Graft: SQLite Replication at the Edge

Summary

Graft is an open-source transactional storage engine designed for efficient data synchronization at the edge. It replicates SQLite databases partially, as needed, to clients.

Core Architecture

Graft integrates directly into SQLite's commit path via a custom VFS. It uses page-level versioning for lazy fetching and partial views, built on object storage rather than requiring a cluster database.

Key Comparisons

vs mvSQLite: Both use page-level versioning. mvSQLite depends on FoundationDB; Graft uses object storage. "Graft's Splinter-based changesets are self-contained, easily distributable."

vs Litestream: Litestream focuses on WAL frame backup. Graft integrates into SQLite's commit enabling distributed writes.

vs cr-sqlite: cr-sqlite uses CRDTs for automatic conflict resolution. Graft is schema-agnostic but requires application-level conflict handling.

vs Cloudflare D1: D1 is centralized managed service via HTTP. Graft enables decentralized, embedded edge replication.

vs Turso/libSQL: Checkpoint and log replay replication. Graft supports partial replication and schema-agnostic structures.

vs rqlite: Raft consensus across stateful nodes. Graft is stateless on object storage for edge distribution.

Core Distinction

"A stateless system built on top of object storage, designed to replicate data to and from the edge."

Language Support

Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Swift, and direct manual implementation.