AxioDB is an embedded NoSQL database for Node.js with MongoDB-style queries. It is a pure JavaScript alternative to SQLite with zero native dependencies, no node-gyp compilation, and no platform-specific binaries. Install with 'npm install axiodb' and you have a database — no mongod process, no server setup. Perfect for Electron apps, CLI tools, and local-first applications.

Is AxioDB a replacement for MongoDB?

No. AxioDB is embedded — it runs inside your app with no server. MongoDB is a client-server database for multi-user production systems. Use AxioDB for desktop apps, CLI tools, and local-first applications with 10K–500K documents. Use MongoDB when you need a shared, networked, multi-user database.

Does AxioDB work with Electron?

Yes — Electron is the primary use case AxioDB was built for. Zero native dependencies means no electron-rebuild, no platform-specific .node files, no node-gyp compilation. Just npm install axiodb and it works on Windows, Mac, and Linux without any rebuild step.

What is the difference between AxioDB and better-sqlite3?

better-sqlite3 uses C native bindings and requires compilation via node-gyp. AxioDB is pure JavaScript — it installs in any Node.js environment without compilation or platform-specific builds. AxioDB also uses NoSQL/JSON document queries instead of SQL strings, includes built-in caching and Worker Threads, and works out of the box in Electron without electron-rebuild.

What is the difference between AxioDB and lowdb?

lowdb stores everything in a single JSON file and becomes slow above 1,000–5,000 records due to full-file reads on every operation. AxioDB uses file-per-document tree storage with InMemoryCache, Worker Threads, and auto-indexing — optimized for 10,000–500,000 documents with O(1) lookups by ID and fast filtered queries.

What is the difference between AxioDB and nedb?

NeDB is abandoned (no active maintenance since 2016) and keeps the entire database in memory. AxioDB is actively maintained, uses file-based storage, supports TypeScript, ACID transactions with savepoints and WAL, Worker Threads, AES-256 encryption, custom field indexing, and AxioDBCloud remote access.

How many documents can AxioDB handle?

AxioDB is optimized for 10,000–500,000 documents per collection. For 1M+ documents, migrate to PostgreSQL or MongoDB. AxioDB's InMemoryCache and Worker Threads keep performance fast within this range — documentId lookups take ~1ms and indexed queries take ~2ms on 10,000 documents.

Does AxioDB support TypeScript?

Yes. Full TypeScript type definitions are included out of the box with the axiodb npm package. No @types/axiodb needed.

Does AxioDB work in the browser?

No. AxioDB requires Node.js (v20+) and uses the filesystem for storage. It is a server-side and desktop embedded database. It does not run in browsers.

AxioDBCloud is a TCP-based remote access layer for AxioDB. Deploy AxioDB in Docker or Cloud, then connect from multiple clients using the exact same API as embedded AxioDB — zero code changes. Supports 1,000+ concurrent connections, auto-reconnect with exponential backoff, and heartbeat monitoring.

Join Our Community

Name: AxioDB
Author: Ankan Saha

Shape the future of AxioDB together

Be part of a passionate community building the next generation of NoSQL databases. Whether you're contributing code, improving documentation, reporting bugs, or suggesting features, every contribution makes AxioDB stronger and more valuable for developers worldwide.

Contribution Workflow

Step-by-step guide to contributing

Fork Repository

Create your own copy of the AxioDB repository on GitHub to start contributing safely.

Feature Branch

Create a descriptive branch name that clearly indicates your feature or bug fix.

Code Changes

Follow coding standards and maintain consistency with existing architecture patterns.

Write Tests

Add comprehensive unit tests for new functionality and ensure all existing tests pass.

Pull Request

Submit detailed PR with clear description, linked issues, and testing instructions.

Review & Merge

Collaborate with maintainers during review process and see your contribution merged.

Contributing Guidelines

Detailed contribution guidelines, coding standards, and project architecture documentation are available in our comprehensive CONTRIBUTING.md file.

View Contributing Guide

Open Source License

Freedom to use, modify, and distribute

AxioDB is proudly released under the MIT License, ensuring maximum flexibility for developers and organizations. Use it in commercial projects, modify it to fit your needs, and distribute it freely.

MIT License Overview

AxioDB is released under the MIT License, one of the most permissive and widely-adopted open source licenses. This provides extensive freedom for commercial and non-commercial use, modification, and distribution.

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2023 AxioDB Contributors

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

View Full License

Community & Contributors

AxioDB thrives thanks to our vibrant community of contributors, supporters, and users. Every bug report, feature suggestion, code contribution, and piece of feedback helps make AxioDB better for developers around the world.

Project Contributors

Meet the people behind AxioDB

Ankan Saha

Project Lead & Creator

Software Engineer | Node.js Expert

Community Contributors

Open Source Community

Developers worldwide contributing to AxioDB

Special Recognition

AxioDB is inspired by the best practices and patterns from popular databases like MongoDB, while bringing its own unique approach to the NoSQL database space. We're grateful to the broader open-source community for paving the way for innovative projects like this, and to every developer who chooses AxioDB for their applications.