--- title: C++26: std::hive | daily.dev description: C++26 introduces std::hive, a new container available via the <hive> header (from P0447R28), derived from the long-standing plf::colony library. It offers... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/c-26-std-hive-umqdxdqhq twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: C++26: std::hive | daily.dev og:description: C++26 introduces std::hive, a new container available via the <hive> header (from P0447R28), derived from the long-standing plf::colony library. It offers... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/c-26-std-hive-umqdxdqhq og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/UmQdxdqhq.png og:image:alt: C++26: std::hive og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # C++26: std::hive **[Sandor Dargo](https://daily.dev/sources/sandordargo)** · 6 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary C++26 introduces std::hive, a new container available via the header (from P0447R28), derived from the long-standing plf::colony library. It offers stable pointers and iterators across insertions and erasures, O(1) amortized insert/erase, and good cache locality via multiple contiguous memory blocks with a run-length-encoded skipfield to skip erased slots. Unlike std::vector or std::list, it has no random access, no push_back/push_front, and unspecified insertion order. It also supports block capacity tuning and hive-specific operations like sort(), splice(), and get_iterator(). It's aimed at use cases like game entities, event subscribers, and connection pools where cross-references must survive mutation. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is std::hive in C++26 and what problem does it solve? std::hive is a new C++26 standard library container, available in the header via proposal P0447R28, that provides stable pointers and iterators surviving insertions and erasures, O(1) amortized insert/erase, and good cache locality through multiple contiguous memory blocks. It solves the problem of needing both pointer stability (like std::list) and cache-friendly contiguous storage (like std::vector), useful for game entities, event subscribers, and connection pools with cross-references. _daily.dev surfaces standard library additions like std::hive for developers evaluating container choices._ ### Where did std::hive come from and why is it not called colony? std::hive originated from the plf::colony library and was renamed after 28 revisions and eight years of committee work before being standardized in C++26 as std::hive. The design retains colony's core ideas: multiple independently allocated memory blocks, a run-length-encoded skipfield for O(1) iteration past erased elements, and reuse of erased slots for new insertions. _Track how community libraries evolve into standard features by following C++ proposal history on daily.dev._ ### How does std::hive compare to std::vector and std::list for erasing elements? Erasing from the middle is O(n) for std::vector, O(1) for std::list, and O(1) amortized for std::hive. Pointer stability on erase is not preserved by std::vector but is preserved by both std::list and std::hive. Cache locality is excellent for std::vector, poor for std::list, and good for std::hive due to its contiguous memory blocks; unlike the other two, std::hive has unspecified insertion order and no random access. _Compare container trade-offs like these on daily.dev before picking a data structure for performance-critical code._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Part 1: std::inplace\_vector — The Fixed-Capacity Vector Finally Comes to C\+\+26](https://daily.dev/posts/part-1-std-inplace-vector-the-fixed-capacity-vector-finally-comes-to-c-26-obybukog4) · Towards Dev · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [C\+\+26: std::indirect](https://daily.dev/posts/c-26-std-indirect-rwwdwxrjf) · Sandor Dargo · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [C\+\+26: std::inplace\_vector](https://daily.dev/posts/c-26-std-inplace-vector-9a9stjxez) · Sandor Dargo · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [C\+\+26: std::polymorphic](https://daily.dev/posts/c-26-std-polymorphic-zsy0pbvxy) · Sandor Dargo · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#c++](https://daily.dev/tags/c++), [#data-structures](https://daily.dev/tags/data-structures) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/c-26-std-hive-umqdxdqhq) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"C++26: std::hive","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/c-26-std-hive-umqdxdqhq","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/c-26-std-hive-umqdxdqhq"},"datePublished":"2026-09-02T05:35:21.870Z","dateModified":"2026-09-02T05:35:45.137Z","description":"C++26 introduces std::hive, a new container available via the header (from P0447R28), derived from the long-standing plf::colony library. 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