Twelve years of distributed SQLite
In September 2014 I published a short post announcing rqlite. The idea was simple: take SQLite, put a Raft log in front of it, and replicate every write to a cluster so that the loss of a node did not…
Philip O'Toole
Software engineering, distributed systems, databases, and the teams that build them
Philip O'Toole
Software engineering, distributed systems, databases, and the teams that build them
Philip O'Toole
rqlite 10.5.1 to 10.6.0: Numeric Error Codes, Node Promotion, and CDC Fixes
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, fault-tolerant relational database built on SQLite and the Raft consensus protocol. Versions 10.5.1 through 10.6.0 focus on four core themes: richer error reporting in the API, changing a node’s voting status at runtime, a security…
Improved web console in rqlite v10.5.0
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, fault-tolerant relational database built on SQLite and the Raft consensus protocol. v10.5.0 is out now, and comes with an improved web console. Specifically the console features a new cluster topology view, allowing you to quickly…
rqlite 10.3.1 to 10.4.0: Cluster Integrity, Streaming Backups, and CDC Security
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and the Raft consensus protocol. Versions 10.3.1 through 10.4.0 focus on four core themes: safeguarding cluster consistency under local fault conditions, overhauling how database backups stream over the network,…
Antithesis breaks rqlite on purpose
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Antithesis has published a post on how they use AI Agents to inject bugs in rqlite, then check whether their tests catch them. Along the way their tests found three real…
rqlite v10.3.0 – features, upgrades, and bug fixes
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, fault-tolerant relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Version 10.3.0 has been released and includes some updates to the web console, upgraded SQLite, and other bug fixes and improvements. The headline fix in this release, however, comes…
From 18 months to 6: High-velocity database engineering
I recently appeared on the Bug Bash podcast to talk about rqlite, software testing, and the impact of Agentic coding. You check out the audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, and the video on YouTube.
Claude redesigns rqlite.io
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. rqlite.io is the Hugo-based website for rqlite, built on the Docsy theme. It introduces people to the database, as well as serving all the technical documentation. Last month I decided to…
Codex for Open Source
OpenAI has given me six months of ChatGPT Pro through its Codex for Open Source programme, which backs maintainers of projects the wider ecosystem depends on. I will be putting it to work on rqlite — primarily coding and PR…
Proving to Fable I maintain the repo
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. After my initial experience with Fable, it got me thinking. I created rqlite, I maintain it. Why won’t Fable help me find and fix bugs in the software? Why does it…
First impressions of Claude Fable
Today I tried Anthropic’s latest model, Fable, for the first time. I asked it to run a full code review of the core Go code of rqlite. Fable rejected my first prompt as unsafe – review the rqlite code base…
rqlite v10.2: Improving the web console
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Version 10.2.0 has been released with more improvements to the built-in web console and mutual TLS support.
rqlite reaches 1 million Docker downloads
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, fault-tolerant database built on SQLite and Raft. It’s reached a new milestone this week – 1 million Docker downloads. Thanks to the entire rqlite community for their support and engagement with rqlite.
rqlite v10.1: Schema management via the Web Console
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Version 10.1.0 has been released with improvements to the built-in web console. The web console now support directly examining the schema of your database tables, and basic…
Humanoid robots won’t surprise us when they arrive
Today at Lowe’s I passed a Simbe robot doing inventory. A tall pole on a wheeled base, moving the aisles, looking at shelves. I was startled, but only because it appeared behind me. And then I felt nothing. No one…
Taking control of the SQLite WAL
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, fault-tolerant relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Version 10 is out now. rqlite uses SQLite as its storage engine and has a particular relationship with the SQLite Write-Ahead Log (WAL). SQLite, left to itself, manages its…
rqlite 10.0: Better clustering and better management
rqlite is a lightweight, user-friendly, open-source, distributed relational database. It’s written in Go, employs Raft for distributed consensus, and uses SQLite as its storage engine. rqlite v10.0 has been released and introduces improved cluster and management features, including a new…
Unified Telemetry Management Plane at Google Cloud Next
It was great to present with Keith Chen on Google Cloud’s unified telemetry ingestion and routing solution at Google Cloud Next Our new solution – comprising the Unified Management Plane and Telemetry Router – streamlines telemetry management for Google Cloud customers and…
New guide for working with rqlite clusters
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. I’ve published a new guide for client applications, explaining the various techniques you can use to access rqlite clusters. You can check it out here.
Antithesis chooses rqlite to demonstrate AI-assisted testing
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Antithesis is an autonomous software testing company that runs software inside a deterministic hypervisor, injecting faults and exploring edge cases that the usual testing cannot reach.
Speaking at GCP Next 2026
I will be speaking at the GCP Next next month in Las Vegas, NV. My colleague Keith Chen and I will present on GCP’s latest Telemetry management solutions, with OpenTelemetry at the center. You can learn more about the session…
Native Linux packages for rqlite
rqlite is a lightweight, open-source, distributed relational database built on SQLite and Raft. Starting with v9.4.1 rqlite now ships native Linux packages (.deb and .rpm) for easier installation and upgrades. Both amd64 and arm64 packages are available.
The source code was the moat. But not anymore
Last week I started using some of the new coding agents properly. Not in a careful, experimental way, but properly — for three days on rqlite. Claude Code. Copilot CLI. Tools I had yet to fully integrate into how I…
Discovering git worktrees
While working with Claude Code, I quickly needed it to operate on multiple versions of the rqlite codebase at the same time. Cloning the repository repeatedly would have worked, but it felt wasteful.
Agentic coding with Claude and Copilot
After many months of direct ChatGPT use, I’ve finally started coding with the help of Copilot and Claude Code. It’s definitely an intriguing experience. The biggest difference so far? I’m going to hit my Claude Code Pro limits pretty quickly,…