{"data":{"slug":"etcd","name":"etcd","tagline":"Apache-2.0 Raft key-value store underneath Kubernetes","category":"databases","categoryName":"Databases","url":"https://etcd.io","github":"https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd","pricing":"open-source","hook":"etcd is a distributed key-value store for the small pieces of data a distributed system cannot afford to lose or disagree about — configuration, service discovery, locks and leader election — and it is the datastore every Kubernetes cluster keeps its state in.","whatsGood":"Apache-2.0 (etcd-io/etcd), a graduated CNCF project, release v3.7.2, in development since 2013. It uses Raft to keep a replicated log consistent across nodes, exposes a gRPC API with watches, leases and transactions, and ships automatic TLS with optional client certificates. etcdctl is the command-line client, and the raft library is usable on its own in Go. ★~52.4k.","theCatch":"It is built for small, strongly consistent data, not as a message queue, cache or bulk store: values and total database size are meant to stay small, and every write goes through consensus. Production means running a cluster of three or five nodes on fast disks and handling backups, compaction and defragmentation yourself. For an app database, use Postgres; reach for etcd when you need coordination.","verdict":"The proven store for cluster coordination and config — keep it small and run it as a proper cluster.","addedAt":"2026-10-18","featured":false,"domain":"Databases","subSpecialty":"Key-Value","subcategory":"Key-Value & Cache","tags":["self-host","permissive","kubernetes","active"],"capabilities":["raft","consensus","kubernetes"],"surfaces":["Self-host"],"ecosystem":["Go"],"licenseModel":"Apache-2.0","githubStars":52398,"starsPerWeek":76,"access":"free","archived":false,"repo":{"createdAt":"2013-07-06","pushedAt":"2026-10-18","license":"Apache-2.0","archived":false,"checkedAt":"2026-10-19"}},"related":[{"slug":"supabase","name":"Supabase","tagline":"Open-source Firebase alternative built on Postgres"},{"slug":"turso","name":"Turso","tagline":"SQLite at the edge with libSQL"},{"slug":"redis","name":"Redis","tagline":"The in-memory data store everyone uses"},{"slug":"upstash","name":"Upstash","tagline":"Serverless Redis and Kafka"},{"slug":"pinecone","name":"Pinecone","tagline":"Vector database for AI applications"}],"links":{"self":"/api/gems/etcd","html":"/gems/etcd","markdown":"/gems/etcd.md","category":"/api/gems?category=databases","categoryPage":"/stacks/databases"}}