Jazz
activeby Garden Computing, Inc. · since 2023 · also known as Jazz Tools, jazz.tools, Classic Jazz
Local-first database with built-in sync, permissions and edit history, being rebuilt as a relational Jazz 2.
Overview
Jazz, from Garden Computing, is a local-first framework where data lives in collaborative values synced between clients, servers and Jazz Cloud, with groups-based permissions, end-to-end encryption and full edit history built in. The production line (classic Jazz, jazz-tools 0.x) models data as CRDT-backed CoValues. Jazz 2, in alpha through 2026, redesigns it as a relational database with tables, row-level security, branches and migrations that run in the browser, React Native and backends. It is a good fit for collaborative apps that want sync and auth without a custom backend. Expect API churn during the transition.
Strengths & trade-offs
Strengths
- +Sync, permissions and end-to-end encryption are part of the data model
- +Full edit history on every value
- +Works offline and across devices with CRDT-style merging
- +Self-hostable sync server plus a managed cloud
Trade-offs
- −Jazz 2 rewrite means the stable API is about to change
- −Small ecosystem; TypeScript-only
- −CRDT semantics make strict invariants harder to enforce
Great for
- +Collaborative editors and whiteboards
- +Multi-device personal productivity apps
- +Apps needing end-to-end encrypted sync
Think twice for
- −Systems needing strong global constraints (inventory, payments)
- −Teams wanting a stable long-term API today
- −Analytics and reporting
Capabilities
Native or official first-party support · 5 of 25 tracked
Scale & consistency
- Comfortable data size
- Small · ≤ 100 GB
- Horizontal scaling
- None
- Multi-region
- Active active
- Transactions
- Limited ACID
- Consistency
- Eventual, Causal
- Schema
- Strict
- Architecture
- Distributed, Embedded
- Query languages
- Jazz TypeScript schema/query API
Any peer can write; data converges through sync servers or Jazz Cloud.
Deployment
Ecosystem
Alternatives to Jazz
Realtime client-side database with relational queries, auth and permissions; cloud sunsets in 2027.
jazz vs instantdb →Full-stack syncing database for TypeScript apps; development has stalled since 2025.
jazz vs triplit →Local-first TypeScript platform: SQLite on each device, end-to-end encrypted sync through relays.
jazz vs evolu →Tiny reactive in-memory store for tables and values, with persisters and CRDT sync.
jazz vs tinybase →Query-driven sync engine: clients run ZQL locally against a Postgres-backed cache for instant UIs.
jazz vs rocicorp-zero →Reactive TypeScript backend with a transactional document database, server functions and live queries.
jazz vs convex →Jazz FAQ
What is Jazz?
Jazz is a document database by Garden Computing, Inc., first released in 2023. Jazz, from Garden Computing, is a local-first framework where data lives in collaborative values synced between clients, servers and Jazz Cloud, with groups-based permissions, end-to-end encryption and full edit history built in. The production line (classic Jazz, jazz-tools 0.x) models data as CRDT-backed CoValues. Jazz 2, in alpha through 2026, redesigns it as a relational database with tables, row-level security, branches and migrations that run in the browser, React Native and backends. It is a good fit for collaborative apps that want sync and auth without a custom backend. Expect API churn during the transition.
Is Jazz open source?
Yes. Jazz is open source. License: MIT License.
Does Jazz support ACID transactions?
Partly. Jazz offers limited ACID guarantees (for example, single-record or single-partition transactions), with eventual, causal consistency.
Does Jazz scale horizontally?
Jazz does not scale horizontally; it runs on a single node, so you scale it up rather than out. It is comfortable at small scale (≤ 100 GB). It supports active-active multi-region writes.
How can I run Jazz?
You can self-host it, embed it in your application and use the vendor's managed cloud.
What is Jazz best for?
Jazz is a strong fit for collaborative editors and whiteboards; multi-device personal productivity apps; and apps needing end-to-end encrypted sync. Think twice for systems needing strong global constraints (inventory, payments).
What are the best alternatives to Jazz?
Common alternatives to Jazz include InstantDB, Triplit, Evolu, TinyBase and Zero (Rocicorp). The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.
How popular is Jazz?
Jazz ranks #238 of 844 databases on the WhichDB Score (14.2/100), and #25 among document databases. The score combines public adoption signals such as package downloads, GitHub activity, job posts and developer discussion.