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Discover top open-source software, updated regularly with real-world adoption signals.

Scalable NoSQL database delivering real-time query updates
RethinkDB is a distributed, schemaless JSON document store that pushes live query results to applications, offering high availability, automatic failover, and drivers for major languages.

RethinkDB is a distributed, schemaless JSON document database designed for developers building real‑time web applications. It introduces changefeeds, a query model that continuously streams inserts, updates, and deletions, eliminating the need for client‑side polling. The system provides built‑in clustering, automatic failover, and fault tolerance, making it suitable for horizontally‑scaled services.
The database runs on Linux, Windows, and FreeBSD and can be compiled from source after installing standard dependencies such as GCC/Clang, Protocol Buffers, and jemalloc. Official drivers are available for JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and Java, with a broad set of community drivers for languages like Go, C#, and Rust. After installation, a developer can start the server with rethinkdb and begin using changefeeds through their preferred driver.
Typical deployments include live blogs, collaborative whiteboards, real‑time dashboards, and event‑driven microservices that require instant data propagation to connected clients.
When teams consider RethinkDB, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.
Live blog with instant updates
Readers see new posts the moment they are published without page refresh.
Collaborative photo-sharing whiteboard
Multiple users can add and view images in real time, with changes synced instantly.
Real-time Instagram cat feed
A feed displays new cat photos as they are posted, powered by changefeeds.
IRC bot monitoring messages
Bot reacts to new chat messages stored in RethinkDB, enabling automated responses.
A changefeed is a query that stays open and streams inserts, updates, and deletions as they happen, allowing applications to receive live updates.
Official drivers exist for JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and Java, with many community drivers for C#, Go, Rust, and more.
It uses a distributed cluster with automatic failover; if a node goes down, replicas take over without manual intervention.
Install system dependencies, compile from source or use pre‑built packages, start the server with `rethinkdb`, and connect via a driver.
Yes, it is released under the Apache 2.0 license and maintained by the Linux Foundation community.
Project at a glance
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