Apache CouchDB, commonly referred to as CouchDB, is an open source database that focuses on ease of use and on being "a database that completely embraces the web".[1] It is a NoSQL database that uses JSON to store data, JavaScript as its query language using MapReduce and HTTP for an API.[1] One of its distinguishing features is easy replication. CouchDB was first released in 2005 and later became an Apache project in 2008.