Embedding in Go
SurrealDB can be run as an embedded database within your Go 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.
Embedded database options
SurrealDB supports multiple types of embedded storage in Go:
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 (surrealkv:// or rocksdb://) - Persistent storage on disk using the SurrealKV storage engine. Data persists across connections and application restarts. The RocksDB backend requires a separate manual build detailed here
Quick example
package main
import (
"context"
"fmt"
"log"
surrealdb "github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb.c.go"
)
type Person struct {
ID surrealdb.RecordID[string] `cbor:"id,omitempty"`
Name string `cbor:"name"`
Age int64 `cbor:"age"`
}
func main() {
ctx := context.Background()
db, err := surrealdb.Open(ctx, "mem://")
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
defer db.Close()
db.Use(ctx, "test", "test")
db.Query(ctx, "CREATE $rid CONTENT $content", map[string]any{
"rid": surrealdb.NewRecordID("person", "alice"),
"content": Person{Name: "Alice", Age: 30},
})
results, _ := surrealdb.Query[Person](ctx, db, "SELECT * FROM person", nil)
for _, p := range results[0].Values() {
fmt.Printf("%s: %s (age %d)\n", p.ID, p.Name, p.Age)
}
}
For complete documentation, installation instructions, examples, best practices, and troubleshooting, see the Go SDK embedding guide.
