Comprehensive toolkit for rqlite 9.4, a lightweight distributed relational database built on SQLite with Raft consensus. Use when deploying fault-tolerant databases, building edge/IoT applications with SQL, creating globally distributed read-intensive systems, or needing simple high-availability without complex administration.
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Comprehensive toolkit for rqlite 9.4, a lightweight distributed relational database built on SQLite with Raft consensus. Use when deploying fault-tolerant databases, building edge/IoT applications with SQL, creating globally distributed read-intensive systems, or needing simple high-availability without complex administration.
rqlite is a lightweight, fault-tolerant, distributed relational database built on SQLite. It combines SQLite's simplicity and rock-solid reliability with the Raft consensus algorithm for automatic replication across multiple nodes.
rqlite is delivered as a single self-contained binary with no external dependencies. Every write goes through the Raft log, ensuring strong consistency and high availability — every node in a cluster has a full copy of the database. It prioritizes data safety and availability over raw write throughput, making it ideal for applications where keeping data safe and available matters more than maximum write scaling.
Key differentiators from traditional databases:
Single binary — no external dependencies, up and running in seconds
Full SQL via SQLite — including FTS5 full-text search, JSON1 support, window functions, and more
HTTP API — simple JSON-based interface, no special drivers required
Tunable consistency — choose between speed and freshness per query
Extensible — load SQLite extensions for vector search, crypto, and more
When to Use
Deploy rqlite when you need:
A fault-tolerant relational database without the complexity of PostgreSQL or MySQL clustering
Networked SQLite access via HTTP (many users run a single node just for this)
Edge/IoT deployments where lightweight footprint and reliability are critical
Read-heavy workloads with globally distributed replicas
Configuration stores, metadata databases, or operational datastores in cloud/microservice architectures
Simple high-availability without managing separate consensus layers
rqlite is not designed for write-scaling (every write goes through Raft consensus). For extreme write throughput, consider a database built for horizontal write partitioning.
Core Concepts
Architecture
Each rqlite node runs two components:
rqlited — the server daemon, listening on two TCP ports:
HTTP API port (default 4001) — client requests
Raft port (default 4002) — inter-node consensus communication
rqlite runs SQLite in WAL mode with SYNCHRONOUS=off for maximum write performance. Periodically, rqlite switches to SYNCHRONOUS=full and fsyncs the database to disk for crash safety. On restart, it begins from the last known good fsync or rebuilds from the Raft log if needed.
Statement-Based Replication
Every SQL statement is stored in the Raft log exactly as received. Each node reads the log and applies statements to its local SQLite copy. Non-deterministic functions like RANDOM() and date/time functions are rewritten by the receiving node before being logged, ensuring all nodes produce identical results.
Installation / Setup
Quick Start
Download a pre-built release from GitHub releases (Linux, macOS, Windows). Start a single node:
rqlited -node-id=1 data/
The node listens on http://localhost:4001. Docker is also available:
docker run -p 4001:4001 rqlite/rqlite
Or via Homebrew on macOS:
brew install rqlite
First Steps
Connect with the CLI shell and create a table:
$ rqlite
127.0.0.1:4001> CREATE TABLE foo (id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)
127.0.0.1:4001> INSERT INTO foo(name) VALUES("fiona")
127.0.0.1:4001> SELECT * FROM foo
+----+-------+
| id | name |
+----+-------+
| 1 | fiona |
+----+-------+
# Create a table
curl -XPOST 'localhost:4001/db/execute?pretty' -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '[
"CREATE TABLE users (id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT, age INTEGER)"
]'# Insert with parameterized statement (prevents SQL injection)
curl -XPOST 'localhost:4001/db/execute?pretty' -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '[
["INSERT INTO users(name, age) VALUES(?, ?)", "fiona", 20]
]'# Bulk insert in a transaction
curl -XPOST 'localhost:4001/db/execute?pretty&transaction' -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '[
["INSERT INTO users(name, age) VALUES(?, ?)", "sinead", 25],
["INSERT INTO users(name, age) VALUES(?, ?)", "declan", 30]
]'
Querying data
# Simple query via GET
curl -G 'localhost:4001/db/query?pretty' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM users'# Parameterized query via POST
curl -XPOST 'localhost:4001/db/query?pretty' -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '[
["SELECT * FROM users WHERE age > ?", 22]
]'# Associative response (rows as maps instead of arrays)
curl -G 'localhost:4001/db/query?pretty&associative' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM users'
Tunable read consistency
# Weak (default) — fast, served by leader if it believes it is leader
curl -G 'localhost:4001/db/query?level=weak' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM users'# Linearizable — guaranteed up-to-date, slightly slower
curl -G 'localhost:4001/db/query?level=linearizable' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM users'# None — fastest, no leader check (use with read-only nodes)
curl -G 'localhost:4001/db/query?level=none&freshness=1s' --data-urlencode 'q=SELECT * FROM users'
Hot backup
# Via CLI
127.0.0.1:4001> .backup bak.sqlite3
# Via API
curl -s -XGET localhost:4001/db/backup -o bak.sqlite3
# Compressed backup
curl -s -XGET 'localhost:4001/db/backup?compress' -o bak.sqlite3.gz
Advanced Topics
Installation & Setup: Binary releases, Docker, Homebrew, building from source → Installation
HTTP API Reference: Endpoints, writing/querying data, parameterized statements, transactions, BLOBs, bulk writes, queued writes → HTTP API
