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, custom field indexing, and AxioDBCloud remote access.

Should I switch from LowDB to AxioDB?

Yes, if your project has grown beyond prototypes. LowDB has no concurrency safety (concurrent writes corrupt data), no ACID transactions (crash = data loss), no built-in caching, and the entire database is loaded into memory. AxioDB provides file-per-document storage, ACID transactions, InMemoryCache, Worker Threads, and is actively maintained.

Is NeDB still safe to use?

No. NeDB has been abandoned since 2016 with no security patches or bug fixes. Users report data loss and file corruption. For new projects, use AxioDB which provides the same MongoDB-like API with active maintenance, ACID transactions, TypeScript support, and modern features like Worker Threads and built-in GUI.

Why not use better-sqlite3 for Electron apps?

better-sqlite3 requires native C compilation via node-gyp and electron-rebuild for every Electron update. This causes platform-specific build failures and NODE_MODULE_VERSION mismatch errors. AxioDB is pure JavaScript — zero native dependencies means no compilation, no electron-rebuild, and no platform-specific binaries. Install with npm install axiodb and it works everywhere.

What is the best embedded database for Electron apps in 2026?

AxioDB is the best choice for Electron apps in 2026. It has zero native dependencies (no electron-rebuild), ACID transactions, built-in InMemoryCache, Worker Threads for multi-core processing, a built-in web GUI dashboard, and TypeScript support. It handles 10K-500K documents with O(1) lookups by ID and fast indexed queries.

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 even at 100,000 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 AxioDB's own TCP remote-access layer on port 27019 — a protocol and client, not a hosted service. You run the server yourself with new AxioDB({ TCP: true }) or the Docker image, then connect from other processes using the exact same API as embedded AxioDB, with zero code changes. There is no account to create and Nexoral hosts no database for you. Limits: 1,000 total concurrent connections, 100 per IP. Optional shared-RBAC authentication (TCPAuth) and optional TLS.

How do I replace SQLite with AxioDB in a Node.js project?

Install with 'npm install axiodb' and map concepts directly: a SQLite table becomes a collection, a row becomes a JSON document, INTEGER PRIMARY KEY becomes the auto-generated documentId, CREATE INDEX becomes collection.newIndex('field'), and BEGIN/COMMIT/ROLLBACK become collection.beginTransaction()/.commit()/.rollback(). SQL strings become JavaScript objects: SELECT * FROM users WHERE age > 25 becomes users.query({ age: { $gt: 25 } }).exec(). There are no schemas and no migrations. What you give up: JOINs, foreign keys, SQL itself, ORMs like Prisma and Drizzle, and scale beyond roughly 500,000 documents per collection.

Does AxioDB need node-gyp, electron-rebuild, or a build step?

No. AxioDB is pure JavaScript with zero native dependencies — there is no C code, no .node binary, no node-gyp compilation, and no electron-rebuild step. Nothing has to match your OS, CPU architecture, or Node/Electron ABI version, so NODE_MODULE_VERSION mismatch errors are impossible. 'npm install axiodb' is the entire installation on every platform and every Node.js version 20 or newer.

How do I use AxioDB in an Electron app?

Create the AxioDB instance in Electron's main process only, storing data in the per-user data directory: new AxioDB({ RootName: 'AppData', CustomPath: app.getPath('userData'), GUI: false }). Never write inside the app bundle or app.asar — asar is read-only and app contents are replaced on update. Expose database operations to the renderer through ipcMain.handle plus contextBridge rather than enabling nodeIntegration. No electron-rebuild step and no packaging configuration for native modules is required.

Does AxioDB have an MCP server for AI agents?

Yes — 43 MCP tools covering databases, collections, documents, aggregation, indexes, dashboard stats, user/role management, and transactions. Important: the MCP server ships only in the Docker image theankansaha/axiodb, not in the npm package. Enable it with AXIODB_MCP=true and connect over Streamable HTTP at http://localhost:27020/mcp. Every tool except axiodb_login requires a sessionId from logging in, and destructive tools ask the human for confirmation through the MCP client first.

What ports does AxioDB use?

Port 27018 is the web Dashboard and its REST HTTP API, enabled with GUI: true. Port 27019 is the AxioDBCloud TCP server, enabled with TCP: true — it is a custom TCP protocol, not HTTP. Port 27020 is the MCP server, available only in the Docker image with AXIODB_MCP=true. Ports 27018 and 27019 are not configurable in code; remap them at the Docker layer. Only the MCP port can be changed, via AXIODB_MCP_PORT. By default the embedded library opens no ports at all.

Does AxioDB support MongoDB update operators like $inc and $set?

No. AxioDB updates are a flat shallow merge of your data object onto the existing document. Writing .UpdateOne({ $inc: { balance: -100 } }) does not increment anything — it literally stores a field named '$inc'. To change a numeric value, read the document, compute the new value in JavaScript, and write it back. Query operators are a separate thing and are fully supported: $gt, $gte, $lt, $lte, $eq, $ne, $in, $nin, $exists, $regex, $not, $type, $size, $all, $elemMatch, $or, $and, and $nor.

What are AxioDB's limitations?

AxioDB targets 10,000 to 500,000 documents per collection on a single node. It has no JOINs, no foreign keys, no SQL, no replication, no sharding, and no clustering. Transactions are scoped to one collection — there are no cross-collection transactions. Only one AxioDB instance may exist per process. Aggregation supports only $sum and $avg accumulators, and its $match stage accepts fewer operators than query() does. Queries that are not an exact match on an indexed field fall back to a full collection scan. It does not run in browsers.

Create Database

AxioDB constructor follows the pattern: new AxioDB(options) where options is an object with {GUI?, HTTP?, RootName?, CustomPath?, TCP?, TCPAuth?, AdminPassword?, TLS?, TLSCertPath?, TLSKeyPath?, Cache?, minTTL?, maxTTL?, cacheClearUp?}. This pattern provides better readability and flexibility.

💡 Constructor Parameters

GUI (boolean, optional): Enable web GUI on localhost:27018 - defaults to false
HTTP (boolean, optional): Enable HTTP API server on port 27018 - auto-enables when GUI is on; GUI: true + HTTP: false throws error
RootName (string, optional): Custom root folder name - defaults to "AxioDB"
CustomPath (string, optional): Custom storage path - defaults to current directory
TCP (boolean, optional): Enable the AxioDBCloud TCP server on port 27019 - defaults to false
TCPAuth (boolean, optional): Require username/password authentication (same RBAC users as the GUI) on TCP connections - defaults to false
AdminPassword (string, optional): Password the admin account is seeded with on first start, skipping the forced first-login change - defaults to the built-in admin/admin
TLS (boolean, optional): Encrypt the TCP server with TLS - requires TLSCertPath + TLSKeyPath PEM files - defaults to false
Cache (boolean, optional): Enable the per-instance InMemoryCache - defaults to true (set false to disable caching entirely)
minTTL (number, optional): Minimum randomized cache TTL in minutes - defaults to 5
maxTTL (number, optional): Maximum randomized cache TTL in minutes - defaults to 15
cacheClearUp (number, optional): Cache cleanup sweep interval in seconds - defaults to 86400

Setting the Admin Password (No GUI)

On first start AxioDB seeds an admin/admin account and flags it mustChangePassword: true. The forced change can only be completed through the HTTP API or the GUI - so if you start the server with GUI: false and TCPAuth: true, there would be no way to choose a password and TCP would reject every login. Pass AdminPassword to seed the account ready to use instead.

javascript

1const db = new AxioDB({
2  TCP: true,
3  TCPAuth: true,
4  GUI: false,
5  AdminPassword: 'my-secret-password',
6});
7
8// admin / my-secret-password can log in over TCP immediately

One account, every surface. Embedded, HTTP, GUI, TCP and MCP all read the same config database, so this password is the same everywhere.
First start only. The value is read solely when the users collection is created. Once your data directory exists, restarting never resets a password you have since changed.
Opt-in. Omit it and the default admin/admin + forced change behaviour is exactly as before - no breaking change.
Same option in the CLI and Docker. axiodb serve tcp-auth <password> and the AXIODB_ADMIN_PASSWORD environment variable both map to it.

Basic Instance (With GUI)

Most common use case - enable the built-in GUI for data inspection.

javascript

1
2const { AxioDB } = require("axiodb");
3
4// Create AxioDB instance with GUI enabled (most common)
5const db = new AxioDB({ GUI: true });
6console.log("AxioDB instance created with GUI at localhost:27018");

Instance Without GUI

For production environments where you don't need the web interface.

javascript

1
2// Create AxioDB instance without GUI
3const db = new AxioDB({ GUI: false });
4console.log("AxioDB instance created without GUI");

Custom Database Name

Specify a custom root folder name for your database.

javascript

1
2// Create AxioDB instance with GUI and custom root folder name
3const db = new AxioDB({ GUI: true, RootName: "MyCustomDB" });
4console.log("Custom AxioDB instance created with GUI");

Custom Storage Path

Store database files in a specific directory.

javascript

1
2// Create AxioDB instance with GUI, custom name, and custom path
3const db = new AxioDB({ GUI: true, RootName: "MyCustomDB", CustomPath: "./data" });
4console.log("AxioDB instance with custom path created");

TCP Server with Authentication

Enable remote access via AxioDBCloud and require login before any TCP command is accepted.

javascript

1
2// Create AxioDB instance with the TCP server enabled and authentication required
3const db = new AxioDB({ TCP: true, TCPAuth: true, RootName: "MyCustomDB", CustomPath: "./data" });
4console.log("AxioDB instance with authenticated TCP access created");

Cache Tuning

Each instance owns an InMemoryCache. Tune its randomized TTL bounds and cleanup interval, or disable it entirely with Cache: false.

javascript

1
2// Tune the per-instance InMemoryCache: 10-30 minute randomized TTL, hourly cleanup
3const db = new AxioDB({ Cache: true, minTTL: 10, maxTTL: 30, cacheClearUp: 3600 });
4
5// Disable caching entirely (reads always hit disk)
6const dbNoCache = new AxioDB({ Cache: false });

Create Multiple Databases

Create multiple isolated databases within your AxioDB instance.

javascript

1
2// Create databases under the current AxioDB instance
3const userDB = await db.createDB("UsersDB");
4console.log("Database 'UsersDB' created");
5
6const productsDB = await db.createDB("ProductsDB");
7console.log("Database 'ProductsDB' created");

⚠️ Important Notes

Only one AxioDB instance is allowed per application (singleton pattern)
GUI runs on localhost:27018 and starts automatically when enabled
Database files are stored in the root folder you specify
Each database can contain multiple collections