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zvec

A lightweight, lightning-fast, in-process vector database

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Description

A lightweight, lightning-fast, in-process vector database

README

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alibaba%2Fzvec | Trendshift

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Zvec is an open-source, in-process vector database — lightweight, lightning-fast, and designed to embed directly into applications. Built on Proxima (Alibaba's battle-tested vector search engine), it delivers production-grade, low-latency, scalable similarity search with minimal setup.

Important

🚀 v0.3.1 (Apr 17, 2026)

  • Relaxed collection path restrictions and improved Windows path handling.

🚀 v0.3.0 (April 3, 2026)

  • New Platforms: Initial Windows (MSVC) and Android support. Published official Windows Python and Node.js packages.
  • Efficiency: RabitQ quantization and CPU Auto-Dispatch for optimized SIMD execution.
  • Ecosystem: C-API for custom language bindings and MCP / Skill integration for AI Agents.

👉 Read the Release Notes | View Roadmap 📍

💫 Features

  • Blazing Fast: Searches billions of vectors in milliseconds.
  • Simple, Just Works: Install and start searching in seconds. Pure local, no servers, no config, no fuss.
  • Dense + Sparse Vectors: Work with both dense and sparse embeddings, with native support for multi-vector queries in a single call.
  • Hybrid Search: Combine semantic similarity with structured filters for precise results.
  • Durable Storage: Write-ahead logging (WAL) guarantees persistence — data is never lost, even on process crash or power failure.
  • Concurrent Access: Multiple processes can read the same collection simultaneously; writes are single-process exclusive.
  • Runs Anywhere: As an in-process library, Zvec runs wherever your code runs — notebooks, servers, CLI tools, or even edge devices.

📦 Installation

Requirements: Python 3.10 - 3.14

pip install zvec
npm install @zvec/zvec

✅ Supported Platforms

  • Linux (x86_64, ARM64)
  • macOS (ARM64)
  • Windows (x86_64)

🛠️ Building from Source

If you prefer to build Zvec from source, please check the Building from Source guide.

⚡ One-Minute Example

import zvec

# Define collection schema
schema = zvec.CollectionSchema(
    name="example",
    vectors=zvec.VectorSchema("embedding", zvec.DataType.VECTOR_FP32, 4),
)

# Create collection
collection = zvec.create_and_open(path="./zvec_example", schema=schema)

# Insert documents
collection.insert([
    zvec.Doc(id="doc_1", vectors={"embedding": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4]}),
    zvec.Doc(id="doc_2", vectors={"embedding": [0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.1]}),
])

# Search by vector similarity
results = collection.query(
    zvec.VectorQuery("embedding", vector=[0.4, 0.3, 0.3, 0.1]),
    topk=10
)

# Results: list of {'id': str, 'score': float, ...}, sorted by relevance
print(results)

📈 Performance at Scale

Zvec delivers exceptional speed and efficiency, making it ideal for demanding production workloads.

Zvec Performance Benchmarks

For detailed benchmark methodology, configurations, and complete results, please see our Benchmarks documentation.

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❤️ Contributing

We welcome and appreciate contributions from the community! Whether you're fixing a bug, adding a feature, or improving documentation, your help makes Zvec better for everyone.

Check out our Contributing Guide to get started!

Release History

VersionChangesUrgencyDate
v0.6.0## 🚀 Zvec v0.6.0 Release Notes ### 📦 New Features + **Turbo Quantizer Abstraction:** Introduced a pluggable Quantizer abstraction in the Turbo module with a uniform interface that future quantizers (int8 uniform, int8 record, PQ, RaBitQ, …) can implement, decoupling quantization logic from index builders and searchers. Includes the first concrete `Fp32Quantizer` implementation and scalar FP32 distance kernels. ([#546](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/546)) + **Random Rotation for INT8/IHigh7/20/2026
v0.5.1## 🚀 Zvec v0.5.1 Release Notes ### 📦 New Features * External Vector Source: Added support for using external vector sources, enabling more flexible data ingestion and retrieval workflows. (#490) * Zero-Copy Vector Query Path: Added `VectorViewClause` to support a zero-copy query path and unified vector query validation. (#478) * Search Prefetch Configuration: Added support for passing prefetch configuration (`PO` and `PL`) through search parameters. (#482) * Index Dirty Status: ExposedHigh6/24/2026
v0.5.0## 🚀 Zvec v0.5.0 Release Notes ### 📦 New Features - **Full-Text Search (FTS):** Zvec now natively supports full-text search — attach an FTS index to any string field and query it with natural-language or structured expressions, with index management through `Collection::CreateIndex` / `DropIndex`. ([#408](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/408), [#445](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/445)) - **Hybrid Retrieval:** Combine full-text and vector search in a single `MultiQuery` for trHigh6/12/2026
v0.4.0## 🚀 Zvec v0.4.0 Release Notes ### 📦 New Features * **Dart/Flutter SDK (Android & iOS)**: Published the official [zvec](https://pub.dev/packages/zvec) Flutter package, providing Dart/Flutter FFI bindings for Zvec. Supports Android (arm64-v8a) and iOS (arm64). Prebuilt native libraries are automatically downloaded at build time — no manual native compilation required for end users. ([Issue #192](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/issues/192)) * **Enlarged topK Limit**: Relaxed the upper boundHigh5/9/2026
v0.3.1## 🚀 Zvec v0.3.1 Release Notes Hotfix release focused on **collection path handling**. --- ### 🐞 Bug Fixes - Removed collection path restriction ([#340](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/340)) - Fixed cross-drive collection creation on Windows ([#337](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/337)) - Improved file-related error messages on Windows ([#341](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/341)) --- **Full Changelog**: https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/compare/v0.3.0...v0.3.1High4/17/2026
v0.3.0## 🚀 Zvec v0.3.0 Release Notes ### 📦 Platform Support * **Windows:** Added native support for Windows( tested with MSVC 2022/Visual Studio 17.0+ ). * **Mobile:** Enabled Android cross-compilation; verified integration in mobile application environments. * **Package Distribution:** Official Python and Node.js packages for Windows are now available. * **CI/CD:** Continuous Integration now covers macOS, Linux, and Windows (native), alongside Android (cross-compile). ### ⚡ Performance &High4/3/2026
v0.2.1## 🚀 Zvec v0.2.1 Release Notes A feature-rich update focused on **build and CI improvements**, **platform expansion**, **performance optimization**, and **developer ecosystem enhancements**. --- ### 📦 Core Features & Improvements - Added support for **Jina Embeddings v5** integration ([#156](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/156)) - Added **custom HTTP embedding example** for LM Studio / Ollama ([#149](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/149)) - Added **Python API function ovLow3/18/2026
v0.2.0## 🚀 Zvec v0.2.0 Release Notes A major update focused on **optimization**, **platform expansion**, and **developer experience** improvements. --- ### 📦 Core Features & Improvements - Support AI extension framework for on-device embedding workflows ([#88](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/88)) - Auto-scalable segment metadata in MMap storage files ([#67](https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/67)) - Unified search invocation interface in core ([#15](https://github.com/alibaba/zveLow2/13/2026
v0.1.1## Breaking Changes **Rebuild Required**: After updating to this version, all indexes must be rebuilt. * refactor: clarify HNSW 'm' as max neighbors of upper layer by @JalinWang in https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/12 * refactor: set HNSW 'scaling_factor' default to 'm' instead of 50 by @iaojnh in https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/17 * refactor: flat param string cleanup by @JalinWang in https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/28 * fix: flat support more segments by @JalinWang in https:/Low1/27/2026
v0.1.0## What's Changed * minor: update readme by @zhourrr in https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/2 * chore:add git commit msg and branch name in pre-commit and modify org by @Cuiyus in https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/1 * feat(core): support cpu flag detect & dispatch by @feihongxu0824 in https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/3 * chore(cmake): auto detect cpu arch flag in cmake and rm redundant option by @feihongxu0824 in https://github.com/alibaba/zvec/pull/5 * chore: release to pypi by @CuLow12/31/2025

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