# VantaDB 5-Minute Quickstart
This quickstart validates the current v0.1.x MVP boundary from a clean local
checkout. It uses the embedded CLI for operational flows and the source-installed
Python binding for vector, text, and hybrid memory search.
No external database service, Docker container, Ollama runtime, or network LLM is
required.
## 1. Prerequisites
- Rust stable toolchain
- Python 3.8 or newer
- `pip`
- Platform build tools needed by Rust dependencies
On Ubuntu, install the native dependencies used by CI:
```bash
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y libclang-dev clang librocksdb-dev
```
## 2. Clone and Build the CLI
```bash
git clone https://github.com/ness-e/Vantadb.git
cd Vantadb
cargo run --bin vanta-cli -- --help
```
## 3. Put and Read Memory with the CLI
```bash
cargo run --bin vanta-cli -- put \
--db ./quickstart_data \
--namespace agent/main \
--key memory-1 \
--payload "local durable memory"
cargo run --bin vanta-cli -- get \
--db ./quickstart_data \
--namespace agent/main \
--key memory-1
cargo run --bin vanta-cli -- list \
--db ./quickstart_data \
--namespace agent/main
```
Expected result: `get` prints `local durable memory`, and `list` shows
`memory-1`.
## 4. Install the Python Binding from Source
```bash
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip maturin pytest
python -m pip install -e ./vantadb-python
```
On Windows PowerShell:
```powershell
python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install --upgrade pip maturin pytest
python -m pip install -e .\vantadb-python
```
### Alternative: Install from a Pre-built Wheel
If a wheel is available from the GitHub Actions `Python Wheels` workflow or a
GitHub Release, install it directly without needing the Rust toolchain:
```bash
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip pytest
pip install ./path/to/vantadb_py-0.1.1-*.whl
```
### Alternative: Install from TestPyPI
When a TestPyPI release is available:
```bash
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install --index-url https://test.pypi.org/simple/ --extra-index-url https://pypi.org/simple/ vantadb-py
```
> **Note**: TestPyPI availability depends on the `TEST_PYPI_API_TOKEN` secret
> being configured in the repository. Production PyPI is not yet available.
## 5. Search by Vector, Text, and Hybrid Retrieval
Create `quickstart_memory.py`:
```python
import vantadb_py as vantadb
db = vantadb.VantaDB("./quickstart_data", memory_limit_bytes=128_000_000)
db.put(
"agent/main",
"vector",
"HNSW vector retrieval works in-process",
metadata={"kind": "note"},
vector=[1.0, 0.0, 0.0],
)
db.put(
"agent/main",
"text",
"BM25 lexical retrieval finds durable local memory",
metadata={"kind": "note"},
vector=[0.0, 1.0, 0.0],
)
db.put(
"agent/main",
"hybrid",
"Hybrid Retrieval v1 fuses BM25 and vector rankings",
metadata={"kind": "note"},
vector=[0.9, 0.1, 0.0],
)
vector_hits = db.search_memory("agent/main", [1.0, 0.0, 0.0], top_k=3)
text_hits = db.search_memory("agent/main", [], text_query="durable memory", top_k=3)
hybrid_hits = db.search_memory(
"agent/main",
[1.0, 0.0, 0.0],
text_query="Hybrid Retrieval",
top_k=3,
)
print("vector:", [hit["record"]["key"] for hit in vector_hits])
print("text:", [hit["record"]["key"] for hit in text_hits])
print("hybrid:", [hit["record"]["key"] for hit in hybrid_hits])
db.flush()
db.close()
```
Run it:
```bash
python quickstart_memory.py
```
## 6. Export and Audit
```bash
cargo run --bin vanta-cli -- export \
--db ./quickstart_data \
--namespace agent/main \
--out ./quickstart-agent-main.jsonl
cargo run --bin vanta-cli -- audit-index \
--db ./quickstart_data \
--namespace agent/main \
--json
```
Expected result: export reports records written, and audit reports
`"passed": true`.
## Current Boundary
This quickstart covers the production-facing MVP: embedded storage, WAL-backed
recovery, namespaces, metadata-bearing memory records, HNSW vector retrieval,
BM25 text retrieval, Hybrid Retrieval v1, JSONL export, and text-index audit.
> **MVP = embedded memory + WAL + vector/BM25/hybrid + export/import + CLI/Python**
It does not cover IQL/LISP/DQL, MCP, Ollama/LLM integration, enterprise
features, cloud, plugins, or graph database behavior.