{
  "slug": "rocksdb-column-family",
  "term": "RocksDB column family",
  "aliases": [
    "column family (RocksDB)"
  ],
  "definition": "A RocksDB column family is a separately configurable logical key space within one database, with its own memtables and SST files but a shared write-ahead log.",
  "note": "A WriteBatch can atomically update multiple families; they are not independent database instances. Separate table files do not remove their shared recovery dependencies. [families]",
  "related": [
    "memtable",
    "sstable",
    "write-ahead-log",
    "rocksdb-atomic-flush"
  ],
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "families",
      "title": "RocksDB project. Column Families: atomic writes and shared WAL.",
      "url": "https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/wiki/Column-Families",
      "accessed": "2026-10-14"
    },
    {
      "id": "hesela",
      "title": "RocksDB: a WAL sync is not a memtable flush",
      "url": "https://hesela.com/analyses/rocksdb-wal-flush-manifest-boundaries/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-14"
    }
  ],
  "status": "shipping",
  "advantages": [],
  "limitations": [],
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "updated": "2026-10-14"
}