#158158th of 173 in Backends, databases and hosting
lowdb
Local JSON file database for Node.js and browsers, queried with plain JavaScript
- Stars
- 22.6k
- License
- MIT
- Last commit
- Mar 2026
- Last release
- Dec 2023
- Language
- JavaScript
Missed the latest GitHub check; these facts may be older.
Overview
lowdb is a pure ESM npm library that loads a JSON file into a plain JavaScript object (db.data) and writes it back with db.write() or db.update(). Storage is pluggable through adapters: JSON file, in-memory, localStorage and sessionStorage, plus custom ones for YAML or encryption. It ships TypeScript types and uses atomic file writes.
Who it is for: JavaScript developers needing small local storage for CLIs, prototypes, tests
Strengths
- No server or external dependency; data lives in a single JSON file
- Queries use native Array methods; optional Lodash extension via a Low subclass
- Adapters allow other formats, encryption or remote storage with two methods
- Memory adapter speeds up tests; TypeScript types check the data shape
Weaknesses
- Each write serializes the whole dataset; objects of ~10-100MB can slow down
- Does not support Node's cluster module
- Pure ESM package, which can cause problems in CommonJS projects
- No indexing or query engine; README recommends PostgreSQL or MongoDB for scale
What it needs
- no GPU
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