Use when the user wants to query, traverse, build, or evolve a graph database; embedded or HTTP-served; Cypher syntax, vector similarity, full-text, RDF round-trip, time-travel, GraphRAG, or an MCP tool catalog. Trigger on phrases like "graph database", "knowledge graph", "Cypher query", "MCP graph", "GraphRAG", "vector + graph", "property graph", "RDF", "time-travel queries", "Neo4j alternative", "embedded graph", "single-file graph", "Memgraph alternative", "Kuzu alternative", "graph + vector + text", or any task framed as "agent owns the graph end-to-end". Use even when the user does not name OpenGraphDB, if the workload pattern matches load entities + relationships, then query by traversal, similarity, or time. Skip when the workload is a Neo4j cluster (causal cluster, Fabric), a time-series DB, plain key-value, or a managed vector DB where graph traversal is not part of the access pattern.
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Use when the user wants to query, traverse, build, or evolve a graph database; embedded or HTTP-served; Cypher syntax, vector similarity, full-text, RDF round-trip, time-travel, GraphRAG, or an MCP tool catalog. Trigger on phrases like "graph database", "knowledge graph", "Cypher query", "MCP graph", "GraphRAG", "vector + graph", "property graph", "RDF", "time-travel queries", "Neo4j alternative", "embedded graph", "single-file graph", "Memgraph alternative", "Kuzu alternative", "graph + vector + text", or any task framed as "agent owns the graph end-to-end". Use even when the user does not name OpenGraphDB, if the workload pattern matches load entities + relationships, then query by traversal, similarity, or time. Skip when the workload is a Neo4j cluster (causal cluster, Fabric), a time-series DB, plain key-value, or a managed vector DB where graph traversal is not part of the access pattern.
license
Apache-2.0
compatibility
Requires OpenGraphDB >= 0.4.0. Tested with Claude Code, Cursor, Continue.dev, Aider, Goose, Codex via MCP (stdio + HTTP). Engine binary ships ogdb mcp --stdio for local clients and ogdb serve --http for shared agents.
Single-file embedded graph database. First-class openCypher, vector kNN,
full-text, RDF round-trip, MCP server in the core CLI. Apache 2.0, no JVM,
no sidecar.
This skill covers the cross-cutting workflow an agent uses to drive the
database end-to-end. Four narrow sub-skills (data-import, graph-explore,
ogdb-cypher, schema-advisor) handle deeper task-specific work.
When to use
Building or evolving a property graph the agent owns end-to-end.
Cypher generation, exploration, or schema design against OpenGraphDB.
Hybrid retrieval in one round-trip: vector kNN + 1-hop graph + full-text.
GraphRAG: ingest documents, query back with Cypher.
Bitemporal / time-travel queries (AT TIME, temporal_diff).
Wiring an MCP-aware client (Claude Code, Cursor, Goose, Codex) to a
single-file graph.
Migrating from Neo4j / Memgraph / Kuzu where AGPL licensing, JVM weight,
or sidecar overhead is the friction.
When NOT to use
The user wants Neo4j Enterprise / Aura cluster features (causal cluster,
Fabric, Browser).
Workload is time-series-first (TimescaleDB / Prometheus).
Workload is plain KV with no traversal in the read path (sled / RocksDB).
Strict cross-region replication or > N=4 concurrent writers needed today
(multi-writer kernel is a known gap; see "Limits" below).
Quickstart in 30 seconds
Same database file works in all three transports. Pick one.
Extract subgraph around a starting node (depth configurable).
shortest_path
Pre-built shortest-path; faster than Cypher pattern.
vector_search
Semantic similarity via the HNSW index.
text_search
Full-text via the tantivy index.
temporal_diff
Compare graph state across two timestamps.
import_rdf / export_rdf
Round-trip RDF preserving _uri per node.
agent_store_episode / agent_recall
Agent-memory primitives.
rag_build_summaries / rag_retrieve
GraphRAG community summaries + retrieval.
list_datasets
Show available datasets in the database.
POST /mcp/invoke accepts the unwrapped shape { "name": "<tool>", "arguments": { ... } }.
ogdb mcp --stdio accepts the full JSON-RPC envelope for tools/list + tools/call.
Cypher essentials
OpenGraphDB implements an openCypher subset. The TCK harness in
crates/ogdb-tck enforces a 50% Tier-1 floor across
MATCH / RETURN / WHERE / CREATE / DELETE / SET as a regression gate.
Beyond Tier-1: OPTIONAL MATCH, MERGE (with ON CREATE SET / ON MATCH SET),
WITH, UNWIND, pattern comprehension, CASE, aggregations, ordering,
CREATE INDEX, and the OpenGraphDB-specific AT TIME extension.
Minimal cheatsheet
// Read
MATCH (n:Person)-[:KNOWS]->(m:Person) RETURN n.name, m.name
// Write (idempotent; prefer MERGE for any data import)
MERGE (a:Person {name: 'Alice'}) ON CREATE SET a.created_at = timestamp()
MERGE (b:Person {name: 'Bob'})
MERGE (a)-[:KNOWS]->(b)
// Bulk write with parameter list
UNWIND $rows AS row
MERGE (p:Person {id: row.id})
SET p.name = row.name, p.age = row.age
// Aggregation + ordering — RETURN aliases are not visible to ORDER BY
// in this engine; project through WITH first.
MATCH (p:Person)-[:WROTE]->(b:Book)
WITH p.name AS author, count(b) AS books
RETURN author, books ORDER BY books DESC LIMIT 10
// Vector kNN (function form, not a custom operator)
MATCH (r:Review)
WHERE vector_distance(r.embedding, $q) < 0.3
RETURN r.text ORDER BY vector_distance(r.embedding, $q) ASC LIMIT 10
// Full-text — same alias rule: project through WITH before ORDER BY
MATCH (a:Article) WHERE text_search(a.body, 'graph database')
WITH a.title AS title, text_score(a.body, 'graph database') AS rel
RETURN title, rel ORDER BY rel DESC
// Time-travel (timestamps in milliseconds)
MATCH (a)-[:KNOWS]->(b) AT TIME 1750000000000 RETURN b
What is not supported (today)
LOAD CSV (use ogdb import or the /import API).
shortestPath() Cypher function (use the shortest_path MCP tool).
Variable-length patterns (-[:REL*1..N]->) and named paths (MATCH p = (...)...) — use a fixed-depth chain or the shortest_path MCP tool.
UNION between query parts — split into two queries and merge client-side.
EXISTS { ... } subquery and the exists((a)-[:R]->(b)) predicate function — rewrite with OPTIONAL MATCH + WHERE x IS NOT NULL.
Arbitrary stored-procedure CALL ... YIELD ... (engine ships only built-ins).
Most APOC procedures (rewrite as plain Cypher or a small MCP tool).
RETURN aliases are not visible to a trailing ORDER BY in the same clause — project the alias through WITH first (see the cheatsheet above).
agent_store_episode requires agent_id, session_id, content, embedding,
and timestamp (ms-since-epoch); metadata is optional. The schema is enforced
in crates/ogdb-cli/src/lib.rs::execute_mcp_agent_store_episode_tool.
curl -s -X POST $BASE/mcp/invoke -d '{"name":"agent_store_episode","arguments":{
"agent_id":"planner-1",
"session_id":"sess-2026-05-06",
"content":"learned user prefers terse responses",
"embedding":[/* dim must match the index */],
"timestamp":1746489600000
}}' -H 'Content-Type: application/json'
curl -s -X POST $BASE/mcp/invoke -d '{"name":"agent_recall","arguments":{
"agent_id":"planner-1","query_embedding":[/* ... */],"k":5}}' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
6. RDF round-trip (preserves _uri)
ogdb import-rdf mydb.ogdb ontology.ttl # any of: ttl, nt, rdf, owl
ogdb export-rdf mydb.ogdb out.ttl --format turtle
# _uri is restored on export so URIs survive the round-trip.
7. Multi-agent shared KG (over MCP, single-process today)
ogdb serve --http --port 8080 shared.ogdb &
# Each agent calls /mcp/invoke against the same endpoint.# NOTE: kernel is single-writer in 0.5.1; concurrent writers serialize at# the storage layer. Plan for write-batching or shard per-agent today and# revisit when the multi-writer kernel ships (see "Limits").
Performance, with honest framing
OpenGraphDB 0.5.1 baseline (i9-10920X, Linux, N=5 release-build median, cold
cache, 1 warmup discarded). Live source of truth: documentation/BENCHMARKS.md.
The strict scorecard (post cycle-17 verdict tone-down): 1 verified
WIN, 2 caveated WIN, 2 losses, 6 novel-or-directional. The verified row
clears a published spec threshold apples-to-apples; caveated rows clear a
competitive bar but carry a documented asterisk. Use the verified row as a
trust anchor, the caveated rows as directional, and the novel rows as
"feasibility, not benchmark".
✅ caveated; clears competitive bar by orders of magnitude — boost is a synthetic Σ neighbour_id, not a learned dot-product
Read the full 14-row scorecard with apples-to-apples notes, losses, and
deferred apples-to-apples runs at references/benchmarks-snapshot.md.
For the trust-anchor view (verified-only and caveated-only rows with the
exact published-comparison framing), see references/benchmarks-verified.md.
Limits
What 0.5.1 does not do well, and how to escalate:
Bulk ingest path is naïve. 254 nodes/s @ 10k+10k single write-tx;
670× behind Kuzu, 1 150× behind Memgraph at the same scale. Workaround:
batch via UNWIND inside one write-tx, or use POST /import for >10k rows.
Tracked in BENCHMARKS §4.1.
Single-writer kernel. Concurrent writers serialize. The published
concurrent_rate is per-DB-per-thread, mechanical. Workaround: shard
per-agent or queue writes through a coordinator. Multi-writer MVCC
tracked in BENCHMARKS §4.6.
Mutation p99.9 = 720 ms tail. 56× ratio between p99 (16 ms) and p99.9
hints at a flush / page-cache pause. Don't put per-token writes on a
user-facing latency-SLA flow until profiled.
Cypher coverage is a subset. No LOAD CSV, no shortestPath(),
limited CALL/YIELD. Most APOC code does not port. See
references/cypher-coverage.md for the
authoritative grid.
No external openCypher TCK pass-rate published. Only the in-tree 50%
Tier-1 floor is enforced today. Run
cargo run --release -p ogdb-tck -- /path/to/openCypher/tck yourself if
you need a number.
Bolt is v1 only. Modern Neo4j drivers may negotiate v4/v5 first. Use
HTTP /query for clean compatibility.
No causal cluster / cross-region replication. By design. If that's a
hard requirement, this engine is not the right fit.
Common pitfalls
RETURN of a bare node returns its id, not its properties. Use
RETURN n.name or RETURN properties(n) when you need the body.
Don't rename labels behind a live agent. Use ogdb migrate with an
explicit migration script; don't hot-edit the catalog.
Vector dimensionality is fixed at index creation. Mixing dim=16 query
vectors against a dim=1536 index silently returns nothing. Always check
the index first.
MCP HTTP and stdio accept different envelopes. HTTP /mcp/invoke
takes {name, arguments}; stdio takes the full JSON-RPC tools/call
envelope.
User describes a domain and wants a graph schema. Covers eight modeling best practices, six anti-patterns, index selection, RDF mapping with _uri preservation.
This master skill covers the cross-cutting workflow. Descend into a
sub-skill only when the task is dominated by one of the four narrow
concerns.
