RadixDB
RUDocumentation

RadixDB 1.2.25 · architectural fit

Transaction-first writes, analytics-ready reads, without compatibility illusions.

The hybrid data path remains the core, now connected to catalog 6.2, protocol 18, database-scoped authentication, Application SDK codegen, and a validated native plugin ABI.

The data path

01

SQL and planner

CTEs, windows, grouping sets, navigable references, statistics, and physical operator selection.

02

Transaction layer

MVCC, READ COMMITTED and SNAPSHOT, savepoints, statement atomicity, ACL, and routine authority.

03

Hot row versions

Current changes remain available without rewriting cold blocks.

04

Columnar blocks

Immutable compressed segments for sequential and selective reads.

05

WAL and recovery

Write-ahead logging, checkpoints, physical backup, logical export, and verified post-crash startup.

06

Catalog and wire contract

Catalog 6.2, protocol 18, schema descriptors, typed errors, and explicit upgrade boundaries.

SQL

Familiar SQL with explicit contracts.

The documented contract includes CTEs, window functions, ROLLUP, CUBE, GROUPING SETS, RETURNING, UUIDv7, routines, triggers, jobs, and ACL. It is its own SQL dialect, not PostgreSQL emulation.

BEGIN ISOLATION LEVEL SNAPSHOT;

UPDATE stock_balances
SET quantity = quantity - 4
WHERE product_id = :product
  AND revision = :expected
RETURNING quantity, revision;

COMMIT;

Where RadixDB is strongest

Architectural focus and boundaries

  • Transaction-driven updates with compressed scan paths for analytical workloads
  • Schema-bound service contracts with explicit deadlines, cancellation, result budgets, and outcome handling
  • Explicit SQL boundaries: documented support set and known limitations

Index access

Indexes shaped for the query

  • BTREE for ranges and ordering
  • HASH for exact lookups
  • BITMAP for selective attributes
  • Composite, unique, and partial indexes
  • HNSW for vector search
  • Extension-defined operator classes

Application interfaces

From SQL to applications

Embedded Rust

Open databases and run queries directly in-process.

TCP client

Use protocol 18 over TLS 1.3 with database-scoped authentication and typed errors.

ORM facade

A typed application interface over queries, records, schema descriptors, and async transport.

Application SDK

Generate schema-bound tables and procedure calls with fingerprints, deadlines, cancellation, and bounded results.

Server programming

Functions, procedures, transactional triggers, durable jobs, and invoker/definer security run beside the data.

Native extensions

Trusted Rust packages add bounded external types, scalar and batch functions, operators, and planner-aware index classes through stable C ABI 1.0. Code runs in-process and is not sandboxed.