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, AES-256 encryption, custom field indexing, and AxioDBCloud remote access.

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 on 10,000 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 a TCP-based remote access layer for AxioDB. Deploy AxioDB in Docker or Cloud, then connect from multiple clients using the exact same API as embedded AxioDB — zero code changes. Supports 1,000+ concurrent connections, auto-reconnect with exponential backoff, and heartbeat monitoring.

DEPLOYMENT

Docker Deployment

Run AxioDB's GUI and TCP server (AxioDBCloud) in a container with one command, then tune it with environment variables when you need volumes, custom ports, or to turn authentication on or off — no rebuild required.

Simple: Run the Container

bash

1docker run -d \
2  --name axiodb-server \
3  -p 27018:27018 \
4  -p 27019:27019 \
5  -e AXIODB_TCP_AUTH=true \
6  -v axiodb-data:/app \
7  theankansaha/axiodb
8
9# Ports:
10# 27018 - HTTP GUI Dashboard
11# 27019 - TCP Remote Access (AxioDBCloud)
12# Volume: /app is the main data directory

TCP authentication is on by default in this image. Log into the GUI at http://localhost:27018 as admin/admin to complete the forced password change before connecting over TCP — see Troubleshooting if you skip this step.

Advanced: Environment Variables, Volumes, Compose

Environment Variables

Every option below has a default matching the image's previous fixed behavior — override any of them with -e VAR=value atdocker run time, no rebuild required.

Variable	Default	Description
AXIODB_GUI	`true`	Enable the HTTP Control Server / web GUI on port 27018
AXIODB_TCP	`true`	Enable the AxioDBCloud TCP server on port 27019
AXIODB_TCP_AUTH	`true`	Require username/password on TCP connections (same RBAC accounts as the GUI)
AXIODB_ROOT_NAME	`AxioDB`	Name of the root database folder created under the data volume
AXIODB_CUSTOM_PATH	container cwd	Custom path for database storage inside the container

Ports themselves (27018/27019) aren't configurable via environment variable — remap them at the Docker layer with -p <host-port>:27018 /-p <host-port>:27019.

Disabling TCP Authentication

bash

1# Only do this on a trusted private network or behind your own VPN/TLS termination -
2# the TCP protocol itself is unencrypted, and with auth off any client on the network
3# that can reach port 27019 has full database access.
4docker run -d \
5  --name axiodb-server \
6  -p 27018:27018 \
7  -p 27019:27019 \
8  -e AXIODB_TCP_AUTH=false \
9  -v axiodb-data:/app \
10  theankansaha/axiodb

Data Persistence

Mount a volume at /app so your data survives container restarts and recreation:

bash

1docker run -d \
2  --name axiodb-server \
3  -p 27018:27018 \
4  -p 27019:27019 \
5  -v "$(pwd)/axiodb-data":/app \
6  theankansaha/axiodb

Docker Compose

yaml

1version: "3.8"
2
3services:
4  axiodb:
5    image: theankansaha/axiodb
6    container_name: axiodb-server
7    ports:
8      - "27018:27018"
9      - "27019:27019"
10    environment:
11      - AXIODB_GUI=true
12      - AXIODB_TCP=true
13      - AXIODB_TCP_AUTH=true
14      - AXIODB_ROOT_NAME=AxioDB
15    volumes:
16      - axiodb-data:/app
17    restart: unless-stopped
18
19volumes:
20  axiodb-data:

Building From Source & Full Troubleshooting

Instructions for building the image yourself, plus a deeper Docker-specific troubleshooting guide (container won't start, port conflicts, data-persistence checks), live in the repository's Docker/README.md — the canonical Docker doc, not duplicated here. For general connection/auth troubleshooting, see the Troubleshooting page.

Connect to Your Container

Once the container is running, connect to it with AxioDBCloud.

AxioDBCloud Guide Troubleshooting