Story

I built *snkvDB* — a single-header, ACID-compliant key-value store with zero setup.

https://github.com/hash-anu/snkv

### Why I built this

I wanted something as simple as a hashmap, but:

* persistent * crash-safe * no external dependencies * easy to drop into any C/C++ project

Most KV stores are either:

* too heavy (servers, background processes), or * too low-level (you manage everything)

snkvDB tries to sit in between.

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### What it is

* Single-header KV store (just include and use) * ACID compliant (thanks to SQLite) * No server, no config, no build system required * Works like a simple embedded database

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### Under the hood

snkvDB is built on SQLite’s storage engine (B-Tree backend), so you get:

* durability * transactions * mature, battle-tested storage

But the API is simplified to a minimal KV interface.

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### When to use it

* Embedding storage in CLI tools or small apps * Replacing ad-hoc file storage * Lightweight persistence without running a DB server

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### Benchmarks

I’ve compared it with RocksDB and LMDB here: https://github.com/hash-anu/snkv

TL;DR:

* Faster than RocksDB for small/medium workloads * Easier to use than LMDB * Balanced read/write performance

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### Trade-offs

* Not for write-heavy, high-throughput workloads (RocksDB is better there) * LMDB can be faster for pure reads * This prioritizes simplicity + safety over raw performance

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Would love feedback, especially on:

* API design * performance * real-world use cases