Open-source Cloudflare D1 alternatives

rqlite is a distributed relational database that uses SQLite as its storage engine and the Raft consensus algorithm to keep a cluster consistent. The project describes it as lightweight, developer-friendly and easy to operate, and compares it to etcd but with relational modeling, meaning you store important data with the guarantees of a replicated system while querying it with SQL.

Because it embeds SQLite, you get full SQL support including full-text search and JSON. Extensions can be loaded to add capabilities such as vector search and cryptographic functions, and multiple SQL statements can be executed atomically within one API request. Change data capture is listed among the key features, and a multi-node cluster can be formed in seconds following the quick start. It is written in Go.

rqlite is MIT licensed and aimed at resilient services in the cloud and reliable applications at the edge, where a full database server would be too heavy but a single SQLite file would be a single point of failure. You run it yourself, and the website, Slack community and developer guide help with getting started.

libSQL is a fork of SQLite, open source and open to outside contributions, created and maintained by Turso. It extends SQLite with capabilities such as embedded replicas and remote access, with the goal of serving far more scenarios than the original SQLite was built for, and it draws on third-party open-source code where that makes sense. The core is in C, with Rust and WebAssembly work around it.

The README makes an important distinction. libSQL, this repository, inherits SQLite's basic limitations, including the single-writer model. The Turso database is a separate project from the same team: a SQLite-compatible database written anew in Rust rather than forked, which adds concurrent writes and two-way sync that can work offline, and is currently in beta. The team says libSQL remains actively maintained but that new features are being developed in the Turso database, and suggests new projects look there first.

libSQL is MIT licensed, and it is used both embedded in applications and through Turso's hosted platform. Documentation, a manifesto, a Discord community and tutorials are provided. It suits developers who like SQLite's simplicity but need replication or remote access.