maintenance. Rocicorp put Replicache in maintenance mode, open-sourced it and dropped licence fees; new projects are directed to Zero.
Overview
Replicache is a JavaScript framework that keeps a transactional key-value cache in the browser (persisted in IndexedDB) in sync with your own backend. Mutators run optimistically on the client and are replayed authoritatively on the server through push and pull endpoints you implement, which gives Linear-style instant UIs on any backend stack. Rocicorp has put it in maintenance mode: the code is open source, licence fees are gone, and the team's effort has moved to Zero. Existing users get fixes, but new projects should start with Zero.
Strengths & trade-offs
Strengths
- +Backend-agnostic: implement push and pull on any server and database
- +Optimistic mutators with server-authoritative rebase
- +Proven in production apps with millions of end users
Trade-offs
- −Maintenance mode; no new features
- −Key-value API means you build indexing and queries yourself
- −Server endpoints and conflict logic are entirely your job
Great for
- +Existing Replicache-based apps
- +Instant-feeling web UIs over a custom backend
Think twice for
- −New projects (use Zero)
- −Native mobile apps
Capabilities
Native or official first-party support · 3 of 25 tracked
Scale & consistency
- Comfortable data size
- Small · ≤ 100 GB
- Horizontal scaling
- None
- Multi-region
- No
- Transactions
- Full ACID
- Consistency
- Causal
- Schema
- Schemaless
- Architecture
- Embedded, Client server
- Query languages
- Key-range scans (JavaScript API)
Client cache sized for per-user data; server scale depends on your backend.
Deployment
Ecosystem
Alternatives to Replicache
Query-driven sync engine: clients run ZQL locally against a Postgres-backed cache for instant UIs.
replicache vs rocicorp-zero →Read-path sync engine that streams partial replicas of Postgres to clients over plain HTTP.
replicache vs electricsql →Sync engine that keeps on-device SQLite in sync with Postgres, MongoDB, MySQL or SQL Server.
replicache vs powersync →Realtime client-side database with relational queries, auth and permissions; cloud sunsets in 2027.
replicache vs instantdb →Reactive local-first NoSQL database for JavaScript with pluggable storage and replication.
replicache vs rxdb →The most popular IndexedDB wrapper, with live queries and an optional Dexie Cloud sync service.
replicache vs dexie →Replicache FAQ
What is Replicache?
Replicache is a key-value database by Rocicorp, first released in 2020. Replicache is a JavaScript framework that keeps a transactional key-value cache in the browser (persisted in IndexedDB) in sync with your own backend. Mutators run optimistically on the client and are replayed authoritatively on the server through push and pull endpoints you implement, which gives Linear-style instant UIs on any backend stack. Rocicorp has put it in maintenance mode: the code is open source, licence fees are gone, and the team's effort has moved to Zero. Existing users get fixes, but new projects should start with Zero.
Is Replicache open source?
Yes. Replicache is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.
Does Replicache support ACID transactions?
Yes. Replicache supports full ACID transactions, with causal consistency.
Does Replicache scale horizontally?
Replicache 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).
How can I run Replicache?
You can self-host it and embed it in your application.
What is Replicache best for?
Replicache is a strong fit for existing Replicache-based apps and instant-feeling web UIs over a custom backend. Think twice for new projects (use Zero).
What are the best alternatives to Replicache?
Common alternatives to Replicache include Zero (Rocicorp), ElectricSQL, PowerSync, InstantDB and RxDB. The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.
Is Replicache still maintained?
Replicache is in maintenance mode. Rocicorp put Replicache in maintenance mode, open-sourced it and dropped licence fees; new projects are directed to Zero.
How popular is Replicache?
Replicache ranks #381 of 844 databases on the WhichDB Score (5.6/100), and #55 among key-value databases. The score combines public adoption signals such as package downloads, GitHub activity, job posts and developer discussion.