Gel

Learn: build an app with Gel • Website • Docs • Blog • Discord • Twitter

What is Gel?

Gel is a new kind of database
that takes the best parts of
relational databases, graph
databases, and ORMs. We call it
a graph-relational database.

🧩 Types, not tables 🧩

Schema is the foundation of your application. It should be something you can read, write, and understand. Forget foreign keys; tabular data modeling is a relic of an older age, and it [isn't compatible](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object%E2%80%93relational_impedance_mismatch) with modern languages. Instead, Gel thinks about schema the same way you do: as **object types** containing **properties** connected by **links**. ```esdl type Person { required name: str; } type Movie { required title: str; multi actors: Person; } ``` This example is intentionally simple, but Gel supports everything you'd expect from your database: a strict type system, indexes, constraints, computed properties, stored procedures...the list goes on. Plus it gives you some shiny new features too: link properties, schema mixins, and best-in-class JSON support. Read the [schema docs](https://docs.geldata.com/reference/datamodel) for details.

🌳 Objects, not rows 🌳

Gel's super-powered query language EdgeQL is designed as a ground-up redesign of SQL. EdgeQL queries produce rich, structured objects, not flat lists of rows. Deeply fetching related objects is painless...bye, bye, JOINs. ```esdl select Movie { title, actors: { name } } filter .title = "The Matrix" ``` EdgeQL queries are also _composable_; you can use one EdgeQL query as an expression inside another. This property makes things like _subqueries_ and _nested mutations_ a breeze. ```esdl insert Movie { title := "The Matrix Resurrections", actors := ( select Person filter .name in { 'Keanu Reeves', 'Carrie-Anne Moss', 'Laurence Fishburne' } ) } ``` There's a lot more to EdgeQL: a comprehensive standard library, computed properties, polymorphic queries, `with` blocks, transactions, and much more. Read the [EdgeQL docs](https://docs.geldata.com/reference/edgeql) for the full picture.

🦋 More than a mapper 🦋

While Gel solves the same problems as ORM libraries, it's so much more. It's a full-fledged database with a [powerful and elegant query language](https://docs.geldata.com/reference/edgeql), a [migrations system](https://docs.geldata.com/learn/migrations), a [suite of client libraries](https://docs.geldata.com/reference/clients) in different languages, a [command line tool](https://docs.geldata.com/learn/cli), and a managed [cloud service](https://geldata.com/cloud). The goal is to rethink every aspect of how developers model, migrate, manage, and query their database. Here's a taste-test of Gel's next-level developer experience: you can install our CLI, spin up an instance, and open an interactive EdgeQL shell with just three commands. ``` $ curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://geldata.com/sh | sh $ edgedb project init $ edgedb edgedb> select "Hello world!" ``` Windows users: use this Powershell command to install the CLI. ``` PS> iwr https://geldata.com/ps1 -useb | iex ```
## Get started To start learning about Gel, check out the following resources: - **[The quickstart](https://docs.geldata.com/learn/quickstart/overview/nextjs)**. If you're just starting out, the 10-minute quickstart guide is the fastest way to get up and running. - **[Gel Cloud 🌤️](https://www.geldata.com/cloud)**. The best most effortless way to host your Gel database in the cloud. - **The docs.** Jump straight into the docs for [schema modeling](https://docs.geldata.com/reference/datamodel) or [EdgeQL](https://docs.geldata.com/reference/edgeql)!
## Contributing PRs are always welcome! To get started, follow [this guide](https://docs.geldata.com/resources/guides/contributing) to build Gel from source on your local machine. [File an issue 👉](https://github.com/geldata/gel/issues/new/choose)
[Start a Discussion 👉](https://github.com/geldata/gel/discussions/new)
[Join the discord 👉](https://discord.gg/gel)
## License The code in this repository is developed and distributed under the Apache 2.0 license. See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.