Relationships

Relationships connect RushDB records into a traversable graph. They are named, directed edges between records, not foreign-key columns or application-side joins.

You can create relationships explicitly, generate them automatically from nested JSON imports, connect large datasets by matching keys, and filter records by traversing one or more hops inside a where clause.

Choose a Workflow

Goal	Guide
Attach or detach individual record pairs	Connect Records
Connect many records by matching keys	Bulk Relationships
Review and approve inferred graph structure	Suggested Patterns
Create parent-child edges while importing nested JSON	Import Data
Filter through related records	Relationship Traversal

Relationship Sources

Source	What it creates
Nested JSON import	Default parent-to-child edges as RushDB decomposes the payload
attach / detach	Explicit edges between known record IDs
Bulk relationship APIs	Edges between matching source and target records
Approved relationship patterns	Explicit edges inferred from ontology structure and reviewed before application

Relationship types and direction are optional when traversing broadly and explicit when your query needs a specific edge contract.

Related Sections

• Records & Queries — store and retrieve the records relationships connect
• Labeled Meta Property Graph — understand record, property, and relationship layers together
• SearchQuery Reference — full traversal syntax