Dexie.js is a wrapper library for indexedDB - the standard database in the browser. https://dexie.org.
Why Dexie.js?
IndexedDB is the portable database for all browser engines. Dexie.js makes it fun and easy to work with.
But also:
Dexie.js is widely used by 100,000 of web sites, apps and other projects and supports all browsers, Electron for Desktop apps, Capacitor for iOS / Android apps and of course pure PWAs.
Dexie.js works around bugs in the IndexedDB implementations, giving a more stable user experience.
Need sync? Dexie Cloud adds real-time sync, auth, and collaboration on top of Dexie.js — no backend needed.
Hello World (vanilla JS)
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script type="module">
// Import Dexie
import { Dexie } from 'https://unpkg.com/dexie/dist/modern/dexie.mjs';
//
// Declare Database
//
const db = new Dexie('FriendDatabase');
db.version(1).stores({
friends: '++id, age'
});
//
// Play with it
//
try {
await db.friends.add({ name: 'Alice', age: 21 });
const youngFriends = await db.friends
.where('age')
.below(30)
.toArray();
alert(`My young friends: ${JSON.stringify(youngFriends)}`);
} catch (e) {
alert(`Oops: ${e}`);
}
</script>
</head>
</html>
Yes, it's that simple. Read the docs to get into the details.
Hello World (legacy script tags)
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/dexie/dist/dexie.js"></script>
<script>
//
// Declare Database
//
const db = new Dexie('FriendDatabase');
db.version(1).stores({
friends: '++id, age'
});
//
// Play with it
//
db.friends.add({ name: 'Alice', age: 21 }).then(() => {
return db.friends
.where('age')
.below(30)
.toArray();
}).then(youngFriends => {
alert (`My young friends: ${JSON.stringify(youngFriends)}`);
}).catch (e => {
alert(`Oops: ${e}`);
});
</script>
</head>
</html>
Hello World (React + Typescript)
Real-world apps are often built using components in various frameworks. Here's a version of Hello World written for React and Typescript. There are also links below this sample to more tutorials for different frameworks...
import React from 'react';
import { Dexie, type EntityTable } from 'dexie';
import { useLiveQuery } from 'dexie-react-hooks';
// Typing for your entities (hint is to move this to its own module)
export interface Friend {
id: number;
name: string;
age: number;
}
// Database declaration (move this to its own module also)
export const db = new Dexie('FriendDatabase') as Dexie & {
friends: EntityTable<Friend, 'id'>;
};
db.version(1).stores({
friends: '++id, age',
});
// Component:
export function MyDexieReactComponent() {
const youngFriends = useLiveQuery(() =>
db.friends
.where('age')
.below(30)
.toArray()
);
return (
<>
<h3>My young friends</h3>
<ul>
{youngFriends?.map((f) => (
<li key={f.id}>
Name: {f.name}, Age: {f.age}
</li>
))}
</ul>
<button
onClick={() => {
db.friends.add({ name: 'Alice', age: 21 });
}}
>
Add another friend
</button>
</>
);
}
Dexie has kick-ass performance. Its bulk methods take advantage of a lesser-known feature in IndexedDB that makes it possible to store stuff without listening to every onsuccess event. This speeds up the performance to a maximum.
Dexie Cloud is the easiest way to add sync, authentication, and real-time collaboration to your Dexie app. You keep writing frontend code with Dexie.js — Dexie Cloud handles the rest.
What you get:
🔄 Sync across devices — changes propagate in real time, no polling needed
🔐 Authentication — built-in user auth, no identity provider required
🛡️ Access control — share data between users with fine-grained permissions
📁 File & blob storage — store attachments alongside your structured data
✈️ Offline-first — works fully offline, syncs when back online
Getting started is just a few lines:
npm install dexie-cloud-addon
import Dexie from 'dexie';
import dexieCloud from 'dexie-cloud-addon';
const db = new Dexie('MyDatabase', { addons: [dexieCloud] });
db.version(1).stores({ items: '@id, title' });
db.cloud.configure({ databaseUrl: 'https://<your-db>.dexie.cloud' });
That's it. Your existing Dexie app now syncs. Hosted cloud or self-hosted on your own infrastructure. 👋
