March 16, 2026
ORMageddon, but make it Rust
Show HN: Oxyde – Pydantic-native async ORM with a Rust core
Rust crashes Python’s party, devs argue if it’s genius or gimmick
TLDR: Oxyde blends Python models with a Rust engine to promise faster, cleaner database work. The crowd’s split: fans love the real validation and familiar style, skeptics warn about mixing app and database models, and others question the Rust choice—making this a flashpoint for how Python devs build next.
Oxyde just dropped and the comments exploded. It’s a new Python tool for talking to databases that leans on Pydantic (the data-checking library many love) and a Rust engine under the hood. Think: Django’s easy style, but async, type-safe, and seriously fast. The devs say Rust does the “plumbing,” Python does the modeling, and speed is a happy accident. The docs show it works with Postgres, MySQL, and SQLite—and the benchmarks? Oxyde flexes on big names in Postgres/MySQL, though one chart shows SQLite where it doesn’t always win, fueling mini “benchmark wars.”
But the real show is the comments. One user cheers that there’s a “real gap” being filled—then absolutely dunks on SQLModel for turning off validation when combined with Pydantic. Another raises a siren: are we gluing our app’s data shape to the database? That’s dev-speak for “don’t mix your front door with your basement.” Meanwhile, Rust itself becomes the main character: some love it for speed and safety; others clap back that Python should be JIT-friendly instead of outsourcing to a systems language. And, of course, someone rolls in with the classic: “Weren’t ORMs declared dead?”
Verdict: Oxyde landed with hype, side-eye, and memes. Exactly how devs like it.
Key Points
- •Oxyde is a Pydantic-native, async-first Python ORM with a Rust core for SQL generation and execution.
- •It provides a Django-style API, strong typing, and full Pydantic v2 validation and serialization.
- •Supports PostgreSQL (12+), SQLite (3.35+), and MySQL (8.0+), with transactions, savepoints, and Django-style migrations.
- •Benchmarks show Oxyde leading in PostgreSQL and MySQL ops/sec and competitive in SQLite versus popular Python ORMs.
- •Includes a quick start, CLI (oxyde init, makemigrations, migrate), FastAPI integration, comprehensive docs, and MIT license.