Twelve years of distributed SQLite
In September 2014 I published a short post announcing rqlite. The idea was simple: take SQLite, put a Raft log in front of it, and replicate every write to a cluster so that the loss of a node did not…
Philip O'Toole
Software engineering, distributed systems, databases, and the teams that build them
Philip O'Toole
Software engineering, distributed systems, databases, and the teams that build them
Tag rqlite
rqlite 10.5.1 to 10.6.0: Numeric Error Codes, Node Promotion, and CDC Fixes
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, fault-tolerant relational database built on SQLite and the Raft consensus protocol. Versions 10.5.1 through 10.6.0 focus on four core themes: richer error reporting in the API, changing a node’s voting status at runtime, a security…
Improved web console in rqlite v10.5.0
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, fault-tolerant relational database built on SQLite and the Raft consensus protocol. v10.5.0 is out now, and comes with an improved web console. Specifically the console features a new cluster topology view, allowing you to quickly…
rqlite 10.3.1 to 10.4.0: Cluster Integrity, Streaming Backups, and CDC Security
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and the Raft consensus protocol. Versions 10.3.1 through 10.4.0 focus on four core themes: safeguarding cluster consistency under local fault conditions, overhauling how database backups stream over the network,…
Antithesis breaks rqlite on purpose
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Antithesis has published a post on how they use AI Agents to inject bugs in rqlite, then check whether their tests catch them. Along the way their tests found three real…
rqlite v10.3.0 – features, upgrades, and bug fixes
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, fault-tolerant relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Version 10.3.0 has been released and includes some updates to the web console, upgraded SQLite, and other bug fixes and improvements. The headline fix in this release, however, comes…
From 18 months to 6: High-velocity database engineering
I recently appeared on the Bug Bash podcast to talk about rqlite, software testing, and the impact of Agentic coding. You check out the audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, and the video on YouTube.
Claude redesigns rqlite.io
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. rqlite.io is the Hugo-based website for rqlite, built on the Docsy theme. It introduces people to the database, as well as serving all the technical documentation. Last month I decided to…
rqlite v10.2: Improving the web console
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Version 10.2.0 has been released with more improvements to the built-in web console and mutual TLS support.
rqlite reaches 1 million Docker downloads
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, fault-tolerant database built on SQLite and Raft. It’s reached a new milestone this week – 1 million Docker downloads. Thanks to the entire rqlite community for their support and engagement with rqlite.
rqlite v10.1: Schema management via the Web Console
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Version 10.1.0 has been released with improvements to the built-in web console. The web console now support directly examining the schema of your database tables, and basic…
Taking control of the SQLite WAL
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, fault-tolerant relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Version 10 is out now. rqlite uses SQLite as its storage engine and has a particular relationship with the SQLite Write-Ahead Log (WAL). SQLite, left to itself, manages its…
rqlite 10.0: Better clustering and better management
rqlite is a lightweight, user-friendly, open-source, distributed relational database. It’s written in Go, employs Raft for distributed consensus, and uses SQLite as its storage engine. rqlite v10.0 has been released and introduces improved cluster and management features, including a new…
New guide for working with rqlite clusters
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. I’ve published a new guide for client applications, explaining the various techniques you can use to access rqlite clusters. You can check it out here.
Native Linux packages for rqlite
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Starting with v9.4.1 rqlite now ships native Linux packages (.deb and .rpm) for easier installation and upgrades. Both amd64 and arm64 packages are available.
The source code was the moat. But not anymore
Last week I started using some of the new coding agents properly. Not in a careful, experimental way, but properly — for three days on rqlite. Claude Code. Copilot CLI. Tools I had yet to fully integrate into how I…
rqlite 9.3.5 to 9.3.10: Snapshot Robustness, WAL Handling, and Shell Improvements
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Versions 9.3.5 through 9.3.10 focus on internal correctness and operational robustness, particularly around Raft snapshotting, WAL handling, and testing. These releases also include improvements to logging, the…
rqlite 9.3.1 to 9.3.4: Parser Updates, Static Analysis Fixes, and Non-Root Docker Images
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Versions 9.3.1 through 9.3.4 deliver a set of targeted fixes and internal improvements, most of them aimed at code quality, security posture, and correctness. The only user-facing…
Balancing SQLite’s WAL, SYNCHRONOUS=OFF, and fsync for fast rqlite recovery
rqlite is a lightweight, user-friendly, distributed relational database. It’s written in Go, employs Raft for distributed consensus, and uses SQLite as its storage engine. The newly released rqlite 9.2 introduces a major improvement to startup performance – nodes can now resume from where they…
rqlite images now available on GitHub Container Registry
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source distributed relational database implemented in Go, and which uses SQLite as its storage engine. rqlite container images are now mirrored to GitHub Container Registry (GHCR). Images on Docker Hub and GHCR carry the same tags and digests; you can…
rqlite reaches 17,000 stars on GitHub
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source distributed relational database implemented in Go, and which uses SQLite as its storage engine. It has reached a new milestone in the open-source community by surpassing 17,000 stars on GitHub. Thanks to everyone for the ongoing support.
rqlite 9.0: Real-time Change Data Capture for Distributed SQLite
rqlite is a lightweight, user-friendly, open-source, distributed relational database. It’s written in Go, employs Raft for distributed consensus, and uses SQLite as its storage engine. rqlite 9.0 introduces Change Data Capture (CDC), enabling you to stream the changes occurring to the…
On the way to rqlite 9.0
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database written in Go, which uses SQLite as its storage engine. Development for the 9.0 release has started, and should be an important release. The main goals for 9.0 include: Change Data Capture…
My development team costs $41.73 a month
Two years ago, I appeared on Contributor, a podcast hosted by Eric Anderson of Scale Venture Partners. I was there to talk about rqlite, the open-source database I maintain.
Consistency Over Availability: How rqlite handles the CAP Theorem
rqlite is a lightweight, user-friendly, open-source, distributed relational database. It’s written in Go and uses SQLite as its storage engine. When it comes to distributed systems the CAP theorem is an essential concept. It states that it’s impossible for a distributed database to simultaneously provide…