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LinkedIn Databus

github.com

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Spec score 8.2 #7 of 23 in Change Data Capture Software

What it is

LinkedIn Databus is a self-hosted, source-agnostic distributed change data capture system. It captures and transports changes to primary data so downstream systems can process them. Relays serve change events, clients process them, and bootstrap servers supply historical events for consumers catching up. Consumers can begin at an arbitrary point in the stream, use full-data bootstrap, and consume partitions while preserving source consistency.

The project describes in-order, at-least-once delivery with high availability, low-millisecond transport latency, and throughput of thousands of events per second per server. It supports Oracle sources and has been used for search and social-graph indexes and member-profile read replicas. The wiki documents a MySQL adapter as a proof of concept, not a LinkedIn production deployment. Databus is free, licensed under Apache 2.0, and available for self-hosting. Building it requires Gradle 1.0 or later and Oracle's ojdbc6 driver version 11.2.0.2.0, which is obtained under the Oracle Technology Network License. The repository points to a wiki for documentation and examples; it does not state a support service.

Spec sheet

Purpose
It captures, transports, and processes changes to primary data so they can flow to downstream systems.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Product
Databus is a source-agnostic distributed change data capture system.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Intended users
The project describes use in data architectures that route primary database changes to derived stores such as indexes, caches, and read replicas.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
License
The repository identifies Databus as licensed under Apache 2.0.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Headquarters
Sunnyvale, California, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · github.com
Founded
2015Read 28 Sep 2026 · github.com
Architecture
Databus uses relays to serve change events, clients to process them, and bootstrap servers to provide historical events for catch-up.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Build requirement
The README says Databus requires Gradle version 1.0 or above to build.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Consumption
Databus supports partitioned consumption and preservation of source consistency.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Database support
The project README describes Oracle sources, and its wiki documents a MySQL adapter as a proof-of-concept implementation.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Delivery
The wiki describes guaranteed in-order, at-least-once delivery with high availability.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Documentation and support
The repository points users to its wiki for documentation and examples; the reviewed project pages do not state a support service.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Downstream uses
LinkedIn says Databus feeds its Social Graph Index, People Search Index, and Member Profile read replicas.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
History and bootstrap
Consumers can start from an arbitrary point in the change stream, with full-data bootstrap capability.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Integration requirement
Building Databus requires Oracle's ojdbc6 driver version 11.2.0.2.0, obtained under the Oracle Technology Network License.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Intended use
The README describes Databus as part of LinkedIn's data-processing pipeline for keeping derived stores and indexes consistent with primary data.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Latency and throughput
The README describes low-millisecond transport latency and throughput of thousands of events per second per server.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
MySQL limitation
The wiki says the MySQL adapter was not deployed in LinkedIn production and was intended to demonstrate how to write a fetcher.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Replay and bootstrap
Consumers can start at an arbitrary point in the change stream, and the system supports full-data bootstrap and catch-up.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
Sources and downstream uses
The README says Databus supports Oracle sources and describes downstream use for search and social-graph indexes and member-profile read replicas.Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com

Plans and prices

Databus (Apache 2.0 open source) Free Source code licensed under Apache 2.0 Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com

Every LinkedIn Databus plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Consumers can start at an arbitrary point in the stream.
  • Supports full-data bootstrap and catch-up.
  • Describes in-order, at-least-once delivery with high availability.
  • Licensed under Apache 2.0.
  • Supports Oracle sources.

Limits

  • Building requires Gradle 1.0 or later.
  • Building requires an Oracle ojdbc6 driver under Oracle's license.
  • The documented MySQL adapter is only a proof of concept.
  • No support service is stated.

Who it suits

Databus suits teams building data architectures that route primary database changes to derived stores such as indexes, caches, and read replicas. It is intended for self-hosted deployments.

Verdict

Databus provides change capture and replay features for routing primary data changes to downstream systems. Teams should account for its Oracle driver build requirement and the limited status of the documented MySQL adapter.

Where Specifiction places it

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