FaunaDB
FaunaDB (also known as Fauna) was a serverless, globally distributed database combining document and relational data modeling, accessed via GraphQL or its own FQL query language, designed to be operated without managing servers or shards.
Definition
FaunaDB (also known as Fauna) was a serverless, globally distributed database combining document and relational data modeling, accessed via GraphQL or its own FQL query language, designed to be operated without managing servers or shards.
Overview
Fauna aimed to remove the operational overhead typically associated with distributed databases like Database Replication tuning and Sharding management, offering a pay-per-use, API-driven database that developers could call directly from serverless functions and edge applications without provisioning infrastructure. Its data model blended Document Database flexibility with relational-style references and constraints, along with native support for ACID Properties transactions across a globally distributed cluster — a combination that distinguished it from purely document-oriented stores such as MongoDB. Fauna positioned itself as a natural fit for JAMstack and serverless architectures, often mentioned alongside other developer-first, serverless-friendly databases like Neon and Turso.
Key Features
- Serverless, API-first access with no infrastructure to provision
- Combined document and relational data modeling
- Native support for distributed ACID transactions
- FQL query language plus a GraphQL API layer
- Pay-per-operation pricing model
- Designed for integration with serverless functions and edge platforms