Self-hosted Supabase alternative. PostgreSQL & MySQL compatibility. Native vector search. Git-like branching.
From embedded edge to frontier distributed — three database tiers plus the programmable Postgres data-plane.
| Feature | SQLite | PostgreSQL | MySQL | HeliosDB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docker image | N/A | 400 MB | 570 MB | 47 MB |
| RAM usage | ~5 MB | ~200 MB | ~400 MB | ~30 MB |
| PostgreSQL + MySQL protocol | ✗ | PG only | MySQL only | Both native |
| Vector + BM25 + Graph search | ✗ | Extensions | ✗ | All native |
| Database branching | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Time-travel queries | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Encryption (AES-256) | ✗ | Extension | Enterprise $ | Built-in |
| Embedded / zero-config | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi-tenant RLS | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
HeliosDB combines the best features from embedded databases, enterprise databases, and vector databases—all in a single, lightweight package.
HNSW indexing with 384x compression via Product Quantization. 1K-5K queries/sec on standard hardware. Works with any embedding model.
The only SQL database with Git-like branching at the storage layer. Zero-cost copy-on-write branches for schema testing and A/B experiments.
Query any point in your database's history with AS OF syntax. Audit compliance, debug production issues, and recover data without restoring backups.
AES-256-GCM encryption at rest, Zero-Knowledge Encryption with client-side keys, FIPS 140-3 compliance, and Row-Level Security for multi-tenancy.
Handle transactional and analytical workloads in one database. Columnar storage with Apache Arrow, SIMD acceleration, and auto-refreshing materialized views.
95%+ SQL compatibility. Wire protocols work with psql, mysql, DBeaver, pgAdmin, and all major ORMs: SQLAlchemy, Diesel, Prisma, SQLx.
Supabase-compatible REST API, auth, realtime subscriptions, and vector search — all in a single binary you own. No cloud bills, no vendor lock-in.
From embedded prototyping to frontier distributed systems. Choose the tier that fits your scale, migrate seamlessly as you grow.
v3.6.0
Lightweight embedded database for AI applications, edge devices, and single-server deployments. SQLite simplicity with PostgreSQL & MySQL power.
v3.5.8
Production-ready edge database with HeliosProxy—the flagship connection router with multi-tier caching, GraphQL gateway, and intelligent routing.
v7.1.0
Enterprise distributed database with 193 crates, 14 native protocol adapters, Raft consensus, and research features including quantum and GPU acceleration.
From AI/ML infrastructure to genomics research, HeliosDB powers applications across every sector. Now with 14 HeliosProxy use cases covering the v0.4 platform layer.
Install, connect, and run your first query — three steps, any language.
curl -sSf https://install.heliosdb.com | sh
Also via: cargo install heliosdb, pip install heliosdb, docker pull heliosdb/nano
# In-memory REPL
heliosdb repl --memory
# Or any PostgreSQL client
psql -h localhost -p 5432
CREATE TABLE docs (
id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
content TEXT,
embedding VECTOR(768)
);
// Three lines to a working database
let db = HeliosDB::open("myapp.db")?;
db.execute("CREATE TABLE users (
id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
name TEXT,
embedding VECTOR(768)
)")?;
// Semantic search in one query
let results = db.query("
SELECT name, embedding <=> $1 AS distance
FROM users ORDER BY distance LIMIT 10
", &[&query_vec])?;
# pip install heliosdb-lite
import heliosdb
db = heliosdb.connect("myapp.db")
db.execute("""
CREATE TABLE documents (
id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
content TEXT,
embedding VECTOR(768)
)
""")
# Works with LangChain and LlamaIndex
results = db.query(
"SELECT * FROM documents ORDER BY embedding <=> %s LIMIT 10",
[query_embedding]
)
// npm install heliosdb-lite
import { HeliosDB } from 'heliosdb-lite';
const db = await HeliosDB.open('myapp.db');
await db.execute(`
CREATE TABLE documents (
id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
content TEXT,
embedding VECTOR(768)
)
`);
// Type-safe queries with Prisma support
const results = await db.query(
'SELECT * FROM documents ORDER BY embedding <=> $1 LIMIT 10',
[queryEmbedding]
);
# Install and start in seconds
curl -sSf https://install.heliosdb.com | sh
# Interactive REPL
heliosdb-lite repl --memory
# Or start as a server
heliosdb-lite start --port 5432
# Connect with any PostgreSQL client
psql -h localhost -p 5432 -d mydb
# Branch your database like Git
heliosdb-lite branch create feature-auth
heliosdb-lite branch switch feature-auth
Rust, Python, TypeScript, Go, Java, C#, Ruby
Axum, FastAPI, Express, Spring Boot, Rails
LangChain, LlamaIndex, OpenAI, AutoGen, CrewAI
Embedded, Server, In-Memory, Hybrid
Run SQL against a live HeliosDB Nano instance — no signup required.
The database market is $100B+ and growing. AI applications demand new capabilities — native vector search, semantic caching, and intelligent query optimization — that legacy databases can't deliver without bolted-on extensions.
Source-available core (SSPL-1.0 for Lite/Full, Apache 2.0 for Nano and HeliosProxy) with enterprise features driving revenue. Three-tier product architecture enables land-and-expand from developer adoption to enterprise contracts.
Database engineers, systems programmers, and developer advocates building the database developers deserve. Backed by a mission to make powerful database capabilities accessible to every developer.
Contact Us →HeliosDB Nano on the Cloud. Managed, serverless database with zero configuration. Compare all editions →
Get started with a free cloud database.
For small teams and growing projects.
For production workloads and power users.
Compare all HeliosDB editions side by side.
Instant database provisioning for lowcode, nocode, and AI agent workflows. Free tier with all features — branching, time-travel, vector search — no credit card.
curl -X POST https://cloud.heliosdb.com/api/v1/quick-start \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"email": "dev@myapp.com",
"password": "secure123",
"username": "dev",
"org_name": "MyApp",
"db_name": "production"
}'
// Response: token, org_id, db_id, api_key, endpoint URLs
Create branches from any point in time. Test schema changes, A/B test data, merge when ready.
Free: 3 branchesQuery data as it existed at any point in the past. Undo mistakes, audit changes, debug issues.
Free: 24h windowNative HNSW indexing, BM25 hybrid search, and graph traversal. Built for RAG pipelines.
Included freeScoped hdb_ keys for each database. Embed safely in frontend apps and agent configs.
AI agents can discover all available tools with a single request. We expose both MCP (Model Context Protocol) and OpenAPI 3.1 specs — any framework can integrate automatically.
POST /api/v1/mcp
{"jsonrpc":"2.0",
"method":"tools/list",
"id":1}
// 10 tools: execute_sql,
// create_branch, query_at, ...
Five products, all production-ready. Start with Nano for free or explore the full platform.