EdgeDB is now Gel and Postgres is the future

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Positioning and Core Concept

  • Gel is presented as “to Postgres what TypeScript is to JavaScript”: a strict, higher‑level layer over a standard runtime.
  • Compared to Supabase: both are Postgres-based with auth, UI, AI, CLI, etc., but Gel adds its own relational data model (abstract types, mixins, access policies), EdgeQL, built-in migrations, and a custom network protocol.
  • Compared to ORMs (Drizzle, Prisma): Gel is a server-side data layer and schema system, not just a client library; one schema and query model for multiple languages instead of one ORM per language.

Features and Developer Experience

  • Strong enthusiasm for:
    • EdgeQL (graph-like, composable queries compiled to single Postgres queries).
    • TypeScript query builder and codegen; much fewer runtime errors vs ORMs.
    • Declarative schemas with first-class migrations and branching (git-like DB branches).
    • Built-in auth that’s flexible and free, plus powerful access policies (positioned as better than RLS).
  • New release adds:
    • Direct SQL support alongside EdgeQL, including use with existing tools/ORMs.
    • Slow query log UI, EXPLAIN tooling, and upcoming HTTP “net” module and real-time subscriptions.

Ecosystem, Compatibility, and Migration

  • Goal is to “play nice” with Postgres ecosystem; support for standalone extensions (e.g., PostGIS) and external Postgres clusters.
  • Migration from existing Postgres/Supabase currently requires manually defining Gel schema and scripting data copy; acknowledged as cumbersome and a priority to improve.
  • Replication/failover “works out of the box”; real-time query subscriptions are in progress.

Deployment, Cloud vs Self-Host, and Pricing

  • Self-hosting with k8s/Docker and a bring-your-own Postgres is supported and free (Apache 2).
  • Cloud offering adds managed infra, slow-query extension, Vercel/GitHub integrations, regions, and VPC support.
  • Pricing is by compute and storage; 1 GB free tier with multiple branches; a cheaper hobbyist tier is teased.

Rebrand and Naming Debate

  • Rebrand from EdgeDB to Gel is contentious:
    • Supporters note “Edge” caused persistent confusion with edge-computing.
    • Critics argue EdgeDB was more descriptive, Gel is hard to search/interpret, and renaming imposes cognitive and migration costs on existing users.
  • Team stresses backward compatibility (EdgeQL name retained) and acknowledges documentation breakage during the transition, promising fixes.