Getting Started with FalkorDB

This guide will walk you through setting up FalkorDB, modeling a social network as a graph, and accessing it using one of the FalkorDB client libraries with the Cypher query language.

---

Prerequisites

Minimum Redis version: FalkorDB requires Redis 8.0.0 or later. Earlier versions (including the Redis 7.x series) are not supported. If you are self-hosting, make sure to upgrade Redis before installing or upgrading FalkorDB.

1. FalkorDB Instance: Set up FalkorDB (on-prem or cloud).

   Option A — Docker (quickest)

    docker run -p 6379:6379 -p 3000:3000 --rm falkordb/falkordb:latest
   

   This starts FalkorDB with no authentication. Open the built-in browser at http://localhost:3000 to explore your graphs visually. See Docker & Docker Compose for additional options (persistence, auth, production images).

   Option B — FalkorDB Cloud

   Create a free FalkorDB Cloud Instance and skip local setup entirely.

2. Install FalkorDB Client:

python javascript rust java

pip install falkordb

npm install falkordb

cargo add falkordb

  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.falkordb</groupId>
      <artifactId>jfalkordb</artifactId>
      <version>0.4.0</version>
    </dependency>
  </dependencies>

---

Step 1: Model a Social Network as a Graph

Let’s create a simple graph for a social network where:

• Nodes represent User and Post.
• Relationships connect Users with a FRIENDS_WITH relationship, and Users are connected via a CREATED relationship to Posts

Graph Schema

Node Types:

Node Type	Properties	Description
User	id, name, email	Represents a user in the social network
Post	id, content, date	Represents a post created by a user

Relationship Types:

Relationship Type	Start Node	End Node	Properties	Description
FRIENDS_WITH	User	User	since	Indicates friendship between two users
CREATED	User	Post	time	Connects a user to their created posts

---

Step 2: Load Data into FalkorDB

Here’s how you can model and load the data.

Cypher Query to Create the Data

CREATE (alice:User {id: 1, name: "Alice", email: "alice@example.com"})
CREATE (bob:User {id: 2, name: "Bob", email: "bob@example.com"})
CREATE (charlie:User {id: 3, name: "Charlie", email: "charlie@example.com"})

CREATE (post1:Post {id: 101, content: "Hello World!", date: 1701388800})
CREATE (post2:Post {id: 102, content: "Graph Databases are awesome!", date: 1701475200})

CREATE (alice)-[:FRIENDS_WITH {since: 1640995200}]->(bob)
CREATE (bob)-[:FRIENDS_WITH {since: 1684108800}]->(charlie)
CREATE (alice)-[:CREATED {time: 1701388800}]->(post1)
CREATE (bob)-[:CREATED {time: 1701475200}]->(post2)

You can execute these commands using the FalkorDB Python client or any supported client.

---

Step 3: Access Your Data

Connect to FalkorDB

The examples below connect to a local FalkorDB instance started with the docker run command above, which requires no password.

python javascript rust java

from falkordb import FalkorDB

# Connect to FalkorDB (no authentication — default Docker setup)
client = FalkorDB(host="localhost", port=6379)
graph = client.select_graph('social')

import { FalkorDB } from 'falkordb';

// Connect to FalkorDB (no authentication — default Docker setup)
const client = await FalkorDB.connect({
  host: "localhost",
  port: 6379
});
const graph = client.selectGraph('social');

use falkordb::{FalkorClientBuilder, FalkorConnectionInfo};

// Connect to FalkorDB (no authentication — default Docker setup)
let connection_info: FalkorConnectionInfo = "falkor://127.0.0.1:6379".try_into()
            .expect("Invalid connection info");

let client = FalkorClientBuilder::new()
           .with_connection_info(connection_info)
           .build()
           .expect("Failed to build client");

// Select the social graph
let mut graph = client.select_graph("social");

package com.myproject;

import com.falkordb.*;

// Connect to FalkorDB (no authentication — default Docker setup)
Driver driver = FalkorDB.driver("localhost", 6379);
Graph graph = driver.graph("social");

Using authentication? Start FalkorDB with a password:

docker run -p 6379:6379 -p 3000:3000 --rm \
  -e REDIS_ARGS="--requirepass yourpassword" \
  falkordb/falkordb:latest

Then pass your password in the client configuration, for example password="yourpassword" in Python or password: 'yourpassword' in JavaScript, or use the equivalent credential option in your client library. See Docker & Docker Compose for details.

Execute Cypher Queries

Create the Graph

python javascript rust java

create_query = """
CREATE (alice:User {id: 1, name: "Alice", email: "alice@example.com"})
CREATE (bob:User {id: 2, name: "Bob", email: "bob@example.com"})
CREATE (charlie:User {id: 3, name: "Charlie", email: "charlie@example.com"})

CREATE (post1:Post {id: 101, content: "Hello World!", date: 1701388800})
CREATE (post2:Post {id: 102, content: "Graph Databases are awesome!", date: 1701475200})

CREATE (alice)-[:FRIENDS_WITH {since: 1640995200}]->(bob)
CREATE (bob)-[:FRIENDS_WITH {since: 1684108800}]->(charlie)
CREATE (alice)-[:CREATED {time: 1701388800}]->(post1)
CREATE (bob)-[:CREATED {time: 1701475200}]->(post2)
"""

graph.query(create_query)
print("Graph created successfully!")

const createQuery = `
CREATE (alice:User {id: 1, name: "Alice", email: "alice@example.com"})
CREATE (bob:User {id: 2, name: "Bob", email: "bob@example.com"})
CREATE (charlie:User {id: 3, name: "Charlie", email: "charlie@example.com"})

CREATE (post1:Post {id: 101, content: "Hello World!", date: 1701388800})
CREATE (post2:Post {id: 102, content: "Graph Databases are awesome!", date: 1701475200})

CREATE (alice)-[:FRIENDS_WITH {since: 1640995200}]->(bob)
CREATE (bob)-[:FRIENDS_WITH {since: 1684108800}]->(charlie)
CREATE (alice)-[:CREATED {time: 1701388800}]->(post1)
CREATE (bob)-[:CREATED {time: 1701475200}]->(post2)
`;

let result = await graph.query(createQuery);
console.log("Graph created successfully!");

let create_query = r#"
CREATE (alice:User {id: 1, name: \"Alice\", email: \"alice@example.com\"})
CREATE (bob:User {id: 2, name: \"Bob\", email: \"bob@example.com\"})
CREATE (charlie:User {id: 3, name: \"Charlie\", email: \"charlie@example.com\"})

CREATE (post1:Post {id: 101, content: \"Hello World!\", date: 1701388800})
CREATE (post2:Post {id: 102, content: \"Graph Databases are awesome!\", date: 1701475200})

CREATE (alice)-[:FRIENDS_WITH {since: 1640995200}]->(bob)
CREATE (bob)-[:FRIENDS_WITH {since: 1684108800}]->(charlie)
CREATE (alice)-[:CREATED {time: 1701388800}]->(post1)
CREATE (bob)-[:CREATED {time: 1701475200}]->(post2)
"#;

graph.query(create_query).execute().await?;
println!("Graph created successfully!");

String createQuery = 
"CREATE (alice:User {id: 1, name: \"Alice\", email: \"alice@example.com\"}) " +
"CREATE (bob:User {id: 2, name: \"Bob\", email: \"bob@example.com\"}) " +
"CREATE (charlie:User {id: 3, name: \"Charlie\", email: \"charlie@example.com\"}) " +

"CREATE (post1:Post {id: 101, content: \"Hello World!\", date: 1701388800}) " +
"CREATE (post2:Post {id: 102, content: \"Graph Databases are awesome!\", date: 1701475200}) " +

"CREATE (alice)-[:FRIENDS_WITH {since: 1640995200}]->(bob) " +
"CREATE (bob)-[:FRIENDS_WITH {since: 1684108800}]->(charlie) " +
"CREATE (alice)-[:CREATED {time: 1701388800}]->(post1) " +
"CREATE (bob)-[:CREATED {time: 1701475200}]->(post2)";

ResultSet resultSet = graph.query(createQuery);
System.out.println("Graph created successfully!");

Query the Graph

python javascript rust java

# Find all friends of Alice
query = """
MATCH (alice:User {name: 'Alice'})-[:FRIENDS_WITH]->(friend)
RETURN friend.name AS Friend
"""

result = graph.ro_query(query).result_set

print("Alice's friends:")
for record in result:
    print(record[0])

const query = `
MATCH (alice:User {name: "Alice"})-[:FRIENDS_WITH]->(friend)
RETURN friend.name AS Friend
`;
const result = await graph.ro_query(query);
console.log("Alice's friends:");
for (const record of result) {
  console.log(record["Friend"]);
}

let query = r#"
MATCH (alice:User {name: \"Alice\"})-[:FRIENDS_WITH]->(friend)
RETURN friend.name AS Friend
"#;
let result = graph.ro_query(query).execute().await?;

println!("Alice's friends:");
for record in result.data.by_ref() {
    println!("{}", record["Friend"]);
}

String query = """
MATCH (alice:User {name: \"Alice\"})-[:FRIENDS_WITH]->(friend)
RETURN friend.name AS Friend
""";
ResultSet result = graph.readOnlyQuery(query);
System.out.println("Alice's friends:");
for (Record record : result) {
    System.out.println(record.get("Friend"));
}

Query Relationships

python javascript rust java

# Find posts created by Bob
query = """
MATCH (bob:User {name: 'Bob'})-[:CREATED]->(post:Post)
RETURN post.content AS PostContent
"""

result = graph.ro_query(query).result_set

print("Posts created by Bob:")
for record in result:
    print(record[0])

const query = `
MATCH (bob:User {name: "Bob"})-[:CREATED]->(post:Post)
RETURN post.content AS PostContent
`;
const result = await graph.ro_query(query);
console.log("Posts created by Bob:");
for (const record of result) {
  console.log(record["PostContent"]);
}

let query = r#"
MATCH (bob:User {name: \"Bob\"})-[:CREATED]->(post:Post)
RETURN post.content AS PostContent
"#;
let result = graph.ro_query(query).execute().await?;
println!("Posts created by Bob:");
for record in result.data.by_ref() {
    println!("{}", record["PostContent"]);
}

String query = """
MATCH (bob:User {name: \"Bob\"})-[:CREATED]->(post:Post)
RETURN post.content AS PostContent
""";
ResultSet result = graph.readOnlyQuery(query);
System.out.println("Posts created by Bob:");
for (Record record : result) {
    System.out.println(record.get("PostContent"));
}

---

Step 4: Explore Further

Congratulations! 🎉 You have successfully modeled, loaded, and queried a social network graph with FalkorDB.

Next, dive deeper into FalkorDB’s powerful features:

• FalkorDB Browser — Explore your graph visually
• Advanced Cypher
• Data Types — Nodes, relationships, scalars, temporal types, and collections
• Database Operations
• GenAI Tools
• Agentic Memory

For questions or support, visit our community forums

Frequently Asked Questions 5

What are the minimum requirements to run FalkorDB?

FalkorDB requires Redis 8.0.0 or later. The quickest setup is via Docker: docker run -p 6379:6379 -p 3000:3000 --rm falkordb/falkordb:latest. Alternatively, use FalkorDB Cloud to skip local setup entirely.

Do I need to install Redis separately?

No. The official FalkorDB Docker images include everything needed. If you are self-hosting without Docker, you must install Redis 8.0.0+ separately and load the FalkorDB module. Earlier Redis versions (including 7.x) are not supported.

Which client libraries can I use with FalkorDB?

FalkorDB has official clients for Python, Node.js, Java, Rust, Go, PHP, and C#. Install them via pip, npm, Maven, Cargo, or the respective package managers. See the Client Libraries page for full details.

What is the FalkorDB Browser at port 3000?

The FalkorDB Browser is a built-in web UI for visually exploring your graphs. When running the falkordb/falkordb:latest Docker image, open http://localhost:3000 to create, visualize, and query graphs interactively. For production, use falkordb/falkordb-server which excludes the browser.

How do I model data in FalkorDB?

FalkorDB uses the Property Graph Model. Data is modeled as nodes (entities with labels and properties) connected by relationships (directed edges with a type and properties). Use the Cypher query language to create and query your graph structure.

---

Table of contents

• Configuration
• Client Libraries