SQLite

SQLite is an embedded relational (SQL) database that runs as a single file with no separate server process at all — created by D. Richard Hipp and maintained by the SQLite Consortium. It's the third most-used database in developer surveys, at roughly 37.5% usage share. It ships inside nearly every mobile app, web browser, and desktop app that needs local storage, because it requires zero configuration and zero administration.

Example

Standard SQL against a database that's just a file on disk — no server, no port, no daemon to manage.

CREATE TABLE notes (
  id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
  title TEXT NOT NULL,
  body TEXT
);

INSERT INTO notes (title, body)
VALUES ('Shopping list', 'milk, eggs, bread');

SELECT title
FROM notes
WHERE body LIKE '%milk%';

Getting started

No server to install — just the CLI tool (or a library binding in your language of choice) pointed at a local file.

# open (or create) a local database file
sqlite3 app.db

-- inside the sqlite3 shell
.tables
SELECT * FROM notes;