sync time with typed compensation hints back to the device.
• ACK-based flow control (AIMD), CRC32C delta integrity, JWT token refresh, replay dedup

Key Features

• All engines locally -- Vector, graph, document, FTS, timeseries, spatial, KV -- all in-process, no network
• Sub-millisecond reads -- Hot data lives in memory indexes (HNSW, CSR, Loro)
• Full SQL -- Same SQL as Origin. Window functions, CTEs, subqueries, JOINs.
• Encryption at rest -- AES-256-GCM + Argon2id key derivation
• Memory governance -- Per-engine budgets, pressure levels, LRU eviction

Performance

Metric	Target
Vector search (1K vectors, 384d, k=5)	< 1ms p99
Graph BFS (10K edges, 2 hops)	< 1ms p99
Document get	< 0.1ms
Cold start (10K vectors + 100K edges)	< 500ms
Sync round-trip (single delta)	< 200ms
WASM bundle	~4.5 MB
Mobile memory	< 100 MB

Workspace

This repository contains three crates:

Crate	Description
nodedb-lite	Core embedded database library
nodedb-lite-ffi	C FFI bindings for iOS/Android (cbindgen, Kotlin/JNI)
nodedb-lite-wasm	JavaScript/TypeScript bindings via wasm-bindgen

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/NodeDB-Lab/nodedb-lite.git
cd nodedb-lite

# Build all crates
cargo build --release

# Build WASM
cargo build -p nodedb-lite-wasm --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release

# Run tests
cargo test

For local development against the NodeDB workspace, create .cargo/config.toml:

[patch.crates-io]
nodedb-types = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-types" }
nodedb-client = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-client" }
nodedb-codec = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-codec" }
nodedb-crdt = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-crdt" }
nodedb-query = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-query" }
nodedb-spatial = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-spatial" }
nodedb-graph = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-graph" }
nodedb-vector = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-vector" }
nodedb-fts = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-fts" }
nodedb-strict = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-strict" }
nodedb-columnar = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-columnar" }
nodedb-sql = { path = "../nodedb/nodedb-sql" }

License

Apache-2.0. See LICENSE for details.