JPNAS.NET / Digital Resources

🗄️ Databases

Free and open-source databases for apps, home servers and data analysis, graphical tools to work with them, and free places to learn SQL. See also my article Constructing a Database.

Open in the interactive Digital Resources

• SQLite

  sqlite.org

  A complete SQL database in a single file, with no server to install. Built into browsers, phones and countless apps – the best place to start. Public domain.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #SQL
  • #EMBEDDED
  • #BEGINNER

• PostgreSQL

  postgresql.org

  A powerful, reliable relational database server with a strong standards focus and many extensions. The most used database in the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #SQL
  • #SERVER
  • #RELATIONAL

• MariaDB

  mariadb.org

  A community-developed fork of MySQL by its original creators, largely compatible with it. Used by many self-hosted apps such as Nextcloud.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #SQL
  • #SERVER
  • #MYSQL-COMPATIBLE

• MySQL Community Edition

  mysql.com

  The free, open-source edition of one of the most widely used database servers on the web, now developed by Oracle.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #SQL
  • #SERVER
  • #RELATIONAL

• DuckDB

  duckdb.org

  A fast analytical SQL database that runs inside your program or terminal and can query CSV, JSON and Parquet files directly. Great for data analysis.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #SQL
  • #ANALYTICS
  • #PARQUET

• Valkey

  valkey.io

  A fast in-memory key-value store for caches, queues and sessions, backed by the Linux Foundation and created from Redis after its 2024 licence change.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #KEY-VALUE
  • #IN-MEMORY
  • #CACHE

• Redis Open Source

  redis.io

  The original in-memory key-value store. It left open source in 2024 and returned with Redis 8 in 2025 under the AGPLv3 licence.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #KEY-VALUE
  • #IN-MEMORY
  • #CACHE

• Apache CouchDB

  couchdb.apache.org

  A document database that stores JSON, talks plain HTTP and replicates between servers, phones and browsers – made for offline-first apps.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #DOCUMENT
  • #NOSQL
  • #SYNC

• MongoDB Community Edition

  mongodb.com

  A popular document database that stores flexible JSON-like records. Free to use under the SSPL licence, which is not an OSI-approved open-source licence.

  • #FREE
  • #DOCUMENT
  • #NOSQL
  • #JSON

• pgvector

  github.com

  An extension that adds vector similarity search to PostgreSQL – the usual way to store embeddings for AI search over your own documents (RAG).

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #POSTGRESQL
  • #VECTORS
  • #AI

• DBeaver Community

  dbeaver.io

  A universal database tool for PostgreSQL, MariaDB, MySQL, SQLite and many more – browse tables, edit data and run SQL queries.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #CLIENT
  • #SQL
  • #CROSS-PLATFORM

• DB Browser for SQLite

  sqlitebrowser.org

  A simple visual tool to create, open and edit SQLite database files, with a spreadsheet-like view of the data.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #SQLITE
  • #GUI
  • #BEGINNER

• pgAdmin

  pgadmin.org

  The best-known open-source administration and development tool for PostgreSQL, as a desktop or web application.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #POSTGRESQL
  • #ADMIN
  • #WEB

• HeidiSQL

  heidisql.com

  A lightweight, free database client for MariaDB, MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL and SQLite – a long-time favourite on Windows, now also for Linux and macOS.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #CLIENT
  • #MARIADB
  • #MYSQL

• Beekeeper Studio Community

  beekeeperstudio.io

  A modern, easy-to-use SQL editor and database manager for many databases. The community edition is free and open source.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #CLIENT
  • #SQL
  • #CROSS-PLATFORM

• Adminer

  adminer.org

  Complete database management in a single PHP file – put it on a web server and manage MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL or SQLite from the browser.

  • #OPEN-SOURCE
  • #WEB
  • #PHP
  • #SELF-HOSTED

• PostgreSQL Tutorial

  postgresql.org

  The official introduction to PostgreSQL and SQL in the PostgreSQL documentation, from creating a database to transactions.

  • #FREE
  • #SQL
  • #POSTGRESQL
  • #DOCUMENTATION

• Use The Index, Luke

  use-the-index-luke.com

  A free online book by Markus Winand about SQL indexes and performance, for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server and Db2.

  • #FREE
  • #SQL
  • #INDEXES
  • #BOOK

• PostgreSQL Exercises

  pgexercises.com

  Practise SQL step by step on one small example database – from simple queries to joins, aggregates and window functions.

  • #FREE
  • #SQL
  • #PRACTICE
  • #POSTGRESQL