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Couchbase Architecture

Couchbase’s memory-first architecture delivers the speed, scale, SQL++, sync, and security that modern agentic AI applications need.

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Architected for performance, versatility, and scale

Couchbase’s memory-first architecture delivers low latency and high throughput through direct in-memory access to key-value, search, and eventing services. It supports flexible JSON, SQL++, vector search for AI apps and agents, linear scale, enterprise-grade security, more than a dozen SDKs, and deployment across cloud, self-managed, hybrid, edge, and air-gapped environments.

  • AI Data Plane

    AI-ready data layer for governed agent memory, real-time context, tools, traces, cache, and operational data.

  • Eventing

    Build user-defined functions, capture data changes, react to events, and stream data to and from external sources.

  • Cache, HA, and autosharding

    High performance and scalability, efficient and compact storage, auto-scale, and resource optimization in the cloud.

  • SQL++ query execution

    It’s as easy as SQL for JSON with schema, JOINS, and AI vectors.

  • High-performance indexing

    Collection indexes with hyperscale and composite vectors.

  • Key-value access

    Fast performance for real-time operational, and AI.

  • Full-text search

    Full-text, vector, and geo search in one platform.

  • Replication & mobile sync

    Global replication lowers latencies while synchronizing to Couchbase Lite.

Designed for versatility and speed

Data access patterns

Couchbase handles key-value, JSON, vector search, analytics and SQL.

Flexible architecture

Couchbase organizes semi and unstructured data using table-like scopes and collections.

Natural language or SQL

Developers can build powerful queries with built-in JOINs and transactions.

Customer case studies

  • “Quantic saves priceless developer time and has always-on mobile apps with Capella DBaaS.”

    50%

    reduction in query time

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  • “Sky keeps viewers happy with high performance and availability and cuts disaster recovery time from hours to minutes with Couchbase.”

    50%

    reduction in sign-in time

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  • “FICO is able to provide superior speed, scalability, and availability for the world’s #1 fraud detection platform.”

    <1ms

    response times

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  • “Viber gains the scalable performance to process up to 15 billion calling and messaging events per day for over 1B mobile users with Couchbase.”

    60%

    reduction in number of total servers

    Read More

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Architecture FAQ

Couchbase runs as a distributed cluster. Each node hosts multiple services – data, query, search – that scale independently. Query JSON with SQL++, or access from the built-in cache for low-ms speed.

No. Couchbase is a NoSQL operational database – a JSON document store with an integrated cache. It supports varied data structures and SQL-like querying, easing migration from relational databases.

Couchbase organizes JSON into buckets, scopes, and collections – plus native key-value, full-text, geospatial, and vector search. No separate cache, search cluster, or vector DB to run.

Couchbase scales horizontally by adding nodes, with data auto-shards across them via vBuckets. A triggered rebalance redistributes load across the cluster, and each service scales independently.

Couchbase unifies operational data and vector search in one engine, so AI works against live data, not a stale copy. No ETL required. Agent memory, semantic caching, and MCP support are built in.

Yes. Couchbase Lite embeds a full database on-device, opportunistically syncing over unreliable networks via Sync Gateway to cloud or peers. Apps keep working offline, then reconcile once reconnected.

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