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TerminusDB

terminusdb.org

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Spec score 7.4 #26 of 39 in Graph Databases

What it is

TerminusDB is a free, open-source document graph database for JSON documents stored in a schema-enforced graph. It adds Git-like version control for data, including branching, diffing, merging, cloning, synchronization, and time travel. Commits are ACID transactions, and every write receives schema validation. Developers can use the HTTP document API, GraphQL, or WOQL, a Datalog-based query language. GraphQL works with Apollo, urql, Relay, and other clients; official libraries cover TypeScript/JavaScript and Python, with Rust documented. Role-based access control uses users, roles, capabilities, and resource scopes. Deployment documentation covers Docker, Linux or macOS source builds, and Kubernetes. DFRNT provides cloud hosting instances, while community support is available through Discord and GitHub. TerminusDB supports ontology modeling, semantic reasoning, graph visualization, and imports from CSV, JSON, JSON-LD, RDF/XML, and Turtle. It does not support RDF/SPARQL.

Spec sheet

Product
TerminusDB is an open-source document graph database that stores JSON documents in a schema-enforced graph and includes Git-like version control.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Intended users
The documentation describes TerminusDB as designed for developers and data engineers working with auditable data lineage, complex domain models, collaborative data workflows, or evolving structured content.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Deployment
The quickstart runs TerminusDB in Docker, and the documentation also describes building from source on Linux or macOS and running it on Kubernetes.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Integrations
Its GraphQL interface works with Apollo, urql, Relay, and other GraphQL clients; official client libraries are available for TypeScript/JavaScript and Python, with Rust also documented.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Security
TerminusDB provides role-based access control using users, roles, capabilities, and resource scopes.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Support
The official site directs users to the TerminusDB community on Discord and to GitHub for other ways to connect.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Cloud hosting
The official site identifies DFRNT as TerminusDB's hosting provider and describes cloud instances for getting started and collaborating.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Maintainer
The project documentation says DFRNT assumed stewardship in 2025 and maintains TerminusDB with the open-source community.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Notable limit
The comparison page says PostgreSQL is better suited to relational analytics, mature ORMs, and a very large extensions ecosystem.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Query interfaces
TerminusDB provides an HTTP document API, GraphQL, and WOQL, a Datalog-based query language.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Query security
The WOQL documentation says its typed AST design prevents query injection by construction, while noting that authentication, authorization, and business-logic vulnerabilities can still exist.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Transactions
The documentation says commits are ACID transactions and schema validation is enforced on every write.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org
Version control
It supports branching, diffing, merging, cloning, synchronization, and time-travel operations over data.Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org

Plans and prices

TerminusDB Open Source Community Version Free Apache 2.0 licensed · run on your own computer Read 3 Oct 2026 · terminusdb.org

Every TerminusDB plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free Apache 2.0 community version
  • Git-like branching and data time travel
  • ACID commits with write-time validation
  • Role-based access control
  • Docker, Kubernetes, and source deployment

Limits

  • Not suited to relational analytics workloads
  • No RDF/SPARQL support
  • Cloud hosting is provided by DFRNT

Who it suits

TerminusDB is aimed at developers and data engineers working with auditable lineage, complex domain models, collaborative workflows, or evolving structured content. It suits teams wanting versioned graph data and schema enforcement.

Verdict

TerminusDB combines document storage, graph modeling, and version control in an open-source package. Its query choices and deployment options are broad, but teams centered on relational analytics or RDF/SPARQL need another fit.

Where Specifiction places it

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