Welcome to τ (tau)

τ is a high-performance, embeddable temporal database engineered from the ground up to make working with time-series data intuitive, efficient, and safe.

It is built in Zig and designed for performance-critical systems that need to reason about data as it changes over time.

Why τ?

The name comes from the Greek letter τ (tau), often used in physics to represent time constants or intervals. Our database treats time as a first-class citizen.

The Core Primitives

τ's power comes from a set of four simple, composable primitives:

Tau (τ): An immutable delta representing a value valid for an explicit time range.
Schedule: A chronologically ordered collection of related Taus, forming a single timeline.
Frame: A container that groups multiple schedules together, representing a complete, multi-faceted state.
Lens: A powerful, zero-copy transformation that acts as a virtual view or a real-time data migration.

This unique, event-sourced architecture allows you to query not just the current state, but the entire history of your data with ease.

Quick Start

Get up and running with τ in just a few steps.

1. Install τ

Follow the Installation Guide to build τ from source using Zig.

Terminal

1git clone https://github.com/tau-db/tau.git
2cd tau
3zig build

2. Run the Server

Start the τ server in one terminal. It will listen for clients on 127.0.0.1:7828.

Terminal

1zig build run-server

3. Use the REPL

In a new terminal, connect to the server using the REPL client and start sending commands.

REPL

1# Start the REPL
2zig build run-repl
3
4# Connect to the server
5τ> .connect
6Connected to 127.0.0.1:7828
7
8# Create a schedule and add data
9τ> create_schedule my_sensor
10OK
11τ> append my_sensor 42.0 1000 2000
12OK

Next Steps

Dive deeper into the world of τ:

Getting Started Guide

A full, step-by-step walkthrough of installing and using τ for the first time.

Core Concepts

Learn about the fundamental primitives that make τ unique: Tau, Schedule, Frame, and Lens.

API Command Reference

A detailed reference for all available database commands.

Configuration Guides

Learn how to configure storage backends and other server settings.