databunker is a free, open source compliance & risk management project written in Go and released under MIT. It has 1,484 GitHub stars, 99 forks and 4 open issues, and was last pushed 2 months ago. On this registry it ranks #39 of 45 tracked projects in Compliance & Risk Management, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available.

What is databunker?

What it is

Databunker is a self-hosted, Go-based vault for storing and tokenizing sensitive personal records, including PII, PHI, and KYC data. It belongs to the open-source compliance and data-protection ecosystem, and it is licensed under MIT. The project is described as GDPR compliant, with topics covering anonymization, encryption, CCPA, GDPR, legaltech, and application-server use.

The concrete problem it addresses is the gap between disk or database encryption and application-level data protection. The README states that traditional database encryption can leave data exposed through unfiltered GraphQL queries and SQL injection, because encryption at rest does not necessarily protect API access paths. Databunker separates sensitive records from the main application database, returns UUID tokens for application use, and relies on encrypted storage and hash-based indexing so that plaintext personal data is not stored directly in the primary system.

Key capabilities

  • Tokenization generates UUID tokens so applications can reference sensitive records without storing plaintext identifiers in the main database.
  • AES-256 encrypted storage protects personal records, and the README states that no plaintext storage is used for protected data at rest.
  • Injection protection blocks SQL and GraphQL injection attacks by design, reducing the risk that query flaws expose sensitive records.
  • Hash-based indexing supports secure lookups by fields such as login, email, phone, or token without plaintext database search.
  • The NoSQL-like REST API provides authenticated access through headers such as X-Bunker-Token, while bulk retrieval is disabled by default.
  • Compliance features include consent management, automated data minimization, audit logging, and GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA-ready workflows.

Who uses it and how

  • Backend teams use it to segregate or replace a user table, storing sensitive fields through API calls and keeping only UUID tokens in the main database.
  • Developers integrate it with REST calls or SDKs, such as the Node.js example that sends JSON to http://localhost:3000/v1/user with an X-Bunker-Token header.
  • Self-hosters deploy it in cloud or on-premises environments with Docker, using the securitybunker/databunker image and exposing port 3000 for API and admin UI access.

Getting started

Typical deployment uses Docker: pull securitybunker/databunker, run the container with port 3000 mapped, then create and retrieve records through the /v1/user REST API or open the admin UI at http://localhost:3000. The README also provides a Node.js SDK example for application integration.

When to use it — and when not to

Use Databunker when an application needs a self-hosted, API-based vault for personal records and wants to reduce plaintext exposure in the main database. It is less suitable when the required workflow is credit-card tokenization or enterprise security features, which the README assigns to Databunker Pro. Self-hosters must operate the Docker service, secure API tokens, storage, and audit access themselves, and the default restriction on bulk retrieval means ordinary mass-export workflows may need explicit design.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Databunker solution

Databunker

Databunker is a self-hosted, GDPR compliant, Go-based tool for secure personal records tokenization and storage - PII/PHI/KYC: https://databunker.org/

Stars Tests

npm install @databunker/store npm install @databunker/session-store

Databunker intro

💣 The Big Problem with Traditional Database Encryption

Traditional database encryption solutions often provide a false sense of security. While they may encrypt data at rest, they leave critical vulnerabilities:

  • Encryption alone isn’t enough: Most vendors offer only disk-block encryption, ignoring API-level encryption
  • Vulnerable GraphQL Queries: Unfiltered queries can expose unencrypted data to attackers
  • SQL Injection Risks: Attackers can retrieve plaintext data through SQL injections

Databunker addresses these gaps with a secure, developer-focused solution for personal data tokenization and storage.

🛠️ DataBunker Features

  • Tokenization Engine: Generates UUID tokens for safe data referencing in applications
  • Encrypted Storage: Secures sensitive records with advanced encryption layer
  • Injection Protection: Blocks SQL and GraphQL injection attacks by design
  • Secure Indexing: Uses hash-based indexing for search queries
  • No Plaintext Storage: Ensures all data is encrypted at rest
  • Restricted Bulk Retrieval: Disabled by default to prevent data leaks
  • API-Based Access: Integrates with your backend via a NoSQL-like API
  • Fast Integration: Set up secure data protection in under 10 minutes

For credit-card tokenization or enterprise security features check out the Databunker Pro.

⚡ Why Databunker?

Databunker provides a robust, open-source vault that eliminates the false sense of security from traditional encryption methods, offering developers a practical way to protect sensitive data.

🚀 Deployment & Usage

  • Self-Hosted: Run on your cloud or on-premises infrastructure
  • Open-Source: Licensed under MIT for free commercial use
  • GDPR Compliant: Meets modern privacy regulation requirements
  • High Performance: Go-powered API ensures fast tokenization and data access

🔐 How It Works

  1. Store sensitive data in Databunker via API calls
  2. Receive UUID tokens to reference data securely in your application
  3. Query data using secure, hash-based indexing
  4. Benefit from built-in protections against injections and bulk data leaks

🚀 Quick Start (5 minutes)

# Pull and run Databunker container
docker pull securitybunker/databunker
docker run -p 3000:3000 -d --rm --name dbunker securitybunker/databunker demo

# Create user records
curl -s http://localhost:3000/v1/user -X POST \
  -H "X-Bunker-Token: DEMO" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"first":"John","last":"Doe","login":"john","email":"[email protected]"}'

# Get user by login, email, phone, or token
curl -s -H "X-Bunker-Token: DEMO" -X GET http://localhost:3000/v1/user/login/john

# Admin UI: http://localhost:3000

💡 What Problems Does Databunker Solve?

  1. Prevents Data Breaches

    • Eliminates SQL injection vulnerabilities
    • Protects against GraphQL data exposure
    • Segregates sensitive data from your main database
  2. Simplifies Compliance

    • GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA ready out of the box
    • Built-in consent management
    • Automated data minimization
    • Full audit trail of all operations
  3. Reduces Development Time

    • Simple REST API for all operations
    • SDK available for popular languages
    • Drop-in replacement for your user table
    • Built-in session management

Project demo is available at: https://databunker.org/doc/demo/.

Please add a star if you like our project.

🔒 Key Security Features

  • Encrypted Storage: All personal records are encrypted using AES-256
  • Secure API: REST API with strong authentication
  • Tokenization: Replace sensitive data with tokens in your main database
  • Access Control: Fine-grained permissions and audit logging
  • Data Segregation: Physical separation from your application database

🔌 Integration Examples

// Node.js Example
const { Databunker } = require('databunker-sdk');
const db = new Databunker({
  url: 'http://localhost:3000',
  token: 'DEMO'
});

// Store user record
await db.users.create({
  email: '[email protected]',
  name: 'John Doe',
  phone: '+1-415-555-0123'
});

// Retrieve user by email
const user = await db.users.findByEmail('[email protected]');

📊 Use Cases

  • User Profile Storage: Secure storage for user personal data
  • Healthcare Records: HIPAA-compliant patient data storage
  • Financial Services: PCI DSS compliant customer records
  • Identity Management: Secure user authentication and session storage
  • GDPR Compliance: Built-in tools for data privacy regulations

🔧 Technical Specifications

  • Written in Go for high performance
  • Supports MySQL and PostgreSQL
  • REST API with OpenAPI specification
  • Containerized deployment
  • Horizontal scaling support
  • Automated backups
  • High availability options

📚 Resources

  1. GDPR compliance and Databunker introduction video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QESOuL3LMj0
  2. https://oppetmoln.se/20220223/databunker-en-oppen-losning-for-gdpr-saker-lagring-av-kundinformation/
  3. https://anchor.fm/techandmain/episodes/Huawei--Microsoft-and-DataBunker--Yuli-Stremovsky-evl385
  4. https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-stay-gdpr-compliant-with-access-logs/
  5. https://hackernoon.com/data-leak-prevention-with-databunker-xnn33u9
  6. https://nocomplexity.com/documents/simplifyprivacy/databunker.html
  7. https://marcusolsson.dev/data-privacy-vaults-using-databunker/
  8. https://ipv6.rs/tutorial/FreeBSD_Latest/Databunker/
  9. https://selfhostedworld.com/software/databunker
  10. https://ipv6.rs/tutorial/Void_Linux/Databunker/
  11. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26690279
  12. https://slashdot.org/software/p/Databunker/
  13. https://github.com/expressjs/session
  14. https://stackshare.io/databunker
  15. https://dbweekly.com/issues/348
  16. https://databunker.org/

📘 GDPR: Out of the box solution for:

  1. Right of access
  2. Right to restrict processing / Consent withdrawal
  3. Right to be forgotten
  4. Right to rectification
  5. Right to data portability

⚡ Databunker use cases

Detailed information can be found at https://databunker.org/use-case/

readme truncated — read the full docs on github

Frequently asked questions

Is databunker free to use?

databunker is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does databunker do?

Secure Vault for Customer PII/PHI/PCI/KYC Records

What is databunker written in?

databunker is primarily written in Go. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/securitybunker/databunker, and it has 1,484 GitHub stars.