Install CedarDB locally

This tutorial explains how to install and run the native CedarDB binary on your machine.

Get the binary

CedarDB is distributed as a standalone binary. It runs out of the box on any Linux distribution with glibc >= 2.27 (released in 2018).

To automatically download and decompress the appropriate version, run:

curl https://get.cedardb.com | bash

CedarDB supports two modes of operation:

• Server mode: A PostgreSQL-compatible server for external clients.
• Interactive mode: A SQL shell for direct, manual interaction with the database.

Run as Server

The best way to set up CedarDB for production use is to start CedarDB in our PostgreSQL-compatible server mode.

Start in Server mode

By default, CedarDB runs in server mode:

./cedardb --createdb mydb

This starts the server and creates the mydb database directory if it doesn’t already exist.

Connect via domain socket

Initially, the server only accepts connections via local domain socket from the same OS user:

psql -h /tmp -U postgres

You can then create users and databases:

create user test with password '1234' superuser; -- Or use fine-grained privileges
create database test;

Enable remote connections

To accept external connections (e.g., over TCP), run:

./cedardb mydb --address=::

Then connect using a PostgreSQL compatible client, e.g.:

psql -h localhost -U test
psql -h cedardb.example.com -U test

Explore command line options

To see all available flags and options, run:

./cedardb --help

Run interactively

Interactive mode launches a REPL-style SQL shell. You can use it to create, explore, and manipulate a database locally.

Create a new persistent database

To create and open a persistent database:

./cedardb --interactive --createdb mydb

This creates a new directory mydb in your current working directory where CedarDB stores its data files.

You can also specify an absolute or relative path:

./cedardb --interactive --createdb /opt/dbs/movies

Open an existing database

If the database already exists, you can open it like this:

./cedardb --interactive mydb

Create a temporary in-memory database

To launch an ephemeral, in-memory database:

./cedardb --interactive --inmemory

This database exists only for the duration of the session and will be discarded upon exit.

Running SQL in the shell

Once in the SQL shell, you can run standard SQL:

create table example(i int);
insert into example values (42);

The REPL supports:

• Common readline keyboard shortcuts (e.g., CTRL + R to search the history)
• Backslash commands:

\i schema_definition.sql -- Run commands from a file
\?                       -- View available commands

For more details, see the SQL Reference.