Embedded Database
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
An embedded database lives inside your app like a roommate who never leaves. No separate server, no network calls, just a file on disk. SQLite is the poster child, it's in your phone, your browser, your TV, literally everywhere. Billions of SQLite databases exist and most people have no idea.
Real Talk
An embedded database runs within the application process rather than as a separate server. It requires no network communication, configuration, or administration. SQLite is the most widely deployed, found in virtually every smartphone, browser, and operating system. Other examples include LevelDB, RocksDB, and DuckDB.
When You'll Hear This
"SQLite is an embedded database, it's just a file." / "We use an embedded database for local-first features with sync to the cloud."
Related Terms
B-Tree Index
A B-Tree index is the default index type that most databases create when you say CREATE INDEX.
Key-Value Store
A key-value store is the simplest database possible. You give it a name (key) and some data (value), and it remembers it.
LSM Tree
An LSM tree (Log-Structured Merge Tree) is a write-optimized data structure. It buffers writes in memory, then flushes them to disk in sorted chunks.
Turso
Turso is SQLite at the edge, replicated worldwide.