ElectricSQL
Local-first sync engine that continuously syncs data from Postgres to local SQLite/PGlite databases via a Shape API. Enables offline-capable applications where the local database is always available and syncs to Postgres in the background. Part of a new category of 'local-first' databases.
Score Breakdown
⚙ Agent Friendliness
🔒 Security
Self-hosted deployments manage their own TLS. Auth is delegated to user's proxy layer — security depends on implementation quality. Open source enables security auditing.
⚡ Reliability
Best When
You're building agent systems that need offline capability, edge deployment, or sub-millisecond local data access with eventual consistency to Postgres.
Avoid When
You don't need local data replication or offline capability — direct Postgres connections are simpler and have stronger consistency.
Use Cases
- • Sync a filtered subset of Postgres data to agent local storage for offline-capable agent workflows that run without constant server connectivity
- • Build edge agent deployments where each agent instance has a local replica of relevant data synchronized from central Postgres
- • Implement read-local, write-remote patterns where agents query local SQLite for low-latency reads and write changes back to Postgres
- • Power collaborative multi-agent systems where shared data syncs to all agent instances via Electric's reactive sync protocol
- • Cache Postgres table subsets at the edge (CDN, Cloudflare Workers, Deno Deploy) for agent data access without direct DB connections
Not For
- • Applications that need traditional server-side-only databases with no client replication — use Postgres directly
- • Workloads with write-heavy patterns from many concurrent clients — Electric's sync model is optimized for read-heavy, write-occasional use cases
- • Non-Postgres databases — Electric requires Postgres as the source of truth
Interface
Authentication
Electric uses a proxy model where auth is handled by your own middleware. The Shape API can be called without auth (for development) or with custom auth headers validated by your proxy. No built-in centralized auth service.
Pricing
Electric is MIT-licensed open source. Self-hosting requires a Postgres database. Electric Cloud (managed service) is in early access with pricing TBD.
Agent Metadata
Known Gotchas
- ⚠ Electric syncs 'shapes' (filtered subsets of Postgres tables via WHERE clauses) — agents must define shape queries carefully to avoid syncing more data than needed
- ⚠ Writes go back to Postgres via standard Postgres connections — Electric does not provide a write API; agents need a separate Postgres write path
- ⚠ Initial sync ('snapshot') of a large table can take significant time and bandwidth — agents should design small, focused shapes rather than syncing entire large tables
- ⚠ Electric requires Postgres logical replication enabled with wal_level=logical — this setting may require Postgres restart and special permissions on managed Postgres services
- ⚠ SSE stream connections must be maintained — agents need to handle reconnection on network interruption and resume from last offset to avoid data gaps
- ⚠ Schema changes to synced tables may require shape re-subscription — agents should monitor for schema change events
Alternatives
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Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-03-06.