Familiar SQL.
Room to do more.
Queries, joins, expressions, aggregates and transactions. Read supported result sets through cursor-based access, including ordered and grouped queries.
TigerDB · Self-hosted SQL database server
Your data.
Your infrastructure.TigerDB.
A database server built in C, with secure deployment options, flexible storage engines and a dedicated router. A focused foundation for your next application.
Linux x86-64 binaries + source code · Version 5.2.20
SQL & transactions
Encrypted build
No activation
SQL at the coreQueries, transactions & cursors
Security built inAuthentication & encrypted builds
A dedicated routerSeparate deployment configuration
Your language, connectedPython · Java · Go · Node.js
The platform
One database. A capable
set of building blocks.
Keep the server, routing layer and application connectivity under your control. Choose the components your deployment needs.
Familiar SQL.
Protect the connection.
Protect the data.
Encrypted builds support TLS in transit and encryption at rest. Database authentication and role-based access keep permissions explicit.
TLS transport Encrypted storage
Choose your engine.
A native storage engine, with additional heap/MVCC and clustered implementations for evaluation.
tiger_nativeDEFAULTtiger_heap_mvccEXPERIMENTALtiger_clusteredEXPERIMENTALAdvanced engines require the documented experimental opt-in. Evaluate before production use.
Give routing its own layer.
Run the TigerDB Router alongside the database server, with its own configuration and matching plain or encrypted build.
Connect directly to the server or use the router where your architecture calls for it.
Recovery is part of the design.
Write-ahead logging, checkpoints and recovery mechanisms support your data lifecycle, alongside backup and restore functionality.
Keep verified backups and preserve your storage-encryption keys.
A straightforward data stack.
Direct server access or an optional routing layer.
Your applicationTigerDB Router · optionalTigerDB Server
Built for developers
Write a query.
Make a connection.
Build something.
Work with SQL and connect from your application. The source package includes drivers for Python, Java, Go and Node.js.
Py PythonJ JavaGo GoJS Node.js
Work through result sets
Cursor-based reads for supported SQL, including ordered, grouped and aggregate queries.
Configure your own deployment
AutoConfig, deployment samples and documentation help you set up the server and router.
readings.sql
-- In a selected application database:
CREATE TABLE readings (
id INT PRIMARY KEY,
sensor TEXT, value INT
);
INSERT INTO readings VALUES (1, 'North', 24);
INSERT INTO readings VALUES (2, 'South', 18);
SELECT sensor, SUM(value) AS total
FROM readings
GROUP BY sensor
ORDER BY total DESC;Illustrative query output
| sensor | total |
|---|---|
| North | 24 |
| South | 18 |
transaction.sql
-- Uses the readings table from the SQL tab.
BEGIN;
UPDATE readings
SET value = value + 1
WHERE id = 1;
SELECT id, sensor, value
FROM readings
ORDER BY id;
COMMIT;Example context
Uses the readings table from the SQL query tab. Run in a selected application database. Use ROLLBACK; instead of COMMIT; to discard the transaction.
diagnostics.sql
-- Run with an authorized database login.
-- Inspect the server's diagnostic report.
SHOW DOCTOR;
-- Read the static legal license notice.
SHOW LICENSE;
-- No key, activation or licensing service.
-- Database access controls still apply.Informational, not activation
SHOW LICENSE reports the legal terms. It does not activate a machine or grant commercial rights. Database login and authorization still apply.
New in 5.2.20: no runtime activation component.
Understand the terms No license key, machine binding or licensing-service connection. Database authentication and security remain in place.
Clear licensing
Free to learn and share.
Licensed for business.
The same full-feature software, with usage rights that distinguish education and non-commercial open projects from commercial work.
Community & education
Build. Learn. Share.
For students, educators, non-commercial academic research and qualifying non-commercial open-source projects.
Freefor qualifying use
- All available features, including server, router and tools
- No registration, activation key or license expiry
- No license-imposed user, installation or data-size limits
- Run and host qualifying non-commercial open projects
The full license governs. Technical and resource limits still apply.
Commercial use
Put TigerDB to work.
For business systems, paid services, SaaS, consulting and commercial use of any first-party TigerDB component.
By written agreement
- Obtain a commercial license before commercial use
- Applies to server, router, clients, drivers and tools
- Deployment and redistribution terms agreed in writing
- Public source code does not exempt commercial use
Contact TigerDB Solutions Private Limited to discuss your use.
No activation is not the same as unrestricted commercial permission. TigerDB is source-available under a custom Community and Commercial License, not an unrestricted open-source license. Student status alone does not exempt commercial work. Third-party components retain their own license terms.
Read the complete TigerDB license · Version 1.0
TigerDB Community and Commercial License · 2026
TIGERDB COMMUNITY AND COMMERCIAL LICENSE
Version 1.0 — 2026
Copyright © 2026 TigerDB Solutions Private Limited,
Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India. All rights reserved.
IMPORTANT: This is a custom software license. By installing, copying,
using, modifying, or distributing the Software, you agree to its terms.
1. DEFINITIONS
1.1 “TigerDB” or “Software” means the TigerDB Database Server, TigerDB
Router, and all first-party components published or bundled with them by
TigerDB Solutions Private Limited, whether supplied together or separately.
This includes plain and encrypted editions, command-line and graphical
clients, drivers, libraries, administration and maintenance tools, repair
and recovery tools, backup and restore tools, AutoConfig, deployment and
setup utilities, source code, binaries, documentation, examples and assets.
Third-party components remain governed by their own licenses.
1.2 “Educational Use” means use by a school, college, university, teacher,
student, or academic researcher solely for teaching, learning, coursework,
laboratory work, classroom demonstration, or non-commercial academic
research.
1.3 “Open Project” means a software project whose complete corresponding
source code is publicly available under an open-source license. An Open
Project's source-publication requirement does not require public disclosure
of database contents, personal information, passwords, keys, or credentials.
TigerDB itself and modifications to TigerDB remain under this License.
1.4 “Commercial Use” means any use intended for direct or indirect
commercial advantage, monetary compensation, revenue generation, or
business operations. It includes, without limitation:
a. use in commercial or professional systems, including production,
development, test, staging, disaster-recovery, and internal business
systems;
b. development or delivery of paid software, services, subscriptions,
hosting, database-as-a-service, software-as-a-service, consulting,
support, commercial training, or contract work using any component;
c. sale, rental, licensing, sublicensing, or paid distribution of the
Software or any of its components, including modified versions; and
d. commercial use of an Open Project with TigerDB, whether the project
is distributed as source code or binary code.
A live non-commercial deployment permitted by Section 2 or 3 does not become
Commercial Use merely because it is described as a production deployment.
2. EDUCATIONAL LICENSE GRANT
Subject to this License, TigerDB Solutions Private Limited grants a
royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use, install,
copy, study, run, and modify the Software for Educational Use.
Schools and colleges may install all Software components in classrooms,
laboratories and student systems and may distribute copies to students and
teaching staff for Educational Use, together with this License and notices.
The grant covers all available features of the Software. There is no license
fee, registration, activation key, expiry date, license-server connection,
or license-imposed limit on users, installations, processors, databases,
connections, storage capacity, queries, or duration of qualifying use.
Ordinary technical, security, resource-management and hardware limits remain.
This grant does not cover institutional administration systems, paid
commercial training, consulting, commercial research, or business use.
Student or academic status alone does not exempt Commercial Use.
3. OPEN PROJECT LICENSE GRANT
Subject to this License, the Software and all its components may be used
without a license fee to develop, test, build, run, deploy, host, demonstrate,
and distribute an Open Project, provided that:
a. the use of the Software and the Open Project is non-commercial;
b. the complete corresponding source of the Open Project is public;
c. this License and all TigerDB copyright and attribution notices are
preserved in copies and permitted distributions of TigerDB; and
d. any modified version of TigerDB is clearly identified as modified,
and remains subject to this License.
The full-feature, no-activation and no-license-imposed-limit provisions in
Section 2 apply equally to qualifying Open Project use. Redistribution of
TigerDB components, including permitted modifications, is authorized for
these uses; each recipient receives rights directly under this License.
For avoidance of doubt, public source code does not authorize Commercial
Use of TigerDB or any of its components. A commercial user of an Open Project
that uses TigerDB must obtain the written license described in Section 4.
4. COMMERCIAL LICENSE REQUIRED
The Software, or any individual component of it, may not be used for any
Commercial Use unless a separate written Commercial License has first been
obtained from TigerDB Solutions Private Limited.
This requirement applies to the Server, Router, bundled tools, clients,
drivers and libraries independently. Using only a Router, client, driver,
or utility does not create an exemption. Free access to the binaries or
source code, and the absence of technical license checks, do not grant
commercial rights.
A Commercial License may specify fees, permitted users, applications,
deployments, redistribution rights, support, maintenance, duration and other
commercial terms. No per-instance fee or numerical entitlement is imposed
by software activation; contractual commercial terms are agreed in writing.
Direct licensing requests to TigerDB Solutions Private Limited through the
licensing contact published on tigerdb.in. A Kokum license does not by itself
license TigerDB, or vice versa, unless the written agreement expressly says so.
5. APPLICATIONS, DATA AND REDISTRIBUTION
This License governs TigerDB and its components, not ownership of databases,
user data, or independently authored applications. Their respective owners
retain their rights. It does not require independently authored application
code to adopt this License. The free Open Project grant does require the
project source to be public as stated in Section 3.
Redistribution of the Software with an application is permitted only for a
use authorized by Sections 2 or 3 or by a separate Commercial License. Keep
this License and all applicable first-party and third-party notices with each
source or binary distribution. Recipients must independently qualify for
free use or hold an appropriate Commercial License for their use.
No permission to sell, lease, sublicense, or commercially host TigerDB or any
substantially equivalent modified version is granted without a separate
written agreement. Merely accessing data over the TigerDB protocol does not
transfer ownership of an application to TigerDB Solutions Private Limited.
6. COPYRIGHT AND ATTRIBUTION
All copies and permitted distributions must retain this notice:
Copyright © 2026 TigerDB Solutions Private Limited.
All rights reserved.
Existing copyright, attribution, trademark, license and third-party notices
must not be removed, hidden or altered. Identify modifications to TigerDB.
7. OWNERSHIP
TigerDB is licensed, not sold. TigerDB Solutions Private Limited retains all
right, title and interest in the Software, including intellectual-property
rights, except for rights in third-party components. No rights are granted
except those expressly stated in this License or a separate written license.
8. TRADEMARKS AND BRANDING
This License does not grant permission to use “TigerDB,” “TigerDB Router,”
“TigerDB Solutions Private Limited,” logos, domain names or other branding
except as reasonably necessary to identify the Software or retain notices.
Modified versions must not claim to be official releases or imply endorsement
without prior written permission.
9. RESTRICTIONS AND THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS
Except where expressly permitted by this License or a separate written
agreement, you may not use the Software commercially, remove required
notices, sublicense TigerDB, use it unlawfully, or use its branding in a
misleading manner.
Third-party software is not relicensed by this document. Its own license
terms, notices and permissions continue to apply. This custom community and
commercial license is not an unrestricted open-source license. The Open
Project grant does not permit relabeling TigerDB as MIT, Apache, GPL, or any
other license, or disregarding another component's licensing requirements.
10. TERMINATION
Your rights under this License terminate automatically if you breach a term.
Upon termination, stop using and distributing TigerDB and destroy unauthorized
copies of the Software. This does not require destruction of your own data.
Ownership, attribution, warranty, liability and governing-law provisions
survive termination. TigerDB Solutions Private Limited may separately permit
continued use after a breach through a written agreement.
11. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, TIGERDB IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND
“AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT,
ACCURACY, SECURITY, RELIABILITY OR AVAILABILITY. You are responsible for testing
the Software and applications using it before deployment and maintaining backups.
12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, TIGERDB SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED,
ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRIBUTORS AND LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR
INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES,
OR LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS, REVENUE, BUSINESS, REPUTATION OR SERVICE ARISING
FROM OR RELATED TO TIGERDB OR THIS LICENSE.
13. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION
This License is governed by the laws of India. Subject to applicable law,
the courts having jurisdiction in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India shall have
exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from or relating to this License.
14. ENTIRE LICENSE
This License is the complete agreement for free Educational Use and
non-commercial Open Project use of this distribution unless TigerDB Solutions
Private Limited and the licensee sign a separate written agreement. If any
provision is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in effect.
This License does not retrospectively alter rights already granted under
other licenses or written commercial agreements.
END OF LICENSE
A few useful answers
Before your
first deployment.
Start with the right package, understand the licensing and keep your existing data safe.
Talk to usWhat is included in the download?
The 5.2.20 package includes the server and router source, four rebuilt Linux x86-64 binaries for the plain and encrypted profiles, Python, Java, Go and Node.js drivers, AutoConfig, deployment samples, documentation and tests. The supplied executables are Linux builds, not Windows or macOS binaries, and require compatible system libraries.
Can I use TigerDB without paying a license fee?
Yes, for qualifying educational use and qualifying non-commercial open-source projects under the Community and Commercial License. Commercial use of any first-party component requires a separate written commercial license, including business development and test environments. See the complete license for definitions and conditions.
Do I need a license key or an internet activation?
No. Version 5.2.20 has no runtime license-key, machine-binding, activation or licensing-service requirement. Normal database login, authorization and initial password-change requirements remain. The lack of technical activation does not grant commercial usage rights.
How do the plain and encrypted builds differ?
The encrypted profile provides TLS transport and encrypted storage. The plain profile does not provide those encryption protections. Select the profile appropriate for your deployment, configure certificates correctly and preserve your storage-encryption keys.
What should I check before upgrading?
Back up and verify your data. Preserve existing configuration, TLS certificates and storage-encryption keys, and read docs/LICENSING_AND_MIGRATION.md in the package. Do not regenerate configuration over a production installation without review. Test the upgrade in your own environment before replacing a live system.
Does a Kokum license also cover TigerDB?
No, not automatically. TigerDB and Kokum use a similar educational, non-commercial open-project and commercial licensing model, but their grants are separate. An agreement covers both products only when it expressly says so.
Your next project starts here
Meet your next database.
TigerDB 5.2.20 · Linux x86-64 binaries, source and bundled tools.
Review the licensing terms before use.
Download TigerDBtigerdb.tar.gz