Frequently asked questions

AthenaDB is a secure, AI-native database that runs natively on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris, with IBM AIX Planned as an additional native Unix lane. It searches by keyword, meaning, connections, and time together, keeps everything encrypted and yours, and is built as one engine from the ground up — with no third-party database bundled inside.

AthenaDB is in Early Access (pre-GA). The synthetic-data MVP is complete, and real customer data is gated behind an external crypto and storage-format audit that is enforced in the engine itself. Evaluate freely on your own non-sensitive data during Early Access.

Create a portal account and start a trial. The portal calls the live licensing edge to mint a 180-day trial license bound to your account, then shows the live window and activation count on your dashboard. No credit card is required.

No. AthenaDB is one engine we built ourselves, end to end — the storage format and cryptography are ours to secure and audit. There is no bundled third-party datastore.

AthenaDB targets Windows (Desktop and Server), macOS, FreeBSD, Solaris, and named Linux distributions we build and test for: Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, openSUSE, and SUSE Linux Enterprise — each on x86_64 and arm64 (openSUSE and SLE share the SUSE RPM/zypper lane). Those registry targets are Early Access while release evidence completes. IBM AIX is a Planned native Unix lane (not Early Access yet). Install with apt (Debian/Ubuntu), dnf (RHEL/Fedora), zypper (openSUSE/SLE), graphical installers, or portable archives. Directory integration with Active Directory / Entra ID is planned; DB-native RBAC is available for Early Access evaluation.

Lite is the engine embedded with no server — an encrypted, offline-first local database with the full hybrid-retrieval stack (keyword, vector, timeline, entity). It's the single-file form for desktop and edge.

Often, yes — as an Early Access migration path. AthenaDB has a native SQL engine plus a SQLite-compatible C API and an athenadb-sqlite3 drop-in CLI. Compatibility is still completing GA evidence, so validate your workload rather than assuming every SQLite app runs unchanged.

Not as SQL Server or PostgreSQL deliver them, and that is deliberate. Server-side logic lives in domain packs — signed, permission-gated, audited units. Views, pure scalar UDFs, and declarative event hooks are in Early Access in the engine. The one thing we will not add is a trigger that runs arbitrary code inside a write; event hooks give you the same reaction from a defined set of safe actions, with every firing recorded.

That is the plan, and the point is where it runs. A native AI runtime is being built into the engine: models load from encrypted, signed packages into protected memory and run inside the database's own security boundary. You will be able to run it in the database, on a separate model machine you own, or against an outside provider when you choose to — that last path being opt-in, classification-restricted, and audited. Vector search and embeddings are available for Early Access evaluation today.

A pack is a signed, sandboxed add-on that layers a vertical's schema, ingestion, and workflows onto the core engine. Legal, Medical, and Research are first-party packs in Early Access. The signed load-and-sandbox mechanism is built and tested; dynamic install and pack purchase are on the roadmap.

AthenaDB Studio is a cross-platform Qt desktop console built as an SSMS-class — and ultimately SSMS drop-in — replacement. It manages AthenaDB (pilot today) and is offered as a native admin surface for Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB, with backup, restore, and copy across databases (including SQL Server ↔ AthenaDB). Full SQL Server drop-in parity is a gated milestone not yet claimed. Until signed installers ship, use the athenadb CLI and account dashboard for supported public management.

It's a first-class inter-instance trust layer: sync and cross-instance queries ride verifiable trust rather than ad-hoc credentials. AthenaDB Sync uses it to give each enrolled replica cryptographic identity plus explicit scope and revocation policy. Foundations are in Early Access; full fabric GA evidence remains in progress.

The approved design lets an enrolled Lite or Server replica continue using its local database offline, then reconcile changes in both directions after reconnecting. Replication may cover the whole eligible database or an explicitly configured scope. Planned AthenaDB Convergent Record Versioning merges non-overlapping field edits, chooses a deterministic winner for concurrent edits to the same field, and preserves recoverable version history. Object-level oplog/changeset foundations are in progress; scoped replication and convergent versioning are Planned / Early Access, not GA.

A Planned / Early Access product-wide design for Lite, Server, and CSP where AthenaDB securely fetches and exchanges data on behalf of an application over a bidirectional tunnel with regularly rotating keys. It is request-driven app exchange, distinct from AthenaDB Sync's ongoing replica reconciliation. See /product/secure-data-tunnel.

Use the CLI: `athenadb db license activate <key>`. Activation contacts the live edge at license.athenadb.app. Check status any time with `athenadb db license trial status`.

Self-serve billing lives in the AthenaDB Account Hub (account.athenadb.app): Stripe Checkout, invoices, receipts, and payment methods. During Early Access you can still start a trial from the hub; contact sales for Enterprise and partner wholesale onboarding.

Channel partners (VAR, MSP, Distributor) apply at account.athenadb.app with a Partner workspace. Cloud service providers who want to host AthenaDB on their infrastructure should see AthenaDB CSP Edition at /product/csp (structured inquire) or /partners/cloud. Other technology partners (SI, product integrator / OEM) start at /partners/si or /partners/integrator. Early Access only; we do not claim a GA partner network yet.

Channel: tiered benefits (Registered → Authorized → Premier) including deal registration, wholesale pricing after Authorized approval, NFR/demo entitlements, enablement, fleet tools, and Premier co-marketing/MDF. Technology: enablement, OEM/SDK discussion under agreement, joint architecture review — no invented revenue-share % or marketplace listing guarantees. v1 excludes Stripe Connect payouts, affiliate cash, white-label domains, and public Lite amalgamation source. Details: /partners/benefits.