---
id: kuzu
version: "0.11.3"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# kuzu — Highly scalable, extremely fast, easy-to-use embeddable graph database

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 436.4K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Kuzu is an embedded graph database designed to run inside your application without a separate server. It stores data as property graphs (nodes and edges with attributes) and queries them using Cypher, a declarative graph query language. The database is optimized for analytical workloads on large graphs, offering features like full-text search, vector indices for similarity queries, and ACID transactions. It uses columnar storage and specialized join algorithms to achieve fast query execution across multiple CPU cores.

The package provides a Python binding to the Kuzu engine. You embed it directly in your application, point it to a local data directory, and issue Cypher queries programmatically. As of version 0.11.3, four commonly used extensions (algo, fts, json, vector) are pre-installed; earlier versions or additional extensions require setting up a local extension server. The project is now archived, meaning the maintainers have moved to a new initiative, but existing code using prior releases continues to work without modification.

Use it for:

- Build a recommendation engine by storing user-product relationships and querying graph patterns to find similar users or products.
- Analyze knowledge graphs or ontologies embedded in your application without deploying a separate database service.
- Perform full-text and vector similarity search on documents or embeddings stored as graph nodes.
- Run complex analytical queries on social networks, supply chains, or other highly connected datasets within a single process.
- Prototype graph-based features in a Python application before migrating to a production graph database.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Kuzu is an embedded graph database that executes Cypher queries on property graphs, supporting full-text search and vector indices without requiring a separate server process.

Yes, if you need an embedded graph database for analytical workloads and can accept that the project is archived. The MIT license, zero runtime dependencies, and broad platform support make it low-friction to try. However, be aware that the maintainers are no longer actively developing new features—use it for stable, well-tested workloads, not for cutting-edge functionality or if you require ongoing vendor support.

## Install

pip install kuzu
uv add kuzu
poetry add kuzu

## Installing kuzu

Before you install: Medium install friction due to compiled wheels across multiple Python versions and platforms. The project is archived as of the latest release; prior versions remain usable but the maintainers are no longer actively developing new features.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive, allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions—suitable for most use cases without legal concern.

Quickstart:

import kuzu

db = kuzu.Database(':memory:')
conn = db.get_connection()
result = conn.execute('MATCH (n) RETURN COUNT(n) AS count')
for row in result.get_as_df().itertuples():
    print(row)

Requires a compatible Python version and matching platform wheel; no external runtime dependencies, but the database engine is compiled C++.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the archived status affects long-term bug fixes or security patches for existing deployments
- Compatibility of pre-installed extensions (algo, fts, json, vector) with all use cases in v0.11.3
- Performance characteristics on specific graph sizes or query patterns

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 436.4K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

embedded graph database, cypher query engine, property graph storage, graph database python, vector index search, full text search graph, analytical graph queries, graph-database, embedded, cypher-query

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