#66th of 102 in Backends, databases and hosting
tidb
Distributed MySQL-compatible SQL database with row and columnar storage
- Stars
- 40.7k
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Last commit
- Nov 2026
- Last release
- Sep 2026
- Language
- Go
39,721 on 21 Apr 202640,730 on 10 Nov 2026
From GitHub's daily star counts.
Checked on GitHub.
Before you pick it
- Known advisory in latest version. 3 known advisories: github.com/pingcap/tidb v2.0.11+incompatible, the latest version. Source (opens in a new tab), checked .
Overview
TiDB is a distributed SQL database written in Go that speaks the MySQL 8.0 protocol and runs ACID transactions across nodes using two-phase commit and Raft replication. It separates compute from storage, with TiKV for rows and TiFlash for columns, so one cluster handles transactional and analytical queries. It deploys locally, on Kubernetes via TiDB Operator, or as the managed TiDB Cloud.
Who it is for: Teams needing a scalable MySQL-compatible database for OLTP and analytics
Ranked among open-source alternatives to Firebase (#6 of 10).
Strengths
- MySQL 8.0 compatible, so existing drivers, ORMs and tools work with few changes
- Raft replication with automated failover and configurable geographic replica placement
- HTAP: TiKV row store plus TiFlash columnar replica in the same cluster
- Compute and storage scale independently without downtime
Weaknesses
- Full cluster has several components (TiDB, TiKV, PD, TiFlash), heavier than a single-node database
- Not a full MySQL drop-in; the README points to a separate compatibility page
- Vector search is linked only via TiDB Cloud docs, so self-hosted support is unclear
- General database infrastructure, not an AI app starter
What it needs
- no GPU
- Docker
- Needs TiKV, PD, TiFlash (optional)
Quick answers
Is tidb open source?
Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the Apache-2.0 license.
Can you run tidb with Docker?
Yes. Its repository has a Docker setup: a Dockerfile, a Compose file or a published image.
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