TiCDC
Sunnyvale, California, USA
What it is
TiCDC is a free, open-source, self-hosted tool that replicates incremental data changes from TiDB. It captures TiKV change logs, sorts the changes, and exports row-based data to downstream systems such as TiDB, MySQL-compatible databases, Kafka, Amazon S3, GCS, Azure Blob Storage, and NFS. For Kafka, recommended formats include Canal-JSON, Avro, and Debezium. Filters can limit replication by database, table, DML, or DDL, while the Open API can query task status, change task configuration, and create or delete tasks. TiCDC supports replication between TiDB clusters for disaster recovery, with second-level RPO and minute-level RTO, as well as bidirectional replication for multi-active deployments. It can run with a new cluster or be added to an existing one; production deployment guidance recommends at least two instances. TiCDC supports dynamically adding or removing nodes and has no single point of failure. Delivery is at least once, so failures can lead to repeated statements or Kafka messages. It generally requires a valid index on replicated tables, with a force-replicate option for tables without one.
For and against
For
- Free and open source.
- Replicates to databases, Kafka, and cloud storage.
- Supports bidirectional TiDB cluster replication.
- Filters databases, tables, DMLs, and DDLs.
- Nodes can be added or removed dynamically.
Against
- At-least-once delivery can produce duplicates after failures.
- Generally replicates only tables with a valid index.
- Large transactions have partial support and out-of-memory risk.
- Several scenarios are documented as unsupported.
The verdict
TiCDC offers flexible, self-hosted replication for TiDB changes, including cross-cluster disaster recovery and multiple downstream destinations. Consider its at-least-once delivery, index expectations, and documented unsupported scenarios when assessing fit.
Who it suits
TiCDC suits teams using TiDB that need change-data feeds, disaster recovery, or replication to other databases and storage systems. It is aimed at users able to deploy and operate self-hosted infrastructure.
Plans and prices
TiCDC (open-source)
No paid plans or usage caps stated on the TiCDC pages opened
Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.pingcap.com
On the record
- API limitation
- TiCDC OpenAPI v1 is deprecated, and its task-creation parameters are less complete than the CLI parameters; the documentation recommends OpenAPI v2.docs.pingcap.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Availability
- TiCDC has no single point of failure and supports dynamically adding and deleting TiCDC nodes.docs.pingcap.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Bidirectional replication
- TiCDC can replicate changes in both directions between TiDB clusters for multi-active deployments.docs.pingcap.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Build requirements
- The repository documents compiling TiCDC on Linux or macOS with Go 1.25.12 using make cdc.github.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Company founding
- LinkedIn states that the TiDB organization was founded in 2015 by three software engineers.linkedin.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Company size
- LinkedIn lists TiDB powered by PingCAP as having 501–1,000 employees and headquarters in Sunnyvale, California.linkedin.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Compatibility requirement
- The new architecture requires TiDB 7.5.0 or later.docs.pingcap.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Delivery semantics
- TiCDC outputs each DDL or DML at least once, so failures can cause repeated statements or Kafka messages.docs.pingcap.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- TiCDC can be deployed with a new TiDB cluster or added to an existing cluster using TiUP.docs.pingcap.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Deployment and scale
- TiCDC can be deployed with a new TiDB cluster or added to an existing cluster, and the deployment documentation recommends at least two instances in production.docs.pingcap.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Disaster recovery
- TiCDC supports primary-secondary TiDB replication with second-level recovery-point objectives and minute-level recovery-time objectives.docs.pingcap.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- The TiCDC documentation includes deployment, changefeeds, monitoring, alerting, troubleshooting, performance tuning, integration scenarios, APIs, compatibility, FAQs, and a glossary.docs.pingcap.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Download targets
- Published binaries cover Linux amd64 and arm64 plus macOS amd64 and arm64.github.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Downstream sinks
- TiCDC can replicate to TiDB, MySQL-compatible databases, Kafka, Amazon S3, GCS, Azure Blob Storage, and NFS.docs.pingcap.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Filtering
- Replication rules can filter databases, tables, DML events, and DDL events.docs.pingcap.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Filtering and management
- TiCDC can filter databases, tables, DMLs, and DDLs, and its Open API can query task status, modify task configuration, and create or delete tasks.docs.pingcap.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Funding news
- PingCAP announced a $270 million Series D round on November 17, 2020, led jointly by GGV Capital, Access Technology Ventures, Anatole Investment, Jeneration Capital, and 5Y Capital.prnewswire.co.uk · read 21 Oct 2026
- High availability
- TiCDC has no single point of failure and supports dynamically adding or deleting TiCDC nodes.docs.pingcap.com · read 21 Oct 2026
