- SurrealDB 3 Skill
- Expert-level SurrealDB 3 architecture, development, and operations. Covers SurrealQL, multi-model data modeling, graph traversal, vector search, security, deployment, performance tuning, SDK integration, and the full SurrealDB ecosystem.
- For AI Agents
- Get a full capabilities manifest, decision trees, and output contracts:
- uv run
- {
- baseDir
- }
- /scripts/onboard.py
- --agent
- See
- AGENTS.md
- for the complete structured briefing.
- Command
- What It Does
- uv run {baseDir}/scripts/doctor.py
- Health check: verify surreal CLI, connectivity, versions
- uv run {baseDir}/scripts/doctor.py --check
- Quick pass/fail check (exit code only)
- uv run {baseDir}/scripts/schema.py introspect
- Dump full schema of a running SurrealDB instance
- uv run {baseDir}/scripts/schema.py tables
- List all tables with field counts and indexes
- uv run {baseDir}/scripts/onboard.py --agent
- JSON capabilities manifest for agent integration
- Prerequisites
- surreal CLI
- --
- brew install surrealdb/tap/surreal
- (macOS) or see
- install docs
- Python 3.10+
- -- Required for skill scripts
- uv
- --
- brew install uv
- (macOS) or
- pip install uv
- or see
- uv docs
- Optional:
- Docker
- -- For containerized SurrealDB instances (
- docker run surrealdb/surrealdb:v3
- )
- SDK of choice
- -- JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust, Java, .NET, C, PHP, or Dart
- Security note
-
- This skill's documentation references package manager installs
- (brew, pip, cargo, npm, Docker) as the recommended install method. If you
- encounter
- curl | sh
- examples in the rules files, prefer your OS package
- manager or download-and-review workflow instead.
- Quick Start
- Credential warning
- Examples below use root/root for local development only . Never use default credentials against production or shared instances. Create scoped, least-privilege users for non-local environments.
Start SurrealDB in-memory for LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ONLY
surreal start memory --user root --pass root --bind 127.0 .0.1:8000
Start with persistent RocksDB storage (local dev)
surreal start rocksdb://data/mydb.db --user root --pass root
Start with SurrealKV (time-travel queries supported, local dev)
surreal start surrealkv://data/mydb --user root --pass root
Connect via CLI REPL (local dev)
surreal sql --endpoint http://localhost:8000 --user root --pass root --ns test --db test
Import a SurrealQL file
surreal import --endpoint http://localhost:8000 --user root --pass root --ns test --db test schema.surql
Export the database
surreal export --endpoint http://localhost:8000 --user root --pass root --ns test --db test backup.surql
Check version
surreal version
Run the skill health check
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/doctor.py Environment Variables Variable Description Default SURREAL_ENDPOINT SurrealDB server URL http://localhost:8000 SURREAL_USER Root or namespace username root SURREAL_PASS Root or namespace password root SURREAL_NS Default namespace test SURREAL_DB Default database test These map directly to the surreal sql CLI flags ( --endpoint , --user , --pass , --ns , --db ) and are recognized by official SurrealDB SDKs. Core Capabilities SurrealQL Mastery Full coverage of the SurrealQL query language: CREATE , SELECT , UPDATE , UPSERT , DELETE , RELATE , INSERT , LIVE SELECT , DEFINE , REMOVE , INFO , subqueries, transactions, futures, and all built-in functions (array, crypto, duration, geo, math, meta, object, parse, rand, string, time, type, vector). See: rules/surrealql.md Multi-Model Data Modeling Design schemas that leverage SurrealDB's multi-model capabilities -- document collections, graph edges, relational references, vector embeddings, time-series data, and geospatial coordinates -- all in a single database with a single query language. See: rules/data-modeling.md Graph Queries First-class graph traversal without JOINs. RELATE creates typed edges between records. Traverse with -> (outgoing), <- (incoming), and <-> (bidirectional) operators. Filter, aggregate, and recurse at any depth. See: rules/graph-queries.md Vector Search Built-in vector similarity search using HNSW and brute-force indexes. Define vector fields, create indexes with configurable distance metrics (cosine, euclidean, manhattan, minkowski), and query with vector::similarity::* functions. Build RAG pipelines and semantic search directly in SurrealQL. See: rules/vector-search.md Security and Permissions Row-level security via DEFINE TABLE ... PERMISSIONS , namespace/database/record-level access control, DEFINE ACCESS for JWT/token-based auth, DEFINE USER for system users, and $auth / $session runtime variables for permission predicates. See: rules/security.md Deployment and Operations Single-binary deployment, Docker, Kubernetes (Helm charts), storage engine selection (memory, RocksDB, SurrealKV, TiKV for distributed), backup/restore, monitoring, and production hardening. See: rules/deployment.md Performance Tuning Index strategies (unique, search, vector HNSW, MTree), query optimization with EXPLAIN , connection pooling, storage engine trade-offs, batch operations, and resource limits. See: rules/performance.md SDK Integration Official SDKs for JavaScript/TypeScript (Node.js, Deno, Bun, browser), Python, Go, Rust, Java, .NET, C, PHP, and Dart. Connection protocols (HTTP, WebSocket), authentication flows, live query subscriptions, and typed record handling. See: rules/sdks.md Surrealism WASM Extensions New in SurrealDB 3: extend the database with custom functions, analyzers, and logic written in Rust and compiled to WASM. Define, deploy, and manage Surrealism modules. See: rules/surrealism.md Ecosystem Tools Surrealist -- Official IDE and GUI for SurrealDB (schema designer, query editor, graph visualizer) Surreal-Sync -- Change Data Capture (CDC) for migrations from other databases SurrealFS -- AI agent filesystem built on SurrealDB SurrealML -- Machine learning model management and inference within SurrealDB See: rules/surrealist.md , rules/surreal-sync.md , rules/surrealfs.md Doctor / Health Check
Full diagnostic (Rich output on stderr, JSON on stdout)
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/doctor.py
Quick check (exit code 0 = healthy, 1 = issues found)
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/doctor.py --check
Check a specific endpoint
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/doctor.py --endpoint http://my-server:8000 The doctor script verifies: surreal CLI installed and on PATH, server reachable, authentication succeeds, namespace and database exist, version compatibility, and storage engine status. Schema Introspection
Full schema dump (all tables, fields, indexes, events, accesses)
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/schema.py introspect
List tables with summary
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/schema.py tables
Inspect a specific table
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/schema.py table < table_name
Export schema as SurrealQL (reproducible DEFINE statements)
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/schema.py export --format surql
Export schema as JSON
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/schema.py export --format json Introspection uses INFO FOR DB , INFO FOR TABLE , and INFO FOR NS to reconstruct the full schema. Rules Reference Rule File Coverage rules/surrealql.md SurrealQL syntax, statements, functions, operators, idioms rules/data-modeling.md Schema design, record IDs, field types, relations, normalization rules/graph-queries.md RELATE, graph traversal operators, path expressions, recursive queries rules/vector-search.md Vector fields, HNSW/brute-force indexes, similarity functions, RAG patterns rules/security.md Permissions, access control, authentication, JWT, row-level security rules/deployment.md Installation, storage engines, Docker, Kubernetes, production config rules/performance.md Indexes, EXPLAIN, query optimization, batch ops, resource tuning rules/sdks.md JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust SDK usage, connection patterns, live queries rules/surrealism.md WASM extensions, custom functions, Surrealism module authoring rules/surrealist.md Surrealist IDE/GUI usage, schema designer, query editor rules/surreal-sync.md CDC migration tool, source/target connectors, migration workflows rules/surrealfs.md AI agent filesystem, file storage, metadata, retrieval patterns Workflow Examples All workflow examples use root/root for local development only. For production, use DEFINE USER with scoped, least-privilege credentials. New Project Setup
1. Verify environment
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/doctor.py
2. Start SurrealDB
surreal start rocksdb://data/myproject.db --user root --pass root
3. Design schema (use rules/data-modeling.md for guidance)
4. Import initial schema
surreal import --endpoint http://localhost:8000 --user root --pass root \ --ns myapp --db production schema.surql
5. Introspect to verify
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/schema.py introspect Migration from SurrealDB v2
1. Export v2 data
surreal export --endpoint http://old-server:8000 --user root --pass root \ --ns myapp --db production v2-backup.surql
2. Review breaking changes (see rules/surrealql.md v2->v3 migration section)
Key changes: range syntax 1..4 is now exclusive of end, new WASM extension system
3. Import into v3
surreal import --endpoint http://localhost:8000 --user root --pass root \ --ns myapp --db production v2-backup.surql
4. Verify schema
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/schema.py introspect Data Modeling for a New Domain
1. Read rules/data-modeling.md for schema design patterns
2. Read rules/graph-queries.md if your domain has relationships
3. Read rules/vector-search.md if you need semantic search
4. Draft schema.surql with DEFINE TABLE, DEFINE FIELD, DEFINE INDEX
5. Import and test
surreal import --endpoint http://localhost:8000 --user root --pass root \ --ns dev --db test schema.surql uv run { baseDir } /scripts/schema.py introspect Deploying to Production
1. Read rules/deployment.md for storage engine selection and hardening
2. Read rules/security.md for access control setup
3. Read rules/performance.md for index strategy
4. Run doctor against production endpoint
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/doctor.py --endpoint https://prod-surreal:8000
5. Verify schema matches expectations
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/schema.py introspect --endpoint https://prod-surreal:8000 Upstream Source Check
Check if upstream SurrealDB repos have changed since this skill was built
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/check_upstream.py
JSON-only output for agents
uv run { baseDir } /scripts/check_upstream.py --json
Only show repos that have new commits
- uv run
- {
- baseDir
- }
- /scripts/check_upstream.py
- --stale
- Compares current HEAD SHAs and release tags of all tracked repos against the
- baselines in
- SOURCES.json
- . Use this to plan incremental skill updates.
- Source Provenance
- This skill was built on
- 2026-02-19
- from these upstream sources:
- Repository
- Release
- Snapshot Date
- surrealdb/surrealdb
- v3.0.0
- 2026-02-19
- surrealdb/surrealist
- v3.7.2
- 2026-02-21
- surrealdb/surrealdb.js
- v1.3.2
- 2026-02-20
- surrealdb/surrealdb.js
- (v2 beta)
- v2.0.0-beta.1
- 2026-02-20
- surrealdb/surrealdb.py
- v1.0.8
- 2026-02-03
- surrealdb/surrealdb.go
- v1.3.0
- 2026-02-12
- surrealdb/surreal-sync
- v0.3.4
- 2026-02-12
- surrealdb/surrealfs
- --
- 2026-01-29
- Documentation:
- surrealdb.com/docs
- snapshot 2026-02-22.
- Machine-readable provenance:
- SOURCES.json
- .
- Output Convention
- All Python scripts in this skill follow a dual-output pattern:
- stderr
-
- Rich-formatted human-readable output (tables, panels, status indicators)
- stdout
- Machine-readable JSON for programmatic consumption by AI agents This means 2>/dev/null hides the human output, and piping stdout gives clean JSON for downstream processing.