ClickGraph

ClickGraph - A high-performance graph query engine for ClickHouse, written in Rust, with Neo4j ecosystem compatibility - Cypher and Bolt Protocol 5.8 support. Server mode is stateless (translates Cypher to ClickHouse SQL with no extra datastore); embedded mode runs in-process via chdb and is read-write as of v0.6.7 (CREATE / SET / DELETE / REMOVE). Reads also work in remote and sql_only modes. Exports query results to external destinations. Golang and Python bindings in addition to native Rust. New cg CLI tool supports agentic workflows.

Note: ClickGraph dev release is at beta quality for view-based graph analytics applications. Kindly raise an issue if you encounter any problem.

ClickGraph provides three modes now:

• Stateless service
• Embedded mode with embedded chDB
• Hybrid mode with remote querying and local storage

See motivation and rationale.

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What's New in v0.6.7-dev

• Cypher writes in embedded mode — CREATE, SET, DELETE / DETACH DELETE, and REMOVE against ClickGraph-managed (non-source:) tables. Translates to ClickHouse's lightweight INSERT / UPDATE / DELETE mutation path; tables created by ClickGraph automatically get enable_block_number_column = 1, enable_block_offset_column = 1. Per-node id_generation schema attribute (uuid default / provided / snowflake). Returns Neo4j-compatible counters (nodes_created, properties_set, nodes_deleted, relationships_deleted). Server / remote / sql_only modes reject writes upstream via the write_guard admission check; source:-backed nodes/edges remain read-only. MERGE, relationship CREATE, CREATE … RETURN, edge-alias DELETE r, SET a += {…} map-merge, and REMOVE a:Label are not implemented yet — each is rejected with an explicit error rather than silently mis-rendering. See docs/wiki/Cypher-Language-Reference.md for full syntax + caveats and docs/design/embedded-writes.md for the design.

What's New in v0.6.6-dev

• cg CLI tool — Agent/script-oriented CLI (clickgraph-tool crate). Translate and execute Cypher without a running server: cg sql, cg validate, cg query, cg nl (NL→Cypher via LLM), cg schema show/validate/discover/diff. Config via ~/.config/cg/config.toml. Designed for agentic callers, CI pipelines, and scripting.
• embedded feature now opt-in — clickgraph-embedded compiles without chdb by default. New Database::new_remote(schema, RemoteConfig) constructor executes Cypher against external ClickHouse with no chdb dependency — useful for lightweight tooling and the cg CLI.
• Agent skills — Three publishable skills for any agentic framework (Claude Code, LangChain, AutoGen, CrewAI, OpenAI function calling): /cypher (NL→Cypher→execute), /graph-schema (show schema), /schema-discover (generate schema YAML from ClickHouse via LLM). See skills/README.md.
• openCypher TCK — 402/402 read scenarios passing (100%). Write scenarios are not yet imported from upstream openCypher TCK; v0.6.7 adds the Cypher write pipeline that will unblock them.

What's New in v0.6.5-dev

• Hybrid remote query + local storage — Execute Cypher against a remote ClickHouse cluster from embedded mode, store results locally in chdb for fast re-querying. query_remote(), query_remote_graph(), store_subgraph() — ideal for GraphRAG context enrichment. Available in Rust, Python, and Go.
• Embedded write API for GraphRAG — create_node(), create_edge(), upsert_node() with batch variants. AI agents can extract entities from documents, store them as an in-process graph, and query with Cypher — all without a server.
• Kuzu API parity — Value::Date/Timestamp/UUID types, query timing (compiling_time/execution_time), Database::in_memory(), Connection::set_query_timeout(), column type metadata, multi-format file import (CSV/Parquet/JSON).
• DataFrame output — result.get_as_df() (Pandas), result.get_as_arrow() (PyArrow), result.get_as_pl() (Polars) for Python data science workflows.

See CHANGELOG.md for complete release history.

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Features

Core Capabilities

• Cypher-to-SQL Translation - Industry-standard Cypher read syntax translated to optimized ClickHouse SQL
• Stateless Architecture - Offloads all query execution to ClickHouse; no extra datastore required
• Embedded Mode - In-process graph queries over Parquet/Iceberg/Delta/S3 via chdb; no ClickHouse server needed (--features embedded)
• Remote Mode - Cypher translated locally, executed against external ClickHouse — no chdb required (Database::new_remote)
• LLM-powered schema discovery - cg schema discover or :discover generates YAML schema from ClickHouse table metadata using Anthropic or OpenAI — no server needed
• Variable-Length Paths - Recursive traversals with *1..3 syntax using ClickHouse WITH RECURSIVE CTEs
• Path Functions - length(p), nodes(p), relationships(p) for path analysis
• Parameterized Queries - Neo4j-compatible $param syntax for SQL injection prevention
• Query Cache - LRU caching with 10-100x speedup for repeated translations
• ClickHouse Functions - Pass-through via ch.function_name() and chagg.aggregate() prefixes
• GraphRAG structured output - format: "Graph" returns deduplicated nodes, edges, and stats for graph visualization and RAG pipelines
• GraphRAG write API - create_node(), create_edge(), upsert_node() for in-process graph building (embedded mode)
• Hybrid remote + local - Query remote ClickHouse, store subgraph locally in chdb for fast re-querying
• Query Metrics - Phase-by-phase timing via HTTP headers and structured logging
• ClickHouse cluster load balancing - CLICKHOUSE_CLUSTER env var auto-discovers and balances queries across cluster nodes
• openCypher TCK: 402/402 read scenarios passing (100%) - 0 failures. Write feature files are not yet imported from upstream; v0.6.7 adds the Cypher write pipeline (CREATE / SET / DELETE / REMOVE) that will unblock them.
• LDBC SNB benchmark: 36/37 queries (97%) - Near-complete Social Network Benchmark coverage. See benchmark results for performance data on sf0.003, sf1 and sf10 datasets

Neo4j Ecosystem Compatibility

• Bolt Protocol v5.8 - Full Neo4j driver compatibility (cypher-shell, Neo4j Browser, graph-notebook)
• HTTP REST API - Complete query execution with parameters and aggregations
• Multi-Schema Support - Per-request schema selection via USE clause, session parameter, or default
• Authentication - Multiple auth schemes including basic auth

Agentic & AI Integration

• Agent skills - /cypher, /graph-schema, /schema-discover for Claude Code, LangChain, AutoGen, CrewAI, and OpenAI function calling (see skills/README.md)
• cg CLI - Subprocess-friendly CLI for agentic callers; outputs clean text/JSON, no interactive prompts
• MCP compatibility - apoc.meta.schema() and Neo4j schema procedures for MCP-based AI assistants
• DataFrame output - get_as_df() (Pandas), get_as_arrow() (PyArrow), get_as_pl() (Polars) for Python data science

View-Based Graph Model

• Zero Migration - Map existing tables to graph format through YAML configuration
• Auto-Discovery - auto_discover_columns: true queries ClickHouse metadata automatically
• Dynamic Schema Loading - Runtime schema registration via POST /schemas/load
• Composite Node IDs - Multi-column identity (e.g., node_id: [tenant_id, user_id])

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Architecture

ClickGraph service runs as a lightweight stateless query translator alongside ClickHouse:

flowchart LR
    Clients["Graph Clients<br/><br/>HTTP/REST<br/>Bolt Protocol<br/>(Neo4j tools)"]

    ClickGraph["ClickGraph<br/><br/>Cypher -> SQL<br/>Translator<br/><br/>:7475 (HTTP)<br/>:7687 (Bolt)"]

    ClickHouse["ClickHouse<br/><br/>Columnar Storage<br/>Query Engine"]

    Clients -->|Cypher| ClickGraph
    ClickGraph -->|SQL| ClickHouse
    ClickHouse -->|Results| ClickGraph
    ClickGraph -->|Results| Clients

    style ClickGraph fill:#e1f5ff,stroke:#0288d1,stroke-width:3px
    style ClickHouse fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#f57c00,stroke-width:3px
    style Clients fill:#f3e5f5,stroke:#7b1fa2,stroke-width:2px

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Three-tier architecture: Graph clients -> ClickGraph translator -> ClickHouse database

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Quick Start

New to ClickGraph? See the Getting Started Guide for a complete walkthrough.

Option 0: Pre-built Binaries

Download the latest release from GitHub Releases:

# ClickGraph server
curl -L https://github.com/genezhang/clickgraph/releases/latest/download/clickgraph-linux-x86_64 \
  -o clickgraph && chmod +x clickgraph

# cg CLI tool (agent/scripting use)
curl -L https://github.com/genezhang/clickgraph/releases/latest/download/cg-linux-x86_64 \
  -o cg && chmod +x cg

Option 1: Docker (Recommended)

# Pull the latest image
docker pull genezhang/clickgraph:latest

# Start ClickHouse only
docker-compose up -d clickhouse-service

# Run ClickGraph from Docker Hub image
docker run -d \
  --name clickgraph \
  --network clickgraph_default \
  -p 7475:7475 \
  -p 7687:7687 \
  -e CLICKHOUSE_URL="http://clickhouse-service:8123" \
  -e CLICKHOUSE_USER="test_user" \
  -e CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD="test_pass" \
  -e GRAPH_CONFIG_PATH="/app/schemas/social_benchmark.yaml" \
  -v $(pwd)/benchmarks/social_network/schemas:/app/schemas:ro \
  genezhang/clickgraph:latest

Or use docker-compose (uses published image by default):

docker-compose up -d

Option 2: Build from Source

# Prerequisites: Rust toolchain (1.85+) and Docker for ClickHouse

# 1. Clone and start ClickHouse
git clone https://github.com/genezhang/clickgraph
cd clickgraph
docker-compose up -d clickhouse-service

# 2. Build and run
cargo build --release
export CLICKHOUSE_URL="http://localhost:8123"
export CLICKHOUSE_USER="test_user"
export CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD="test_pass"
export GRAPH_CONFIG_PATH="./benchmarks/social_network/schemas/social_benchmark.yaml"
cargo run --bin clickgraph

GRAPH_CONFIG_PATH is required. It tells ClickGraph how to map ClickHouse tables to graph nodes and edges.

Test Your Setup

# HTTP API
curl -X POST http://localhost:7475/query \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.full_name LIMIT 5"}'

# Bolt protocol (cypher-shell, Neo4j Browser, or any Neo4j driver)
cypher-shell -a bolt://localhost:7687 -u neo4j -p password

Visualize with Neo4j Browser

Run the included demo for interactive graph visualization:

cd demos/neo4j-browser && bash setup.sh

Then open http://localhost:7474 and connect to bolt://localhost:7687. See demos/neo4j-browser/README.md for details.

AI Assistant Integration

Agent skills — drop-in skills for Claude Code and other agentic frameworks, backed by the cg CLI (no MCP server needed):

# Install for Claude Code
mkdir -p .claude/commands
curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/genezhang/clickgraph/main/skills/cypher.md \
  -o .claude/commands/cypher.md
curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/genezhang/clickgraph/main/skills/graph-schema.md \
  -o .claude/commands/graph-schema.md

# Then in Claude Code:
# /cypher find users with more than 10 followers
# /graph-schema

See skills/README.md for installation across Claude Code, LangChain, AutoGen, CrewAI, and OpenAI function calling.

MCP server — for frameworks requiring the MCP protocol, ClickGraph implements apoc.meta.schema() and Neo4j-compatible schema procedures, compatible with @anthropic-ai/mcp-server-neo4j and @neo4j/mcp-neo4j.

See the MCP Setup Guide for configuration details.

CLI Tools

cg — agent/script CLI (no server needed):

cargo build --release -p clickgraph-tool
# Translate Cypher → SQL
./target/release/cg --schema schema.yaml sql "MATCH (u:User) RETURN u.name LIMIT 5"
# Execute against ClickHouse
./target/release/cg --schema schema.yaml --clickhouse http://localhost:8123 \
  query "MATCH (u:User)-[:FOLLOWS]->(f) RETURN f.name LIMIT 5"
# NL → Cypher (requires ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY)
./target/release/cg --schema schema.yaml nl "find users with more than 10 followers"

clickgraph-client — interactive REPL (connects to a running server):

cargo build --release -p clickgraph-client
./target/release/clickgraph-client  # connects to http://localhost:7475

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Schema Configuration

Map your tables to a graph with YAML:

views:
  - name: social_network
    nodes:
      - label: user
        table: users
        database: mydb
        node_id: user_id
        property_mappings:
          name: full_name
    edges:
      - type: follows
        table: user_follows
        database: mydb
        from_node: user
        to_node: user
        from_id: follower_id
        to_id: followed_id

MATCH (u:user)-[:follows]->(friend:user)
WHERE u.name = 'Alice'
RETURN friend.name

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Documentation

• Getting Started - Setup walkthrough and first queries
• Features Overview - Comprehensive feature list
• API Documentation - HTTP REST API and Bolt protocol
• Configuration Guide - Server configuration and CLI options
• Wiki - Comprehensive guides: Cypher Reference, Schema Basics, Graph-Notebook, Neo4j Tools
• Examples - Quick Start | E-commerce Analytics
• Dev Quick Start - 30-second workflow for contributors

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Development Status

Current Version: v0.6.6-dev

Test Coverage

• Rust Unit Tests: 1,601 passing (100%)
• Integration Tests: 3,068 passing (108 environment-dependent)
• openCypher TCK: 402/402 read scenarios passing (100%), 0 failures
• LDBC SNB: 36/37 queries passing (97%)
• Benchmarks: 14/14 passing (100%)
• E2E Tests: Bolt 4/4, Cache 5/5 (100%)

Known Limitations

• Cypher writes — embedded mode only: CREATE, SET, DELETE, REMOVE work in embedded mode against ClickGraph-managed tables (v0.6.7+). Server / remote / sql_only modes reject writes; source:-backed nodes/edges remain read-only. MERGE is planned for v0.7.x. See Known Issues #2 / #3 for the full list of unsupported write combinations.
• Anonymous Nodes: Use named nodes for better SQL generation

See STATUS.md and KNOWN_ISSUES.md for details.

Roadmap

Phase	Version	Status
Phase 1	v0.4.0	Complete - Query cache, parameters, Bolt protocol
Phase 2	v0.5.0	Complete - Multi-tenancy, RBAC, auto-schema discovery
Phase 2.5-2.6	v0.5.2-v0.5.3	Complete - Schema variations, Cypher functions
Phase 3	v0.6.3	Complete - WITH redesign, GraphRAG, LDBC SNB, MCP
Phase 4	v0.6.x	Next - user-requested features, advanced optimizations

See ROADMAP.md for detailed feature tracking.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See DEV_QUICK_START.md to get started and DEVELOPMENT_PROCESS.md for the full workflow.

License

ClickGraph is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See the LICENSE file for details.

This project is developed on a forked repo of Brahmand with zero-ETL view-based graph querying, Neo4j ecosystem compatibility and enterprise deployment capabilities.