What is Gel used for?

Gel is a graph-relational database built on Postgres that models data as object types with links and queries it with EdgeQL, previously known as EdgeDB. It is a good fit for applications with deeply related data and replacing an ORM plus SQL schema with a typed model.

Yes. Gel is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at geldata/gel and is written mainly in Python.

Yes. Gel is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Yes. Gel can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What are some alternatives to Gel?

Similar open-source tools in the Databases category include pgrust, Redis and etcd. SaaS products in the same category include Aerospike, Amazon MemoryDB and Azure Data Explorer.

Is Gel actively maintained?

The most recent commit to Gel was on 24 December 2025, and the latest release is v7.0, published on 5 November 2025. The project has 14k stars on GitHub.

Gel: open-source databases

About Gel

Gel is a database that combines ideas from relational databases, graph databases, and ORMs, which it calls a graph-relational model. It runs on top of Postgres and is the project formerly known as EdgeDB. The schema is expressed as object types with properties connected by links instead of tables and foreign keys. It is released under the Apache-2.0 license.

Its query language, EdgeQL, is designed as a ground-up redesign of SQL. Queries return structured objects rather than flat rows, which makes fetching deeply related data straightforward without JOINs, and queries are composable, so one can be used as an expression inside another. The database supports a strict type system, indexes, constraints, computed properties, stored procedures, link properties, schema mixins, and strong JSON support.

The project also bundles authentication and AI solutions, per its description. Documentation, a learning guide for building an app, a Discord server, and a blog are available. Gel suits application developers who want a typed, object-oriented data model while keeping Postgres reliability underneath.

Key features

Graph-relational data model on Postgres
Object types connected by links
EdgeQL composable query language
Strict type system with constraints and indexes
Computed properties and schema mixins
Built-in auth and AI solutions

Good fit for

→Applications with deeply related data
→Replacing an ORM plus SQL schema with a typed model

Built with: Python
Tags: database; postgres; edgeql; graph-relational; orm; edgedb; schema; auth

Gel: questions and answers

What is Gel used for?: Gel is a graph-relational database built on Postgres that models data as object types with links and queries it with EdgeQL, previously known as EdgeDB. It is a good fit for applications with deeply related data and replacing an ORM plus SQL schema with a typed model.
Is Gel open source?: Yes. Gel is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at geldata/gel and is written mainly in Python.
Is Gel free?: Yes. Gel is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Gel?: Yes. Gel can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What are some alternatives to Gel?: Similar open-source tools in the Databases category include pgrust, Redis and etcd. SaaS products in the same category include Aerospike, Amazon MemoryDB and Azure Data Explorer.
Is Gel actively maintained?: The most recent commit to Gel was on 24 December 2025, and the latest release is v7.0, published on 5 November 2025. The project has 14k stars on GitHub.