I’m new to CouchDB, but there are 2 built-in features that have caught my attention:

1. Versioning system using document revisions
2. Web admin inteface: Futon

Versioning system using document revision

Each document update is a new revision to that document, so you won’t get data corruption easily in case your connection dropped. This is an examples of creating a new document using CouchRest ruby gem:

DB = CouchRest.database!("http://localhost:5984/database-name")
DB.save_doc({team: "FC. Barcelona", player: "Messi"})
# => {"ok"=>true, "id"=>"9c6182ff604654baa0d23aa7b73eb09d", "rev"=>"1-0842f1a97b2a32ea71faa8a152156f98"} 

Updating a document (creates a new revision)

DB = CouchRest.database!("http://localhost:5984/database-name")
doc = DB.get("9c6182ff604654baa0d23aa7b73eb09d")
DB.update_doc(doc.id) {|doc| doc["player"] = "Leo Messi"}
# => #<CouchRest::Document _id: "9c6182ff604654baa0d23aa7b73eb09d", _rev: "2-f47d99f2b9544508e83ab3af877f39f1", team: "FC. Barcelona", player: "Leo Messi">

Notice same document _id but different _rev!

Futon: CouchDB simple web interface

This is a nice feature when building a new app using CouchDB and you want a quick check or access to your documentms. Instead of start using cURL you can use built-in Futon web interface opening this URL in your browser:

http://localhost:5984/_utils/