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Apache-CouchDB

CouchDB is an open-source document database that stores data as JSON documents and is managed through a simple web API.

  • Databases
  • Tools & Utilities
CouchDB is an open-source document database that stores data as JSON documents and is managed through a simple web API. It provides transaction-safe storage, built-in replication for syncing data across devices and servers, and MapReduce views for querying, making it a good fit for self-hosters building offline-first, multi-device applications.

Platform availability

Available on 3 of 9 platforms

  • Unraid
  • TrueNAS (not listed)
  • Umbrel (not listed)
  • ZimaOS (not listed)
  • Proxmox
  • Helm
  • Mac (not listed)
  • Windows (not listed)
  • Linux (not listed)

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

72/100 Good

Maintained
100last commit 9 days ago
Popular
776,975 GitHub stars
Easy to install
453 install platforms, install notes
Light to run
304 GB minimum RAM
Security check
69no serious findings, 3 minor, tests, OpenSSF Scorecard 7.2/10

Availability: platform listings confirmed today

GitHub stars
6,975
Open issues
377
Last commit
2026-10-13
License
Apache-2.0
Activity
rising

Checked 9 days ago - source: GitHub (apache/couchdb)

Resources & Compatibility

Minimum requirements: 4 GB RAM, 2 CPU core(s).

Checked 9 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Connect to CouchDB on port 5984 The examples connect to http://127.0.0.1:5984, CouchDB's default port. Put the correct host and port in your app so it can reach CouchDB, or your app cannot store or fetch data. source
  • Set the database name you will use The code uses nano.use('foo') to name the database your app will read and write. Set it to a real CouchDB database you want to use, otherwise it will look in the wrong place and not find your data. source

Fetched 9 days ago - each note links to its source

Alternatives (9)

  • FerretDB - FerretDB is an open-source MongoDB compatibility proxy for self-hosted stacks.
  • Microsoft SQL Server - SQL Server delivers on Microsoft’s Data Platform vision by helping your organization manage your data by enabling you to store data from st…
  • MongoDB - MongoDB is a cross-platform, open-source document-oriented NoSQL database that stores data in flexible, JSON-like BSON documents instead of…
  • MySQL Community Edition - Free GPL database platform supporting SQL and NoSQL applications with InnoDB storage, replication, clustering, connectors, and cross-platfo…
  • PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL (Postgres) is an open source object-relational database known for reliability and data integrity.
  • RavenDB - RavenDB is an open-source, transactionally consistent document database that stores application data in flexible records, helping developer…
  • Redis - Redis is a fast, in-memory data structure store that can be used as a database, cache, and message broker.
  • Valkey - Valkey is an open-source, high-performance in-memory key-value datastore forked from Redis.
  • mariadb - MariaDB is a fast, open-source relational database server forked from MySQL by its original developers.

Checked 23 days ago - source: AlternativeTo

Common questions

How can I check for new releases or security fixes before updating CouchDB?

The CouchDB documentation includes Release Notes and a Security Issues / CVEs section. It also explains how to report new security problems.

What common problems should I watch for after self-hosting CouchDB?

Developers often encounter database performance bottlenecks and replication failures. These are worth monitoring even though CouchDB supports replication and clustering.

Where can I find quick references for API calls and configuration settings?

The documentation provides API Quick Reference and Configuration Quick Reference guides.

Can I retrieve data without using MapReduce?

CouchDB comes with a developer-friendly query language. MapReduce is optional for data retrieval.

Answers sourced from couchdb.apache.org, docs.couchdb.org, mindfulchase.com

Community

Collected yesterday - public community threads