SurrealDB Has a Free Multi-Model Database for Modern Apps

SurrealDB is a free, open-source multi-model database that combines SQL, document, graph, and time-series capabilities in one platform.

What Is SurrealDB?

SurrealDB is a next-generation database that eliminates the need for multiple specialized databases. One database for SQL queries, document storage, graph traversal, and real-time subscriptions.

Key features:

• Multi-model: SQL + document + graph + time-series
• SurrealQL (SQL-like query language)
• Real-time subscriptions
• Built-in authentication and permissions
• Single binary deployment
• Embedded or server mode
• HTTP, WebSocket, and native SDK APIs
• ACID transactions
• Full-text search

Quick Start

Install

# macOS/Linux
curl -sSf https://install.surrealdb.com | sh

# Docker
docker run --rm -p 8000:8000 surrealdb/surrealdb:latest start

Start Server

surreal start --user root --pass root --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 file:mydata.db

First Queries

-- Create records (no schema needed)
CREATE person:john SET
  name = "John Doe",
  age = 30,
  email = "[e-mail]",
  skills = ["Python", "Rust", "Go"];

-- Relations (graph)
RELATE person:john->knows->person:jane SET
  since = "2024-01-15",
  context = "conference";

-- Query with graph traversal
SELECT name, ->knows->person.name AS friends FROM person:john;

-- Full-text search
SELECT * FROM person WHERE name @@ "john";

JavaScript SDK

import Surreal from "surrealdb";

const db = new Surreal();
await db.connect("ws://localhost:8000");
await db.signin({ username: "root", password: "root" });
await db.use({ namespace: "app", database: "main" });

// Create
const person = await db.create("person", {
  name: "Alice",
  age: 28,
  interests: ["AI", "web scraping"]
});

// Query
const results = await db.query(
  "SELECT * FROM person WHERE age > $min_age",
  { min_age: 25 }
);

// Real-time subscription
await db.live("person", (action, result) => {
  console.log(action, result); // CREATE, UPDATE, DELETE
});

Multi-Model Power

Document (like MongoDB)

CREATE product SET
  name = "Laptop",
  specs = { cpu: "M3", ram: "16GB", storage: "512GB" },
  tags = ["electronics", "portable"];

Graph (like Neo4j)

RELATE user:1->purchased->product:1 SET quantity = 1, date = time::now();
SELECT ->purchased->product.name FROM user:1;

SQL (like PostgreSQL)

SELECT category, count(), math::mean(price) AS avg_price
FROM product
GROUP BY category
ORDER BY avg_price DESC;

Permissions

-- Define who can read/write what
DEFINE TABLE post SCHEMAFUL
  PERMISSIONS
    FOR select WHERE published = true OR author = $auth.id
    FOR create WHERE $auth.id != NONE
    FOR update WHERE author = $auth.id
    FOR delete WHERE author = $auth.id;

SurrealDB vs Traditional Stack

Need	Traditional	SurrealDB
SQL queries	PostgreSQL	Built-in
Documents	MongoDB	Built-in
Graph queries	Neo4j	Built-in
Real-time	Redis/WebSocket	Built-in
Auth	External service	Built-in
Search	Elasticsearch	Built-in
Total DBs needed	3-6	1

Who Uses SurrealDB?

With 28K+ GitHub stars:

• Startups simplifying their tech stack
• Developers building real-time apps
• Companies with graph + document needs
• Teams wanting fewer moving parts

Get Started

1. Install with one command
2. Start server
3. Query with SQL-like syntax
4. Use document, graph, and SQL — all in one

One database to rule them all.

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