What is LiteDB used for?

LiteDB is a small embedded NoSQL document database for .NET that keeps data in a single file, with a MongoDB-like API, LINQ support and ACID transactions. It is a good fit for embedded storage in desktop applications, application file formats and one database per user or account.

Is LiteDB open source?

Yes. LiteDB is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at litedb-org/LiteDB and is written mainly in C#.

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

Can I self-host LiteDB?

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

What are some alternatives to LiteDB?

Similar open-source tools in the Databases category include RavenDB, Redis and DuckDB. SaaS products in the same category include Aerospike, Amazon DocumentDB and Amazon DynamoDB.

Is LiteDB actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to LiteDB was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v5.0.21, published on 5 July 2024. The project has 9.5k stars on GitHub.

LiteDB: open-source databases

About LiteDB

LiteDB is a lightweight, serverless NoSQL document store for .NET that keeps everything in a single data file, much like SQLite does for relational data. Its API is similar to MongoDB's, and the whole database ships inside your application as a single DLL installed from NuGet.

It is thread-safe and supports ACID transactions with full transaction support and recovery after a write failure through a write-ahead log. Plain .NET classes map to BSON documents through attributes or a fluent mapper, fields can be indexed for fast search, and data can be queried with LINQ or SQL-like commands. It can also store files and streams in the manner of GridFS. LiteDB Studio is a graphical tool for viewing and managing the data.

Version 5 introduced a new storage engine with lock-free reads and per-collection write locks, a new SQL-like syntax and a new query engine. LiteDB is open source under the MIT licence, free for commercial use, and suited to desktop and small applications, application file formats, small websites and one-database-per-user designs.

Key features

Serverless embedded document database
Single data file storage
MongoDB-like API for .NET
ACID transactions with write-ahead log
LINQ and SQL-like queries
File and stream storage like GridFS
LiteDB Studio graphical manager

Good fit for

→Embedded storage in desktop applications
→Application file formats
→One database per user or account

Built with: C#; .NET
Tags: nosql; embedded-database; dotnet; document-store; csharp; single-file; linq; database

LiteDB: questions and answers

What is LiteDB used for?: LiteDB is a small embedded NoSQL document database for .NET that keeps data in a single file, with a MongoDB-like API, LINQ support and ACID transactions. It is a good fit for embedded storage in desktop applications, application file formats and one database per user or account.
Is LiteDB open source?: Yes. LiteDB is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at litedb-org/LiteDB and is written mainly in C#.
Is LiteDB free?: Yes. LiteDB is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host LiteDB?: Yes. LiteDB can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What are some alternatives to LiteDB?: Similar open-source tools in the Databases category include RavenDB, Redis and DuckDB. SaaS products in the same category include Aerospike, Amazon DocumentDB and Amazon DynamoDB.
Is LiteDB actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to LiteDB was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v5.0.21, published on 5 July 2024. The project has 9.5k stars on GitHub.