Simple, async, and intuitive
Sentinel provides a clean, async API that feels natural for Rust developers. Create stores, manage collections, and work with documents using familiar patterns. Every document is automatically hashed and optionally signed for integrity verification.
- Full async/await support with Tokio
- Automatic BLAKE3 hashing for integrity
- Optional Ed25519 signatures with passphrase
- Pretty-printed JSON for easy inspection
use sentinel_dbms::{Store, SentinelError};
use serde_json::json;
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), SentinelError> {
// Create a store with encryption
let store = Store::new("./data", Some("secret_passphrase")).await?;
// Get a collection (creates directory if needed)
let users = store.collection("users").await?;
// Insert a document (creates JSON file with hash & signature)
users.insert("user-123", json!({
"name": "Alice",
"email": "[email protected]",
"role": "admin"
})).await?;
// Retrieve the document
let doc = users.get("user-123").await?;
println!("Found: {:?}", doc);
Ok(())
}Why choose Sentinel?
Modern databases prioritize speed. Sentinel prioritizes trust, transparency, and compliance.
Native Auditability
Every change is a file, every file is Git-versionable. Full transparency built into the architecture.
Compliance Ready
GDPR, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS support built-in. Your data is always forensic-friendly.
Operational Simplicity
Use standard UNIX tools: rsync for replication, tar for backups, grep for queries.
Zero Lock-In
Pure JSON data, not trapped in proprietary formats. Migrate anywhere with standard tools.
Security First
AES-256-GCM, XChaCha20-Poly1305, and Ascon-128 encryption. Ed25519 signatures for integrity. Blake3 hashing.
Edge & Offline First
Works on any filesystem without a server. Perfect for disconnected environments.
Perfect for critical data
Sentinel shines in environments where auditability and compliance are non-negotiable.
Audit Logs
Every entry is a file, versioned with Git
Certificate Management
Secure, inspectable, with OS-level ACLs
Compliance Rules
GDPR right-to-delete is literally rm file
Key Management
Keys stored as files with filesystem security
Regulatory Reporting
All data is immediately forensic-friendly
Edge Devices
No server required, works with Git sync
Data you can actually see
Every document is stored as a pretty-printed JSON file. No binary blobs, no proprietary formats—just plain text that you can inspect with `cat`, edit with any text editor, and version with Git.
Each document includes metadata for versioning, timestamps, cryptographic hashes, and optional signatures. You always know what changed, when, and can verify integrity at any time.
{
"id": "user-123",
"version": 1,
"created_at": "2026-01-15T12:00:00Z",
"updated_at": "2026-01-15T12:00:00Z",
"hash": "a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
"signature": "ed25519:...",
"data": {
"name": "Alice",
"email": "[email protected]",
"role": "admin"
}
}