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ShardingSphere-Proxy
What it is
ShardingSphere-Proxy is a free, self-hosted database proxy that presents a database server through a binary protocol for clients using different programming languages. Sharding distributes storage and computing across underlying databases for horizontal scaling. The project includes distributed transactions through a hybrid XA and BASE engine, plus read/write splitting that balances reads using SQL semantics and database topology. Other capabilities include sharded data migration, federated queries, transparent encryption, and data masking. The quick-start documentation describes theoretical client protocol support for MySQL, PostgreSQL, openGauss, and Firebird. Deployment is available as a binary distribution, Docker image, or Helm deployment. The binary requires Java JRE 8 or higher, while Docker needs no additional dependency. MySQL backends require mysql-connector-j-8.4.0.jar in the Proxy ext-lib directory. Support for system databases such as information_schema and pg_catalog is limited, and some graphical clients may show errors.
For and against
For
- Horizontal scaling through data sharding
- Hybrid XA and BASE transactions
- SQL-aware read/write splitting
- Docker and Helm deployment options
- Supports four listed database protocols
Against
- System database support is limited
- Some graphical clients may show errors
- Binary deployment requires Java JRE 8+
The verdict
ShardingSphere-Proxy provides a broad set of routing, scaling, and transaction functions as a free self-hosted project. Deployment and backend setup require attention to runtime and connector requirements.
Who it suits
It suits teams running self-hosted database infrastructure that need sharding, routing, distributed transactions, or federated access. Operators can choose binary, Docker, or Helm deployment.
Plans and prices
Apache ShardingSphere-Proxy
Open-source binary distribution · Docker and Helm deployment
Read 30 Sep 2026 · shardingsphere.apache.org
On the record
- Data protection
- The encryption module is designed to provide transparent data encryption, and ShardingSphere also lists data masking as a feature area.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- Deployment
- ShardingSphere-Proxy is available as a binary distribution, Docker image and Helm deployment.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- Distributed transactions
- The project provides distributed transaction capabilities using a hybrid engine based on XA and BASE transactions.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- Known limitation
- Support for system databases and tables such as information_schema and pg_catalog is limited, and some graphical database clients may show errors.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- Migration and federation
- Features include data migration with sharding and federated queries across data sources.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- MySQL dependency
- For a MySQL backend, the quick start instructs users to add mysql-connector-j-8.4.0.jar to the Proxy ext-lib directory.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- Purpose
- ShardingSphere-Proxy is a transparent database proxy that provides a database server using a binary protocol for heterogeneous programming languages.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- Read/write splitting
- Read/write splitting supports load balancing for reads based on SQL semantics and awareness of the underlying database topology.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- Release integrity
- The downloads page recommends verifying release files with GPG or SHA-512 signatures.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- Runtime requirement
- The binary distribution requires Java JRE 8 or higher, while running it with Docker requires no additional dependency.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- Sharding
- Data sharding distributes storage and computing across underlying databases to scale horizontally.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
- Supported protocols
- The Proxy quick start says it theoretically supports client operations using MySQL, PostgreSQL, openGauss and Firebird protocols.shardingsphere.apache.org · read 30 Sep 2026
