GraphAcademy
Course

Get Started with Relate

Install Relate, the embedded Cypher database. Seed a graph from a script and a CSV file, write data by hand and with an agent, then read it back.

40 minutes7 lessons across 1 module
Cypher
About this lab

In this 40-minute lab, you will learn

Relate is an open-source embedded graph database that speaks CypherNeo4j's implementation of GQL, the ISO standard query language for graph databases. It is declarative: you describe the pattern to find, and the database decides how to find it.. It runs inside your own process, so there is no server to deploy and no account to create. You get a database from a single command line tool and a single file.

In this lab you will install Relate and run your first statements. You will then build a small graph of people and projects from more than one source, add to it by hand and through an AI agent, and read it back with queries that are safe to repeat.

Everything runs on your own machine. You do not need an Aura instanceA single Neo4j database running in Aura.. The lab uses MERGE, LOAD CSV and query parameters, and explains each one the first time it appears, so you only need to be comfortable reading a short Cypher statement. An AI coding agent is optional. The one step that uses an agent has a version you can do by hand.

  • Install and run Relate

    Install the relate command line tool and run your first Cypher statements in an in-memory database.

  • Seed data from different sources

    Load a graph from a Cypher script and a CSV file, with a pointer for converting Parquet, using MERGE so a re-run creates no duplicates.

  • Write and read data

    Write to a persistent .rl file by hand and through an agent, then read the data back with read-only, parameterized queries.

Course content

1 module, 40 minutes.

  1. 7 lessons
    1. Install Relate5 min
    2. Run Your First Query7 min
    3. Seed Data From Different Sources7 min
    4. Write and Read Data5 min
    5. Load a Graph From Two Sources6 min
    6. Write and Read With an Agent5 min
    7. Add Data, Then Ask Questions8 min
Further reading

Posts from the GraphAcademy blog.

3 min read

Write your first Cypher query without installing anything

Write your first Cypher queries in the browser on Relate, from finding an actor to creating a node, with nothing to install.

Adam CowleyRead post
4 min read

How to load Parquet files into Relate

Convert Parquet files to CSV with DuckDB, then load them into a Relate graph with LOAD CSV and typed properties from the command line.

Adam CowleyRead post
5 min read

How to run a Cypher engine in the browser with WebAssembly

Run Cypher in a browser tab with no database server, by loading Relate on first use, queueing queries, seeding a graph and handling an engine crash.

Adam CowleyRead post