bbolt

Summary

bbolt is a maintained fork of Bolt, providing Go applications with an embedded key-value store instead of a full database server. A database occupies a single file and represents a consistent snapshot. Data is arranged in buckets, including nested buckets, with keys stored in byte-sorted order. bbolt supports serializable ACID transactions, allowing one read-write transaction at a time alongside multiple concurrent read-only transactions. A read-only transaction can produce a consistent hot backup without blocking other reads and writes. The database exposes operation statistics for logging or sending to a service such as statsd. The project identifies read-intensive workloads and range scans as suitable uses, while warning that random writes can be slow. A database file’s exclusive write lock prevents multiple processes from sharing it for writing, though read-only mode allows multiple processes to read. The project documents gomobile bindings for iOS and Android, as well as Windows, macOS, and Linux support. It is open source under the MIT license, with no paid support plan listed.

Who it is for

bbolt suits Go developers building applications that need an embedded key-value database, particularly for read-intensive workloads or range scans. It is not intended for applications that need multiple processes writing to the same database file.

Compared on embedded databases

Supported platforms

Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Androidgithub.com

Database model

key-valuegithub.com

Query interface

apigithub.com

Facts

Purpose

bbolt is a maintained fork of Bolt, a pure Go embedded key/value store for applications that do not need a full database server.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Storage

A database is stored as a single file on disk and represents a consistent snapshot of the data.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Data organization

It organizes key/value pairs into buckets, supports nested buckets, and stores bucket keys in byte-sorted order.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Transactions

bbolt supports serializable ACID transactions with one read-write transaction at a time and multiple concurrent read-only transactions.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Backup

A read-only transaction can write a consistent hot backup without blocking other database reads and writes.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Monitoring

The database exposes operation statistics that can be logged or sent to a service such as statsd.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Integrations

The README lists projects using Bolt, including Consul, Containerd, InfluxDB, Prometheus Annotation Server, and NATS Streaming.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Mobile support

The project documents using gomobile bindings to run database logic on iOS and Android.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Install

The README instructs Go developers to install the library with go get go.etcd.io/bbolt@latest and the CLI with go install go.etcd.io/bbolt/cmd/bbolt@latest.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Workload fit

The project describes bbolt as suitable for read-intensive workloads and range scans, while warning that random writes can be slow.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Access limitation

A database file uses an exclusive write lock and cannot be shared by multiple processes; read-only mode permits multiple processes to read it.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Scale and memory

The project says databases can exceed physical RAM if the memory map fits the process virtual address space, and notes this may be problematic on 32-bit systems.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Data-file limitation

Deleting large amounts of data does not reclaim file space; freed pages remain in the file for later reuse.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

License and support

The repository identifies an MIT license and directs users to its issues and discussions for project interaction; it does not list a paid support plan.github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Where it ranks on Everything Xiaomi

• Best Embedded Databases in 2026#8 of 31

Sources

• github.com/etcd-io/bbolt· checked 4 Oct 2026