DistX

A simple, fast, in-memory vector database written in Rust. Designed with Redis-style simplicity and Qdrant API compatibility.

DistX combines the best of both worlds: Redis's simple architecture and performance with Qdrant's easy-to-use API. It's faster than Redis (26x faster inserts, 1.35x faster searches) while maintaining the same in-memory, fork-based persistence model. The Qdrant-compatible REST API makes it a drop-in replacement for existing applications.

What is DistX?

DistX is an in-memory vector database that provides fast similarity search using HNSW indexing. It offers a simple API compatible with Qdrant, making it easy to migrate existing applications.

Features

• Fast Vector Search: HNSW index for approximate nearest neighbor search
• Text Search: BM25 full-text search with ranking
• Payload Filtering: Filter results by JSON metadata
• Graph Support: Basic nodes and edges
• Dual API: REST (Qdrant-compatible) and gRPC APIs
• Persistence: Redis-style snapshots, WAL, and LMDB storage
• In-Memory First: Optimized for speed with optional persistence

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Rust: Install from rustup.rs
• LMDB (for persistence):
  • Linux: sudo apt-get install liblmdb-dev
  • macOS: brew install lmdb

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/antonellof/DistX.git
cd distx
cargo build --release

The binary will be at target/release/distx.

Run the Server

Start DistX with default settings:

./target/release/distx

Or with custom options:

./target/release/distx --data-dir ./data --http-port 6333 --grpc-port 6334

The server will start and listen on:

• HTTP API: http://localhost:6333
• gRPC API: localhost:6334

Quick Example

1. Create a Collection

curl -X PUT http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "vectors": {
      "size": 128,
      "distance": "Cosine"
    }
  }'

2. Insert Vectors

curl -X PUT http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "points": [
      {
        "id": "point1",
        "vector": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5],
        "payload": {"text": "example document"}
      },
      {
        "id": "point2",
        "vector": [0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6],
        "payload": {"text": "another document"}
      }
    ]
  }'

3. Search Vectors

curl -X POST http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "vector": [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5],
    "limit": 10
  }'

4. Get a Point

curl http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/point1

5. Delete a Point

curl -X DELETE http://localhost:6333/collections/my_collection/points/point1

For more examples and detailed API documentation, see Quick Start Guide.

Configuration

Command line options:

distx [OPTIONS]

Options:
  --data-dir <PATH>      Data directory (default: ./data)
  --http-port <PORT>     HTTP API port (default: 6333)
  --grpc-port <PORT>     gRPC API port (default: 6334)
  --log-level <LEVEL>    Log level: trace, debug, info, warn, error (default: info)

Architecture

distx/
├── lib/
│   ├── core/          # Core data structures (Vector, Point, Collection, HNSW)
│   ├── storage/       # Persistence layer (WAL, snapshots, LMDB)
│   └── api/           # REST and gRPC APIs
└── src/
    └── main.rs        # Main entry point

Testing

# Run all tests
cargo test

# Run integration tests
cargo test --test integration_test

# Run benchmarks
cargo bench

Documentation

• Quick Start Guide - Get started quickly with examples
• Architecture - System design and components
• API Reference - REST and gRPC API documentation
• Performance - Benchmarks and optimization details

License

DistX is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.