Download Absolute DB

One-line installer Recommended

The installer detects your OS, installs build dependencies, clones the repo, runs make all (2,737 tests), and optionally sets up a systemd service - in one command.

bash - Linux / macOS / WSL — quick install

curl -fsSL https://downloads.absolutedb.com/install.sh | bash

The script is open source — read it before running. Checksum: install.sh.sha256. To skip the systemd service: bash -s -- --no-service

🔒 Production / security-conscious install — download, verify checksum, then run ▶

Recommended when installing on production servers, regulated environments (HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2), or any system where you need an audit trail showing the install script was reviewed and verified before execution.

bash — download, verify SHA-256, then run

# Step 1: Download the installer script
curl -fsSL https://downloads.absolutedb.com/install.sh -o /tmp/absdb-install.sh

# Step 2: Verify the SHA-256 checksum (compare to https://downloads.absolutedb.com/install.sh.sha256)
curl -fsSL https://downloads.absolutedb.com/install.sh.sha256 \
  | sed 's|install.sh|/tmp/absdb-install.sh|' \
  | sha256sum -c
# Expected output: /tmp/absdb-install.sh: OK

# Step 3: Review the script (optional but recommended)
less /tmp/absdb-install.sh

# Step 4: Run it
bash /tmp/absdb-install.sh

bash — non-interactive / CI install with preset

# CI environments, Ansible, or automated provisioning:
curl -fsSL https://downloads.absolutedb.com/install.sh -o /tmp/absdb-install.sh
curl -fsSL https://downloads.absolutedb.com/install.sh.sha256 \
  | sed 's|install.sh|/tmp/absdb-install.sh|' \
  | sha256sum -c
bash /tmp/absdb-install.sh --preset=minimal --no-service

Available presets: minimal (PG wire + REST only) · webapp (+Redis, GraphQL, WebSocket) · microservices (+gRPC, Prometheus) · enterprise (all protocols). Default: minimal.

What the installer does: detects Ubuntu/Debian or RHEL/CentOS/Fedora/macOS → installs compiler toolchain → downloads Absolute DB source → runs make all (2,737 tests) → runs the Adaptive Protocol Manager wizard (choose which ports to expose) → installs binaries to /usr/local/bin → writes /etc/absdb/absdb.conf → optionally registers a systemd (or LaunchAgent on macOS) service.

Build from source

Full control. Pure C11 - no build system magic, just make all. Expand your OS below for the exact commands.

🐧 Ubuntu 20.04+ & Debian 11+ ▶

bash - Ubuntu / Debian

# 1. Install build tools
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git gcc make build-essential

# 2. Clone the repository
curl -fsSL https://downloads.absolutedb.com/install.sh | bash
# Or download the source tarball:
curl -LO https://absolutedb.com/absdb-latest.tar.gz && tar xzf absdb-latest.tar.gz
cd AbsoluteDB

# 3. Build and run all 2,737 tests (~7 seconds)
make all

# 4. Run the interactive CLI
./build/absdb              # in-memory mode
./build/absdb mydb.db      # file-backed mode

# 5. Start the server (PostgreSQL wire :5433 + REST API :8080)
./build/absdb-server

# 6. Verify
curl http://localhost:8080/health
psql -h localhost -p 5433 -U $(whoami)

To install system-wide: sudo install -m 755 build/absdb build/absdb-server /usr/local/bin/

🎩 RHEL / CentOS / AlmaLinux / Rocky / Fedora ▶

bash - RHEL / CentOS / Fedora (yum or dnf)

# 1. Install build tools (Fedora uses dnf; RHEL/CentOS uses yum)
sudo dnf groupinstall -y "Development Tools"   # or: sudo yum groupinstall ...
sudo dnf install -y git curl

# 2. Clone the repository
curl -fsSL https://downloads.absolutedb.com/install.sh | bash
# Or download the source tarball:
curl -LO https://absolutedb.com/absdb-latest.tar.gz && tar xzf absdb-latest.tar.gz
cd AbsoluteDB

# 3. Build and run all 2,737 tests
make all

# 4. Run the interactive CLI
./build/absdb

# 5. Start the server
./build/absdb-server

# 6. Install system-wide (optional)
sudo install -m 755 build/absdb build/absdb-server /usr/local/bin/

# 7. Open firewall ports (if firewalld is active)
sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=5433/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=8080/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

macOS (Ventura 13+ - Apple Silicon & Intel) ▶

bash - macOS

# 1. Install Xcode command-line tools (gcc, make, clang)
xcode-select --install
# A dialog will appear - click Install. Wait for it to finish, then continue.

# 2. Ensure git is available (optional: use Homebrew git)
brew install git        # only needed if Xcode git is too old

# 3. Clone the repository
curl -fsSL https://downloads.absolutedb.com/install.sh | bash
# Or download the source tarball:
curl -LO https://absolutedb.com/absdb-latest.tar.gz && tar xzf absdb-latest.tar.gz
cd AbsoluteDB

# 4. Build and run all 2,737 tests (~7 seconds)
make all

# 5. Run the interactive CLI
./build/absdb

# 6. Start the server
./build/absdb-server

# 7. Install system-wide (optional)
sudo install -m 755 build/absdb build/absdb-server /usr/local/bin/

macOS service: the one-line installer sets up a LaunchAgent at ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.absdb.server.plist for auto-start on login.

🪟 Windows 10/11 via WSL 2 ▶

PowerShell (Administrator) - enable WSL 2 with Ubuntu

# Run in PowerShell as Administrator:
wsl --install
# This installs WSL 2 and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
# Reboot if prompted, then open the Ubuntu app from the Start menu.

bash - inside the Ubuntu WSL terminal

# 1. Install build tools
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git gcc make build-essential

# 2. Clone and build
curl -fsSL https://downloads.absolutedb.com/install.sh | bash
# Or download the source tarball:
curl -LO https://absolutedb.com/absdb-latest.tar.gz && tar xzf absdb-latest.tar.gz
cd AbsoluteDB
make all

# 3. Run
./build/absdb              # interactive CLI
./build/absdb-server       # server mode

# 4. Connect from Windows (psql, DBeaver, pgAdmin):
#    Host: localhost   Port: 5433   User: admin

Tip: WSL 2 ports are automatically forwarded to Windows. Connect with any PostgreSQL client at localhost:5433 or use the REST API at http://localhost:8080/health.

Docker

Pull the official image or build from the source package. Zero additional configuration needed.

bash - Docker — quick start

# Pull the official image
docker pull absolutedb/absdb:latest

# Run — PostgreSQL wire on :5433, REST API on :8080
docker run -d \
  --name absdb \
  -p 5433:5433 \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -v absdb-data:/var/lib/absdb \
  absolutedb/absdb:latest

🔒 Production — pin to an immutable image digest ▶

Pinning to a digest prevents mutable tags (:latest, :<version>) from silently updating. Required for SOC 2 / PCI-DSS container audits. Get the current digest from Docker Hub → absolutedb/absdb → Tags.

bash — verify and pin to digest

# Pull and inspect the digest
docker pull absolutedb/absdb:latest
docker inspect --format='{{index .RepoDigests 0}}' absolutedb/absdb:latest
# Outputs: absolutedb/absdb@sha256:<digest>

# Pin in docker-compose.yml or Kubernetes manifests using the digest:
# image: absolutedb/absdb@sha256:<digest>

# Verify image signature (if cosign is installed):
cosign verify absolutedb/absdb:latest \
  --certificate-identity=ci@absolutedb.com \
  --certificate-oidc-issuer=https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com

bash - useful Docker commands

# Verify it's running
docker ps
curl http://localhost:8080/health

# Connect with psql
psql -h localhost -p 5433 -U $(whoami)

# Interactive CLI inside the container
docker exec -it absdb absdb

# View logs
docker logs -f absdb

# Stop / start
docker stop absdb
docker start absdb

bash - Docker with licence key (Professional / Enterprise)

docker run -d \
  --name absdb \
  -p 5433:5433 \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -v absdb-data:/var/lib/absdb \
  -e ADB_LICENSE_KEY=PRO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX \
  absdb

After install

Verify your installation

Run these checks to confirm Absolute DB is installed correctly and the server is accepting connections.

HTTP health endpoint

bash

curl http://localhost:8080/health

Expected response:

json

{"healthy":true,"version":"","status":"running"}

Connect with psql

bash

psql -h localhost -p 5433 -U $(whoami)

Expected prompt:

psql output

psql (14.x, server x.x.x)
Type "help" for help.

admin=#

CLI version check

bash

absdb --version

Expected output:

output

Absolute DB (C11, zero deps, ~154 KB)

REST API

Health check

curl http://localhost:8080/health

Returns: {"healthy":true,"version":"","status":"running"}. Use POST /sql to execute SQL via HTTP.

Professional & Enterprise

Activating your licence key

The same binary ships for all editions. Your licence key unlocks Professional or Enterprise features at runtime - no recompile needed.

Key format: PRO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX (Professional) or ENT-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX (Enterprise). Keys are emailed after purchase at contact us.

CLI flag Method 1

bash

absdb-server --license PRO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Use for quick testing or one-off server starts. Not recommended for production (key appears in process list).

Environment variable Method 2

bash

export ADB_LICENSE_KEY=PRO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
absdb-server

Best for shell sessions and CI/CD pipelines. Store in your secrets manager, not in plain .env files.

systemd service Method 3

/etc/systemd/system/absdb.service

[Service]
Environment="ADB_LICENSE_KEY=PRO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX"
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/absdb-server -c /etc/absdb/absdb.conf

bash - apply changes

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart absdb

Docker Method 4

bash

docker run -d \
  -e ADB_LICENSE_KEY=PRO-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX \
  -p 5433:5433 -p 8080:8080 \
  --name absdb absdb

Use Docker secrets or a --env-file for production deployments to keep the key out of shell history.

Verify licence activation

bash

curl http://localhost:8080/health

A licensed server includes the active edition in the JSON response:

json - Professional edition

{"healthy":true,"version":"","status":"running","edition":"professional"}

Without a key the edition is "community". Contact contact us to purchase.

Install in 30 seconds

One-line installer Recommended

Build from source

Integration Plugins 9 first-party plugins — all SHIPPED

Docker

Platform-specific installer scripts

Verify your installation

HTTP health endpoint

Connect with psql

CLI version check

REST API

Activating your licence key

CLI flag Method 1

Environment variable Method 2

systemd service Method 3

Docker Method 4

Verify licence activation

Questions about installation?