New Release: CrateDB 6.0

We’re excited to announce our latest release, CrateDB 6.0. With faster queries, stronger PostgreSQL compatibility, smarter monitoring tools, and a foundation for future AI-powered features, this release sets a new standard for real-time analytics at scale. Whether you’re building data-intensive applications, managing IoT fleets, or running large-scale analytics, CrateDB 6.0 empowers you to act on insights faster and with confidence.

The Big Upgrade: Lucene 10

CrateDB 6.0 upgrades the underlying search engine from Lucene 9.12 to Lucene 10.2, paving the way for future features like concurrent search, sparse index type, and k-means clustering for vector search.

Why it matters:

• Faster I/O for newly created tables.
• Future-proofing for AI-driven analytics and complex search scenarios.
• Aligning with modern standards to make upcoming features smoother to implement.

For users upgrading from CrateDB 5.x, a few migration steps are required due to the change in file format and the removal of certain token filters. Full guidance is available in our upgrade documentation.

Performance & Scalability Enhancements

We’ve focused on making queries faster and more efficient, so your analytics workflows keep up with real-time demands:

• Optimized SELECT COUNT and mixed joins, ensuring faster aggregation across large datasets.
• Improved performance for NUMERIC types, including faster AVG() calculations using columnar storage.
• Smarter query execution with better use of search indexes and optimizations for the =ALL operator.

These improvements mean CrateDB 6.0 can handle bigger workloads, more complex queries, and larger data volumes, without slowing down.

Usability & Flexibility

CrateDB 6.0 makes it easier to work with semi-structured data and integrate with existing SQL-based tools:

• Dynamic column policy now supports nested arrays, simplifying ingestion of JSON or IoT data.
• Scalar functions and return values are now closer to PostgreSQL standards (starts_with, stddev_samp, etc.), improving compatibility with PostgreSQL-based applications and BI tools.
• Metadata improvements and better alignment with PostgreSQL drivers streamline your data workflows and reduce integration friction.

Stability & Reliability

CrateDB 6.0 introduces new tools to help you monitor and maintain your cluster, even under heavy workloads:

• cluster_health provides a real-time overview of cluster health.
• Expanded segments table gives insight into ongoing merges.
• SELECT queries on unavailable shards are less likely to return errors, and system tables like shards and sys.nodes remain accessible even under load.

These changes give operators and developers the confidence to manage high-volume workloads without losing visibility into cluster performance.

Breaking Changes & Migration

To deliver these improvements, CrateDB 6.0 introduces a few breaking changes:

• Lucene upgrade requires reindexing tables from older versions.
• Changes in scalar functions, IP normalization, and PostgreSQL alignment may require minor application updates.

While these adjustments require planning, they lay the foundation for a faster, more reliable, and future-ready CrateDB. Detailed migration guidance is available in our upgrade documentation.

Looking Ahead

Lucene 10 unlocks capabilities for upcoming releases: vector search, k-means clustering, and sparse indexes. CrateDB is not just keeping pace with modern analytics, it’s building the foundation for AI-driven, real-time decision-making.

Try CrateDB 6.0 Today

Upgrade your clusters or start a new instance to experience the performance, flexibility, and stability of CrateDB 6.0. For full technical details, see the release notes which also includes information on how to upgrade from previous versions.