Introduction

What is TalaDB?

TalaDB is an open-source, local-first document and vector database built in Rust and designed for the modern JavaScript ecosystem. It lets React and React Native developers store and query structured data — and search vector embeddings — directly on the user's device, with no server, no network dependency, and no cloud subscription.

Data is stored as schemaless JSON-like documents organised into named collections. Queries use a MongoDB-inspired filter DSL. Vector indexes sit alongside regular document fields: a single findNearest call can rank by embedding similarity while filtering by metadata, giving you the hybrid search pattern that cloud vector databases charge for, running entirely on-device.

As local AI inference becomes mainstream (transformers.js, ONNX Web, WebGPU), applications generate embeddings on the client and need somewhere to store and search them. TalaDB is that place.

The same Rust core powers every runtime:

Runtime	Package	Mechanism
Browser	@taladb/web	wasm-bindgen + OPFS
Node.js	@taladb/node	napi-rs native module
React Native	@taladb/react-native	JSI HostObject (C FFI)

All three surfaces expose a single unified TypeScript API from the taladb package, so application code never needs to branch on platform.

Architecture overview

TalaDB is built in three layers:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Layer 3 — TypeScript / JavaScript API                        │
│  wasm-bindgen (browser) · napi-rs (Node.js) · JSI (RN)       │
└──────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┘
                               │  postcard bytes
┌──────────────────────────────▼───────────────────────────────┐
│  Layer 2 — Document + Vector Engine  (taladb-core)            │
│  Document model · B-tree indexes · Vector indexes             │
│  Query planner/executor · FTS · Migrations · Live queries     │
└──────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┘
                               │  raw key/value bytes
┌──────────────────────────────▼───────────────────────────────┐
│  Layer 1 — KV Storage Engine                                  │
│  redb (native / Node.js) · OPFS backend (browser)            │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Layer 1 — Storage. redb is a pure-Rust, B-tree embedded key-value store. In the browser, TalaDB replaces it with a custom OPFS backend that uses FileSystemSyncAccessHandle inside a SharedWorker, giving durable on-device persistence without IndexedDB's overhead.

Layer 2 — Document + vector engine. taladb-core sits above the storage layer and knows nothing about JavaScript bindings. It provides the document model, secondary index key encoding, vector index storage and similarity search, the filter/update AST, the query planner, full-text search, and schema migrations. Documents and vector entries live in separate redb tables (docs::, idx::, vec::) but are updated atomically in the same transaction.

Layer 3 — Bindings. Thin platform-specific wrappers translate JavaScript values into the Rust types that taladb-core expects and route them through the storage layer.

Repository structure

taladb/
├── Cargo.toml                      # Rust workspace
├── pnpm-workspace.yaml
│
├── packages/
│   ├── taladb-core/                # Pure Rust core — no JS bindings
│   │   └── src/
│   │       ├── document.rs         # Value enum, Document struct (ULID IDs)
│   │       ├── engine.rs           # StorageBackend trait + redb implementation
│   │       ├── index.rs            # Secondary index key encoding
│   │       ├── collection.rs       # CRUD + vector index operations
│   │       ├── vector.rs           # Vector index, similarity math, encoding
│   │       ├── migration.rs        # Schema versioning
│   │       ├── crypto.rs           # AES-GCM-256 encryption wrapper
│   │       ├── watch.rs            # Live query subscriptions
│   │       └── query/
│   │           ├── filter.rs       # Filter AST
│   │           ├── planner.rs      # Index selection
│   │           └── executor.rs     # Scan + post-filter
│   │
│   ├── @taladb/web/                # Browser (wasm-bindgen + OPFS)
│   ├── @taladb/node/                # Node.js (napi-rs native module)
│   ├── @taladb/react-native/        # React Native (JSI HostObject + C FFI)
│   └── taladb/                     # Unified TypeScript package
│
└── examples/
    ├── web-vite/                   # React + Vite demo
    ├── expo-app/                   # Expo React Native demo
    └── node-script/                # Node.js script demo

Packages

TalaDB is published as four focused npm packages:

Package	Purpose
taladb	Unified TypeScript API — auto-detects the platform and delegates to the right backend
@taladb/web	Browser WASM + OPFS backend
@taladb/node	Node.js napi-rs native module
@taladb/react-native	React Native JSI TurboModule

Which packages do I install?

Browser (Vite, Next.js, etc.)

pnpm add taladb @taladb/web

Node.js

pnpm add taladb @taladb/node

React Native — shared codebase with web or Node.js

pnpm add taladb @taladb/react-native

Use openDB from taladb everywhere. It detects React Native automatically.

React Native — standalone app (RN only, no shared code)

pnpm add @taladb/react-native

Import directly from @taladb/react-native. Calls are synchronous via JSI — no await needed. See the React Native guide for details.

The taladb package lists the platform packages as optionalDependencies, which means npm/pnpm won't fail the install if one isn't present — but it won't install them automatically either. You must add whichever platform package you need alongside taladb.

Status

TalaDB is in alpha. The Rust core, browser WASM, and Node.js bindings are functional and tested. The React Native JSI layer has a complete scaffold but full iOS / Android integration requires platform-specific build tooling. Core APIs are stable but may change before v1.0.

Try the live demo to see TalaDB running in the browser with OPFS persistence and on-device semantic search. Follow the GitHub repository for progress updates.