DriftDB

An append-only database with time-travel capabilities

DriftDB is an experimental database written in Rust that combines append-only storage with SQL:2011 temporal queries. It is designed for workloads where full audit history matters — audit logs, event sourcing, debugging, and analytics over historical snapshots.

Status: Alpha. The core engine and SQL interface work. Several higher-level features are partially implemented. See STATUS.md for details.

Key Concepts

Time-Travel Queries

Query your data at any past point in time using SQL:2011 temporal syntax:

-- As of a specific sequence number (reliable — sequences are immutable)
SELECT * FROM orders FOR SYSTEM_TIME AS OF @SEQ:1000;

-- As of a timestamp
SELECT * FROM users FOR SYSTEM_TIME AS OF '2025-10-24 12:00:00';

-- Full history for a row
SELECT * FROM users FOR SYSTEM_TIME ALL WHERE id = 'u1';

Append-Only Architecture

Every INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE is stored as an immutable event. Nothing is ever overwritten. This gives you a built-in audit trail with zero extra configuration.

PostgreSQL Wire Protocol

DriftDB speaks the PostgreSQL wire protocol on port 5433, so standard PostgreSQL clients (psql, JDBC, etc.) can connect to it directly.

What Actually Works

Basic SQL: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE TABLE
Time-travel queries by sequence number and timestamp
Full drift history per row (FOR SYSTEM_TIME ALL)
Subqueries, CTEs, JOINs, GROUP BY, ORDER BY
VACUUM (compact) and CHECKPOINT TABLE (snapshot)
ACID transactions with BEGIN / COMMIT / ROLLBACK
B-tree secondary indexes

Known Limitations

Table creation uses pk=id syntax instead of standard PRIMARY KEY (id)
No fsync after WAL writes — recent commits may be lost on crash
Replication framework exists but has no real consensus or failover
Most monitoring metrics are hardcoded placeholder values
Temporal JOINs not supported

Quick Start

# Build from source (requires Rust 1.70+)
cargo build --release

# Start the server
./target/release/driftdb-server --data-path ./data

# Or use the CLI directly
./target/release/driftdb init ./data
./target/release/driftdb sql --data ./data \
  -e 'CREATE TABLE users (pk=id, INDEX(name))'

Continue to the Quick Start guide →

DriftDB Documentation