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Zvec (GitHub Repo)

Zvec (GitHub Repo)

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Alibaba released Zvec v0.5.0, an open-source, in-process vector database designed to embed directly into applications for low-latency similarity search.
What: Zvec is a lightweight, serverless vector store supporting hybrid retrieval, full-text search, and on-disk indexing, battle-tested internally at Alibaba.
Why it matters: It enables developers to add vector search capabilities locally without the overhead of maintaining or configuring a separate vector database server.
Takeaway: Use Zvec for embedding-heavy local applications that require persistence and hybrid retrieval without infrastructure maintenance.
Deep dive
  • In-process library: installs directly into the application process, requiring no external server.
  • Supports hybrid retrieval by combining vector similarity, full-text search, and scalar filters.
  • Features DiskANN-based indexing to keep indices on disk and minimize memory usage.
  • Includes write-ahead logging (WAL) to ensure data durability across crashes.
  • Provides multi-language SDKs for Python, Node.js, Go, and Rust.
  • Includes 'Zvec Studio' for visual data browsing and query debugging without code.
Decoder
  • In-process database: A database that runs inside the memory space of the host application, rather than as a separate server process.
  • Vector database: A database optimized for storing and querying high-dimensional vectors, typically used for semantic similarity searches.
Original article

Zvec is an open-source, in-process vector database — lightweight, lightning-fast, and designed to embed directly into applications. Battle-tested within Alibaba Group, it delivers production-grade, low-latency and scalable similarity search with minimal setup.

🚀 v0.5.0 (June 12, 2026)

  • Full-Text Search (FTS): Native full-text search — attach an FTS index to any string field and query it with natural-language or structured expressions, no external search engine required.
  • Hybrid Retrieval: Combine full-text and vector search in a single MultiQuery across dense vectors, sparse vectors, scalar filters, and text.
  • DiskANN Index: New on-disk index that keeps the bulk of the index on disk, drastically cutting memory usage for large-scale datasets.
  • Ecosystem & Platforms: New official Go / Rust SDKs, the Zvec Studio visual tool, and RISC-V support.

💫 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: Support dense and sparse embeddings, multi-vector queries, and a rich selection of vector index types that scale from memory to disk.
  • Full-Text Search (FTS): Native keyword-based full-text search — query string fields with natural-language or structured expressions.
  • Hybrid Search: Fuse vector similarity, full-text search, and structured filters in a single query 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

Zvec offers official SDKs across multiple languages:

  • Python: pip install zvec (requires Python 3.10–3.14)
  • Node.js: npm install @zvec/zvec
  • Go: High-performance Go bindings.
  • Rust: High-performance Rust bindings.
  • Dart/Flutter: flutter pub add zvec

Prefer a visual tool? Try Zvec Studio to browse data and debug queries — no code required.

✅ 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.

❤️ 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.

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