RxDB

Decentralized Data Protocol

A local-first, reactive NoSQL database for JavaScript applications. Data lives in a local database in the browser, Node.js, React Native, Electron, Capacitor and other JavaScript runtimes; queries can be subscribed to, so the UI updates when the underlying data changes. RxDB replicates to existing backends (the project lists replication with CouchDB, GraphQL, REST, WebRTC, and several hosted services, among others), has plugins for conflict handling, CRDT-style conflict resolution, encryption, schema validation and migration, and swaps its storage engine to suit the runtime. The core is open source; a set of premium storage and performance plugins is sold under paid licences .

Company
Links
Visit Website See this tool in the graph Suggest an edit

Details

License Core open source (Apache-2.0); premium plugins (extra storage engines, performance plugins, server adapters) are proprietary and licensed under paid tiers. https://github.com/pubkey/rxdb
Dev Status 🟢 Active
Owner Daniel Meyer (trading as RxDB), Stuttgart, Germany; the project's legal notice names him as owner and responsible for the content
Governing Body Daniel Meyer, owner and lead maintainer (sole proprietorship); no external governance body is described
Country Germany (Stuttgart, per the legal notice)
Start Year 2016
Stack TypeScript/JavaScript; RxJS for observables; pluggable storage layer (localStorage, IndexedDB, OPFS, SQLite, memory, filesystem and others, some premium); replication plugins; runs in browsers, Node.js, Deno, React Native, Capacitor, NativeScript, Flutter and Electron
Funding Premium licences: the project's pricing page sells Pro, Pro Plus and Corporate tiers to businesses
Last Investigated Oct 29, 2026

Use Case Domains

Platform Evolution & Sovereignty

Affordances

Local-first storage Data portability

Decentralized Data Protocol Attributes

Origins A reactive database for UI-based real-time applications, later positioned as a local-first database that replicates with existing backends instead of replacing them
Database RxDB: this entry is the database. A NoSQL document store layered over a swappable storage engine (localStorage, IndexedDB, OPFS, SQLite, filesystem, memory and others)
Query Language Mango-style selector queries (find with a selector), reactive subscriptions to query results, and field-level observables
Data Formats JSON documents validated against a JSON schema, with attachments; the storage format depends on the chosen engine
Collaborative Live Editing Partial: documents sync in real time across clients through replication, with configurable conflict handling and a CRDT plugin; no character-level text editing is described in the README
Rich Text Editing Not stated by the project.
Mobile Support Yes: React Native, Capacitor, NativeScript and Flutter are listed supported runtimes
Web Support Yes: runs in browsers with localStorage by default and IndexedDB or OPFS storages (some premium)
Native Apps Yes: Electron, React Native, Capacitor and Node.js; SQLite storage for native runtimes is a premium plugin
Terms Free for the open-source core (Apache-2.0); paid Pro, Pro Plus and Corporate tiers for premium plugins, advertised from $99 per month billed annually
Funds Not stated by the project.
Based On RxJS (observables), CouchDB-style replication ideas, and the underlying storage engines; the README does not name a single parent project
P2P Architecture Replication to backends and, optionally, WebRTC peer-to-peer replication between clients: the README lists replication as a feature and the project documents a WebRTC replication plugin; there is no discovery layer or overlay network of its own
Overlay Network None: replication is configured per collection; the WebRTC plugin uses a signalling server the application chooses
Content Addressing No: documents are keyed by a primary key defined in the schema
Local-First Local-First: the project describes itself as a local-first database; data is read and written locally and replicated when connected
E2EE Optional: an encryption plugin encrypts stored fields; whether it provides end-to-end encryption between peers depends on how the application is designed; the Pro tier lists WebCrypto encryption
CRDTs Lib Yes, as an optional CRDT plugin for conflict-free updates within documents
Byzantine Fault Tolerance No: replication trusts the configured backend and peers
Signature N/A: documents are not signed by the library
Permissions Application- and backend-level: no permission model in the local database; access control is enforced by the replication backend
Semantic Web Compatibility N/A: JSON document store with no RDF layer
Smart Contract N/A: no ledger or contract component
Protocol Stack Position Application-layer: a JavaScript library over local storage and replication transports (HTTP, WebSocket, WebRTC)
Asset / Value Embedding None: no token or value-transfer mechanism
Protocol Maturity / Standardization Mature library (version 17) with a documented replication protocol for its own backends; no standards-body involvement