SurrealDB can be run as an embedded database within your Rust application, allowing you to use SurrealDB without running a separate server process. This is ideal for desktop applications, testing, local development, and edge computing scenarios.
SurrealDB supports multiple types of embedded storage in Rust:
In-Memory Database (Mem) - Fastest performance with data stored in RAM. Perfect for testing, caching, or temporary data. Data is lost when the connection closes.
File-Based Database (RocksDb or SurrealKV) - Persistent storage on disk using RocksDB or SurrealKV storage engines. Data persists across connections and application restarts.
use surrealdb::engine::local::Mem; use surrealdb::Surreal; // In-memory database let db = Surreal::new::<Mem>(()).await?; db.use_ns("test").use_db("test").await?; let person = db.create("person").content(Person { name: "John Doe" }).await?; println!("{:?}", person); // File-based persistent database (RocksDB) use surrealdb::engine::local::RocksDb; let db = Surreal::new::<RocksDb>("./mydb").await?; db.use_ns("test").use_db("test").await?; let company = db.create("company").content(Company { name: "TechStart" }).await?; println!("{:?}", company);
For complete documentation, installation instructions, examples, best practices, and troubleshooting, see the Rust SDK embedding guide.