whatisgithub

What is raft?

kerollmops/raft — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2020-05-05

CAudience · developerComplexity · 5/5DormantSetup · hard

In one sentence

A C library implementing the Raft consensus algorithm, letting multiple servers reliably agree on shared data even when some of them fail or disconnect.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((raft))
    What it does
      Distributed consensus
      Leader election
      Log replication
    Tech stack
      C
      libuv
      Linux AIO
    Use cases
      Distributed databases
      Replicated key-value stores
      Config management systems
    Audience
      Systems developers
    Notable users
      dqlite SQLite replication

Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Build a distributed database where multiple servers agree on the current data state.

USE CASE 2

Add high-availability replication to an existing service like SQLite (as dqlite does).

USE CASE 3

Implement a replicated key-value store that survives individual server failures.

USE CASE 4

Prototype a configuration management system that needs consistent state across machines.

What is it built with?

ClibuvLinux AIO

How does it compare?

kerollmops/raftac000/find-flvacc4github/kdenlive-omnifade
Stars——0
LanguageCCC
Last pushed2020-05-052013-04-05—
MaintenanceDormantDormant—
Setup difficultyhardmoderatemoderate
Complexity5/52/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdevelopergeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Requires implementing or wiring a networking and storage interface, a default libuv/Linux AIO implementation is provided to get started faster.

No license information is stated in the explanation.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through the example server in kerollmops/raft and explain how leader election works between the three demo nodes.
Prompt 2
How do I plug my own networking layer into this Raft library instead of using the default libuv implementation?
Prompt 3
Explain how this Raft library handles membership changes when I want to add or remove a server from the cluster.
Prompt 4
I'm building a distributed key-value store, show me how to use this C Raft library to replicate writes across three nodes.

Frequently asked questions

What is raft?

A C library implementing the Raft consensus algorithm, letting multiple servers reliably agree on shared data even when some of them fail or disconnect.

What language is raft written in?

Mainly C. The stack also includes C, libuv, Linux AIO.

Is raft actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2020-05-05).

What license does raft use?

No license information is stated in the explanation.

How hard is raft to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is raft for?

Mainly developer.

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