Getting Started

Anvil is a graph database written in Rust combining a property graph, native document store, and row-level security into a single binary.

Installation

# Download and install
curl -fsSL https://anvildb.com/install.sh | sh

Quick Start

# Start the server (daemonizes by default)
anvil start

# Or run in foreground for development
anvil start --foreground

# Check status
anvil status

# Stop the server
anvil stop

# Then open Hammer (the desktop app) and point it at http://localhost:7474

# Default login: admin / anvil

The server runs on port 7474 (HTTP API) and 7687 (Bolt protocol). Hammer is a desktop app for macOS and Windows, downloaded from anvildb.com; connect it to the server's HTTP address.

Import Sample Data

Import the built-in sample dataset (8 people, 3 companies, 3 projects, 5 skills - 19 nodes, 51 relationships) to get started quickly.

anvil import --sample

Your First Query

-- Find engineers and their friends
MATCH (p:Person:Engineer)-[r:FRIEND]->(friend)
RETURN p.name, collect(friend.name) AS friends

-- Skills per company
MATCH (p:Person)-[:WORKS_AT]->(c:Company),
      (p)-[:HAS_SKILL]->(s:Skill)
RETURN c.name, collect(DISTINCT s.name) AS skills

-- Mentorship chain from Carol
MATCH path = (c:Person {name: 'Carol'})-[:MENTORS*]->(mentee)
RETURN c.name, collect(mentee.name) AS chain