libmdbx
Fastfull embedded transactional key-value storage engine ★ Surpasses the legendary LMDB in reliability, capabilities and performance ★ Used in hundreds of open source projects, including Ethereum.
Runssource: GitHubhomepageCApache-2.0commit 7f8442187989
C, Apache-2.0 licensed. The project labels itself: embedded database, key value, lmdb, mdbx, mvcc, nosql, performance and storage engine.
libmdbx runs. An Argusic agent installed it in 2 minutes and hit 1 error and fixed every one without help on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.
libmdbx v0.14.3.54 builds, library (shared+static), all 7 CLI tools, and both C/C++ API examples compile and run; examples pass as ctest tests; make all and cmake build both succeed
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 100 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).
At a glance
Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page, refreshed . Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.
What was measured
From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.
What went wrong, in the agent's own words
The agent's own words, worst first, never rewritten into advice.
- make check requires Ninja (cmake -G Ninja), which is not installed2 minutes
- Install time
- 2 minutes
- Cold machine to finish
- 12 minutes
- Errors hit and fixed
- 1 hit, 1 fixed with no human help
- How the result was proved
- ctest exited 0, 2/2 tests passed (c_api 0.02s, c++_api 22.67s); also verified mdbx_stat -V, mdbx_chk -V, mdbx_load -T, mdbx_dump, mdbx_stat -r on a real database
- Model tokens used
- 53,317
- Exact commit tested
- 7f8442187989
- Container image
- sha256:cdd920bce783
What was not measured
The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.
- Peak GPU memory
- this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
- Behaviour over a long run
- each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
Watch the session
The whole run, from a clean machine, at the speed it actually happened. Nothing is cut and nothing is sped up.
A recording of attempt 2, run , the attempt that decided the verdict above. The terminal recording it was made from is the evidence, stored with a sha256 fingerprint; the video is a rendering of it. Nothing loads from the video host until you press play.
The end of the recording
The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.
**CMake build**: `cmake -G "Unix Makefiles"` with tests enabled also succeeded.
**Tests**: `ctest` ran both C API and C++ API example-based tests — **2/2 passed** (0.02s + 22.67s).
**Tools**: `mdbx_chk`, `mdbx_stat`, `mdbx_load`, `mdbx_dump`, `mdbx_copy`, `mdbx_drop`, `mdbx_defra…
**Error**: `make check` requires Ninja, which is not installed (no root to apt-install it). Workaro…
exec
/bin/sh -lc "echo '{\"install_succeeded\": true, \"launch_succeeded\": true, \"install_minutes\": 2…
succeeded in 0ms:
{"install_succeeded": true, "launch_succeeded": true, "install_minutes": 2, "errors": [{"msg": "mak…
tokens used
53,317
2026-09-18T16:28:14.409933Z ERROR codex_core::session: failed to record rollout items: thread 01a0b…
2026-09-18T16:28:14.410865Z ERROR codex_core::session: failed to record rollout items: thread 01a0b…Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.
How it was tested
One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.
Strengths and limits
Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.
What went well
- Reached a running state on a clean machine, with the session recorded.
- Recovered from all 1 error without a human stepping in, which says the failures are documented well enough to solve.
- Ran without a GPU, so it does not need one to start.
- Licensed Apache-2.0, as reported by its host.
- Measured 2 times, so the result is not a one-off.
What did not, or is not known
- Took 2 minutes to install, slower than the median of the 3 comparable projects Argusic has measured.
Of the 4 embedded-database projects Argusic has installed and timed, libmdbx was the 3rd fastest to reach a running state, and 4 of 4 reached one at all.
What it is a reasonable choice for
- Trying it on a laptop or a small server: it reached a running state without a GPU.
- A quick evaluation: it was running 2 minutes after the clone.
Also tested, in the same area
Every one of these was installed and run by Argusic on a clean machine. Nothing appears here that was not tested.
Run history
Topics (from GitHub)
embedded-databasekey-valuelmdbmdbxmvccnosqlperformancestorage-enginetransaction
Embed the badge
Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.
[](https://argusic.com/subject/libmdbx)Questions
- Does libmdbx run?
- Yes. libmdbx runs. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 2 minutes, hitting 1 error on the way, and recorded the session.
- How did Argusic test libmdbx?
- On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit 7f8442187989. 2 attempts are recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
- What did it cost to test libmdbx?
- The run that produced this verdict cost $0.04: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
- How long does libmdbx take to install?
- 2 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
- Does libmdbx need a GPU?
- Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
- What goes wrong when installing libmdbx?
- 1 thing broke in the recorded run, and 1 were fixed without human help. Each one, and the time it cost, is listed on this page.
- How does libmdbx compare with the alternatives?
- Of the 4 embedded-database projects Argusic has installed and timed, libmdbx was the 3rd fastest to reach a running state, and 4 of 4 reached one at all.
- Where is the evidence for libmdbx?
- All 2 recorded runs are on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.