OpenCypher Compatibility Status

Last Updated: 2026-07-27 GraphForge Version: v0.5.0

Executive Summary

GraphForge v0.5.0 implements the openCypher language on a Rust core with Arrow results and Parquet-backed projects. Authoritative TCK status lives in TCK Compliance and the CI-enforced coverage matrix.

Design Philosophy

GraphForge prioritizes:

✅ Full openCypher language — clauses, functions, operators, patterns
✅ Parquet-backed projects with generation-based durability
✅ Zero-configuration embedded usage
✅ Temporal/spatial types — nanosecond precision, IANA timezones, extreme years
✅ Arrow-first results — forge.execute() and analyst verbs return Apache Arrow Tables
✅ Hybrid text/vector search via forge.find() / forge.index()
❌ Multi-database / distributed features (single-node embedded design)
❌ High-concurrency multi-writer workloads (one writer per project)

Feature Matrix

Reading clauses

MATCH — node and relationship patterns, multi-pattern, property filters
WHERE — comparisons, logical operators, NULL ternary logic
RETURN — projection, aliasing, DISTINCT
WITH — query chaining and filtering
ORDER BY / LIMIT / SKIP
OPTIONAL MATCH
UNWIND, UNION / UNION ALL
EXISTS { } / COUNT { } subqueries

Writing clauses

CREATE, SET, REMOVE, DELETE, DETACH DELETE
MERGE with ON CREATE / ON MATCH

Aggregations

COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX, COLLECT
Implicit GROUP BY for non-aggregated columns
stDev / percentileDisc where covered by the corpus

Patterns

Directed and undirected relationships, multiple types (|)
Variable-length paths (*, *1..3, named paths)
Pattern comprehensions and list comprehensions

Functions and types

String, math, list, aggregation, predicate, temporal, spatial, graph, and conversion functions used by the openCypher TCK. Temporal values support nanosecond precision and IANA timezones. See the Cypher guide for examples.

Analyst surface (non-Cypher)

Graph algorithms and hybrid search are not Cypher CALL procedures. They are the seven Rust-backed verbs — rank, cluster, paths, analyze, similar, find, plus execute — returning Arrow Tables. See Algorithm Verbs.

Out of scope

These remain outside GraphForge’s embedded design:

Enterprise auth / RBAC / multi-tenant user management
Multi-database switching and distributed clusters
Explicit user-managed B-tree index DDL (storage uses Parquet + derived indexes)
High-availability replication

Comparison with Neo4j

Feature Category	GraphForge v0.5.0	Neo4j
Core Cypher	✅ openCypher TCK corpus	✅ Full Cypher
Temporal / spatial	✅ Supported	✅ Supported
Algorithms	✅ Analyst verbs → Arrow	✅ GDS / procedures
Deployment	✅ Embedded (`pip install`)	⚠️ Service
Persistence	✅ Parquet project directory	✅ Native store
Results	✅ Apache Arrow Tables	Driver rows
Scale	Research / notebook	Billions of nodes
Multi-user	❌ Single writer per project	✅ Auth / RBAC

Summary: GraphForge is a lightweight, embedded alternative for single-user analytical workflows — not a production multi-tenant database replacement.