Gel | Postgres Unchained | WarmIndex

Gel (formerly EdgeDB) is an open-source graph-relational database built on Postgres, designed to supercharge relational databases with modern data modeling, graph queries, integrated auth, AI capabilities, and seamless developer workflows.

🚀 Overview

Gel reimagines the relational database experience by combining the reliability of Postgres with graph-relational modeling, eliminating common pain points like N+1 queries, complex JOINs, tedious migrations, and fragmented tooling. It introduces EdgeQL, a powerful query language that returns structured objects, and a declarative schema system that ensures type safety end-to-end.

This project solves the problem of traditional RDBMS struggling with complex relationships and modern app needs, providing graph queries without a separate graph DB, built-in auth/AI, and zero-config local dev/cloud deploys. It's built for developers and teams crafting scalable, type-safe applications who want Postgres power with contemporary features.

Originally created as EdgeDB to deliver a "10x ORM" experience, Gel evolved with community input, joined Vercel for better integration, and continues to push Postgres forward as the future of databases.

✨ Key Features

Graph-relational queries with EdgeQL: Traverse links without JOINs, composable hierarchical selects/inserts/updates, no NULLs, SQL compatibility.
High-level declarative schema: Object types/links/mixins, auto migrations, access policies, polymorphism.
End-to-end type safety: Typed schema, query codegen, TS/Python builders, resilient clients.
Integrated Auth & AI: OAuth/email/passkeys/magic links; vector embeddings/RAG with OpenAI/Anthropic.
Dev tools: CLI (npx gel init), branches for previews, UI console, Vercel/GitHub integration.
Optional: Upcoming multi-region cloud, advanced branching.

🛠 Tech Stack

Backend: Postgres, Python (88%), Rust, EdgeQL/SQL compilers, Cython.
Clients: TypeScript, Python, Go, Dart, Rust, .NET, Java.
CLI/UI: Node.js/JavaScript.
Database: Postgres (exportable).
Auth: Built-in extensions.
Hosting: Self-hosted, Gel Cloud (AWS, Vercel-integrated).

👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

Developers who want graph-relational power on Postgres without complexity.
Teams looking for type-safe, production-ready DB with auth/AI out-of-box.
Indie makers building full-stack apps with instant local setup and cloud previews.

📸 Screenshots / Demo

Live demo: Try Gel Cloud free tier or npx gel project init for local.
GitHub: https://github.com/geldata/gel

🔥 Project Status

🟢 Actively building

Last updated: 2026-03-24

❓ FAQ

Is this project free?

Freemium — Fully open source for self-hosting; Gel Cloud offers free tier + paid plans (basic ~$39/mo, enterprise custom). (Explain briefly.)

Is the source code available?

Yes — https://github.com/geldata/gel (Apache 2.0, 14k+ stars).

Can I contribute?

Yes — PRs welcome! Build from source via guide, file issues/discussions on GitHub, join Discord community.

📬 Contact & Links

Built with ❤️ and kept warm on WarmIndex.

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