arangodb/Documentation/Manual/GlossaryDatabaseOrganisation.md

Database Organisation

@GE{Database Organisation}: A single ArangoDB instance can handle multiple databases in parallel. By default, there will be at least one database, which is named _system.

Databases are physically stored in separate sub-directories underneath the database directory, which itself resides in the instance's data directory.

Each database has its own sub-directory, named database-<database id>. The database directory contains sub-directories for the collections of the database, and a file named parameter.json. This file contains the database id and name.

In an example ArangoDB instance which has two databases, the filesystem layout could look like this:

data/                     # the instance's data directory
  databases/              # sub-directory containing all databases' data
    database-<id>/        # sub-directory for a single database
      parameter.json      # file containing database id and name
      collection-<id>/    # directory containg data about a collection
    database-<id>/        # sub-directory for another database
      parameter.json      # file containing database id and name
      collection-<id>/    # directory containg data about a collection
      collection-<id>/    # directory containg data about a collection

Foxx applications are also organised in database-specific directories inside the application path. The filesystem layout could look like this:

apps/                   # the instance's application directory
  system/               # system applications (can be ignored)
  databases/            # sub-directory containing database-specific applications
    <database-name>/    # sub-directory for a single database
      <app-name>        # sub-directory for a single application
      <app-name>        # sub-directory for a single application
    <database-name>/    # sub-directory for another database
      <app-name>        # sub-directory for a single application