Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to SNKV – SQLite's B-tree as a key-value store (C/C++ and Python bindings)

SQLite has six layers: SQL parser → query planner → VDBE → B-tree → pager → OS. (https://sqlite.org/arch.html) For key-value workloads you only need the bottom three. SNKV cuts the top three layers and talks directly to SQLite's B-tree engine. No SQL strings. No query planner. No VM. Just put/get/delete on the same storage core that powers SQLite. Python: pip install snkv from snkv import KVStore with KVStore("mydb.db") as db: db["hello"] = "world" print(db["hello"]) # b"world" C/C++ (single-header, drop-in): #define SNKV_IMPLEMENTATION #include "snkv.h" KVStore…

SNKV is a key-value store that bypasses SQLite's SQL layers to access its B-tree engine directly, available for C/C++ and Python. It eliminates query parsing, planning, and virtual machine overhead for simple put, get… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.

1. 1
   Turbolite – a SQLite VFS serving sub-250ms cold JOIN queries from S3▲185

   I built a SQLite VFS in Rust that serves cold queries directly from S3 with sub-second performance, and often much faster. It’s called turbolite. It is experimental, buggy, and may corrupt data. I would not trust it with anything important yet. I wanted to explore whether object storage has gotten fast enough to support embedded databases over cloud storage. Filesystems reward tiny random reads and in-place mutation. S3 rewards fewer requests, bigger transfers, immutable objects, and aggressively parallel operations where bandwidth is often the real constraint. This was explicitly inspired…

   Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   On-disk B+ tree for Python 3▲159

   An on-disk B+tree for Python 3. Contribute to NicolasLM/bplustree development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   ClangQL – Query C++ codebases using SQLite▲73

   Query C++ codebases using SQLite. Contribute to frabert/ClangQL development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   CaskDB – project to teach you building a key value store▲175

   (educational) build your own disk based KV store. Contribute to avinassh/py-caskdb development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Use Claude Code to Query 600 GB Indexes over Hacker News, ArXiv, etc.▲397

   Paste in my prompt to Claude Code with an embedded API key for accessing my public readonly SQL+vector database, and you have a state-of-the-art research tool over Hacker News, arXiv, LessWrong, and dozens of other high-quality public commons sites. Claude whips up the monster SQL queries that safely run on my machine, to answer your most nuanced questions. There's also an Alerts functionality, where you can just ask Claude to submit a SQL query as an alert, and you'll be emailed when the ultra nuanced criteria is met (and the output changes). Like I want to know when somebody posts about…

   Dec 2025 · exopriors.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Reduce SQLite database size by up to 80% with transparent compression▲420

   Transparent dictionary-based row-level compression for SQLite - phiresky/sqlite-zstd

   2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Minikv – Distributed key-value and object store in Rust (Raft, S3 API)▲71

   Hi HN, I'm Emilie, I have a literature background (which explains the well-written documentation!) and I've been learning Rust and distributed systems by building minikv over the past few months. It recently got featured in Programmez! magazine: https://www.programmez.com/actualites/minikv-un-key-value-st... minikv is an open-source, distributed storage engine built for learning, experimentation, and self-hosted setups. It combines a strongly-consistent key-value database (Raft), S3-compatible object storage, and basic multi-tenancy. Features/highlights: - Raft…

   Feb 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Query SQLite files stored in S3▲160

   Query SQLite files in S3 using s3fs. Contribute to litements/s3sqlite development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Godb is a simple Go ORM for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite and SQL Server▲205

   A Go SQL query builder and struct mapper. Contribute to samonzeweb/godb development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10SQ
    SQLite query inside a Bash function▲134

    Part of the workflow for building my website is the generation of a table in tab-separated column format (.tsv). The source data is found in four other .tsv files. I use an SQLite query to perform a 4-way join and write out the new table. For convenience, I wrote a script that encapsulates the query inside a Bash function. The example below illustrates this technique. repertoire() { pushd $CMM_SOURCES&#x2F;_data sqlite3 <<EOS .headers on .mode tabs .import category.tsv category .import composition.tsv composition .import concert.tsv concert .import program.tsv program .once repertoire.tsv…

    2021 · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Distributed SQLite on FoundationDB▲150

    Hello HN! I'm building mvsqlite, a distributed variant of SQLite with MVCC transactions, that runs on FoundationDB. It is a drop-in replacement that just needs an `LD_PRELOAD` for existing applications using SQLite. I made this because Blueboat (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;losfair&#x2F;blueboat) needs a native SQL interface to persistent data. Apparently, just providing a transactional key-value store isn’t enough - it is more easy and efficient to build complex business logic on an SQL database, and it seems necessary to bring a self-hostable distributed SQL DB onto the platform.…

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    SQLite Plugin for Jekyll▲227

    I love Jekyll, especially the Datafiles[0] feature, which lets you use CSV&#x2F;JSON&#x2F;YAML files and iterate through them. Mixed with the Jekyll Data Pages generator[1], which lets you create a page for every row in your dataset, it is a very powerful combination. However, Liquid is a terrible language for data-mangling, and simple filtering&#x2F;sorting&#x2F;merging can become very annoying. So I wrote a Jekyll SQLite plugin that lets you use the same data interface in Jekyll&#x2F;Liquid, but backed by a SQLite file(s). It gives you the simplicity of the Baked Data pattern[2], and the…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13DP
    Datasette Publish – Turn CSVs into a SQLite-Backed JSON API▲101

    2018 · publish.datasettes.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    HelixDB – Open-source vector-graph database for AI applications (Rust)▲237

    Hey HN, we want to share HelixDB (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;HelixDB&#x2F;helix-db&#x2F;), a project a college friend and I are working on. It’s a new database that natively intertwines graph and vector types, without sacrificing performance. It’s written in Rust and our initial focus is on supporting RAG. Here’s a video runthrough: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;screen.studio&#x2F;share&#x2F;szgQu3yq. Why a hybrid? Vector databases are useful for similarity queries, while graph databases are useful for relationship queries. Each stores data in a way that’s best for its main type of query (e.g.…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    A strongly-typed document DB that runs on any transactional KV store▲113

    A strongly-typed document database that runs on any transactional key-value store. - losfair/RefineDB

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Infreqdb – S3 backed key/value database for infrequent read access▲39

    S3 backed key/value database for infrequent read access - turbobytes/infreqdb

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    SQL-tString a t-string SQL builder in Python▲85

    SQL-tString is a SQL builder that utilises the recently accepted PEP-750, https:&#x2F;&#x2F;peps.python.org&#x2F;pep-0750&#x2F;, t-strings to build SQL queries, for example, from sql_tstring import sql val = 2 query, values = sql(t"SELECT x FROM y WHERE x = {val}") assert query == "SELECT x FROM y WHERE x = ?" assert values == [2] db.execute(query, values) # Most DB engines support this The placeholder ? protects against SQL injection, but cannot be used everywhere. For example, a column name cannot be a placeholder. If you try this SQL-tString will raise an error, col = "x" sql(t"SELECT…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    QoreDB▲95

    The fast, open-source database client built with Rust

    Mar 2026 · qoredb.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Engrim – A universal, local-first SQLite memory engine for AI CLIs▲93

    The Universal Cross-Model Episodic Memory Standard. Local-first, project-scoped SQLite memory engine for Google Antigravity, Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf. Zero cloud lock-in. - timgordontg/engrim

    Sep 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    A terminal spreadsheet editor with Vim keybindings▲126

    While speccing out this spreadsheet tool, I realized that I never had to think about the keybindings. It all just came naturally from Vim. Normal&#x2F;insert&#x2F;visual modes, hjkl navigation, dd&#x2F;yy&#x2F;p, :w, :q. The usual muscle memory works. It supports CSV&#x2F;TSV import and export, and a native .cell format that preserves formulas. The formula engine handles SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MIN, MAX, and IF with range references. The codebase is a Cargo workspace: a pure cell-sheet-core library (no TUI dependency) and a cell-sheet-tui crate on top of ratatui. Early days, but it's usable. To…

    Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Simple in-memory key/value store written in Elixir using Shards▲80

    Simple in-memory Key/Value Store written in Elixir using `cabol/ex_shards` - cabol/kvx

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22IB
    I built a MySQL storage engine which is InnoDB compatible▲106

    upscaledb - a blazingly fast embedded key-value store with analytical functions

    2016 · upscaledb.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Sqinn-Go is a Golang library for accessing SQLite databases in pure Go▲113

    Golang SQLite without cgo. Contribute to cvilsmeier/sqinn-go development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

24. 24ES
    EloqKV – Scalable distributed ACID key-value database with Redis API▲44

    We're thrilled to unveil EloqKV, a lightning-fast distributed key-value store with a Redis-compatible API. Built on a new database architecture called the Data Substrate, EloqKV brings significant innovations to database design. Here’s the unique features that makes it stand out: - Flexible Deployment: Run it as a single-node in-memory KV cache, a larger-than-memory database or scale to a highly available, distributed transactional database with ease. - High Performance: Achieves performance levels comparable to top in-memory databases like Redis and DragonflyDB, while significantly…

    2024 · eloqdata.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →