Crate edgevec

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§EdgeVec

High-performance embedded vector database for Browser, Node, and Edge.

§Current Status

PHASE 3: Implementation (Week 7 Complete)

Status: Week 7 Complete — Persistence Hardened

Core vector storage, HNSW graph indexing, and full durability (WAL + Snapshots) are implemented and verified.

§Implemented Features

HNSW Graph: Full insertion and search implementation with heuristic optimization.
Vector Storage: Contiguous memory layout for fast access.
Scalar Quantization (SQ8): 4x memory reduction (f32 -> u8) with high accuracy.
Durability: Write-Ahead Log (WAL) with CRC32 checksums, crash recovery, and atomic snapshots.
Metrics: L2 (Euclidean), Cosine, and Dot Product distance functions.

§Development Protocol

EdgeVec follows a military-grade development protocol:

Architecture Phase — Design docs must be approved before planning
Planning Phase — Roadmap must be approved before coding
Implementation Phase — Weekly tasks must be approved before coding
All gates require HOSTILE_REVIEWER approval

§Example

use edgevec::{HnswConfig, HnswIndex, Metric, VectorStorage};

// 1. Create Config
let config = HnswConfig::new(128);

// 2. Initialize Storage and Index
let mut storage = VectorStorage::new(&config, None);
let mut index = HnswIndex::new(config, &storage).expect("failed to create index");

// 3. Insert Vectors
let vector = vec![0.5; 128];
let id = index.insert(&vector, &mut storage).expect("failed to insert");

// 4. Search
let query = vec![0.5; 128];
let results = index.search(&query, 10, &storage).expect("failed to search");

assert!(!results.is_empty());
assert_eq!(results[0].vector_id, id);

§Persistence Example

use edgevec::{HnswConfig, HnswIndex, VectorStorage};
use edgevec::persistence::{write_snapshot, read_snapshot, MemoryBackend};

// Create index and storage
let config = HnswConfig::new(128);
let mut storage = VectorStorage::new(&config, None);
let mut index = HnswIndex::new(config, &storage).expect("failed to create");

// Save snapshot using storage backend
let mut backend = MemoryBackend::new();
write_snapshot(&index, &storage, &mut backend).expect("failed to save");

// Load snapshot
let (loaded_index, loaded_storage) = read_snapshot(&backend).expect("failed to load");

§Next Steps (Phase 5)

Documentation: Finalize API docs.
NPM Package: Release to npm registry.
Performance: Final tuning and benchmarks.

§Documentation

§EdgeVec

The first WASM-native vector database. Filter, delete, persist — all in the browser.

EdgeVec is an embedded vector database built in Rust with first-class WebAssembly support. It brings server-grade vector database features to the browser: metadata filtering, soft delete, persistence, and sub-millisecond search.

§Why EdgeVec?

Feature	EdgeVec	hnswlib-wasm	Pinecone
Vector Search	Yes	Yes	Yes
Metadata Filtering	Yes	No	Yes
SQL-like Queries	Yes	No	Yes
Soft Delete	Yes	No	Yes
Persistence	Yes	No	Yes
Browser-native	Yes	Yes	No
No server required	Yes	Yes	No
Offline capable	Yes	Yes	No

EdgeVec is the only WASM vector database with filtered search.

§Quick Start

npm install edgevec

import init, { EdgeVec, EdgeVecConfig } from 'edgevec';

await init();

// Create a 768-dimensional index
const config = new EdgeVecConfig(768);
const db = new EdgeVec(config);

// Insert vectors with metadata
const vector = new Float32Array(768).map(() => Math.random());
const id = db.insert(vector);
// Store metadata separately for filtering
metadata[id] = { category: "books", price: 29.99, inStock: true };

// Search with filter
const query = new Float32Array(768).map(() => Math.random());
const results = db.search(query, 10);

// Filter results client-side (v0.5 pattern)
const filtered = results.filter(r =>
    metadata[r.id]?.category === "books" &&
    metadata[r.id]?.price < 50
);

// Or use the Filter API for complex expressions
import { Filter } from 'edgevec';
const filter = Filter.parse('category = "books" AND price < 50');

§Interactive Demos

Try EdgeVec directly in your browser:

Demo	Description
Filter Playground	Interactive filter syntax explorer with live parsing
Benchmark Dashboard	Performance comparison vs competitors
Soft Delete Demo	Tombstone-based deletion with compaction
Main Demo	Complete feature showcase

# Run demos locally
git clone https://github.com/matte1782/edgevec.git
cd edgevec
python -m http.server 8080
# Open http://localhost:8080/wasm/examples/index.html

§Performance

§Search Latency (768D vectors, k=10)

Scale	EdgeVec	Target	Status
10k vectors	88 us	<1 ms	11x under
50k vectors	167 us	<1 ms	6x under
100k vectors	329 us	<1 ms	3x under

§Competitive Comparison (10k vectors, 128D)

Library	Search P50	Type	Notes
EdgeVec	0.20 ms	WASM	Fastest WASM solution
hnswlib-node	0.05 ms	Native C++	Requires compilation
voy	4.78 ms	WASM	k-d tree algorithm

EdgeVec is 24x faster than voy for search while both are pure WASM.

§Bundle Size

Package	Size (gzip)	Target	Status
edgevec	227 KB	<500 KB	55% under

Full benchmarks ->

§Database Features

§Metadata Filtering (v0.5)

EdgeVec supports SQL-like filter expressions:

// Comparison operators
'price > 100'
'category = "electronics"'
'rating >= 4.5'

// Boolean logic
'category = "books" AND price < 50'
'brand = "Sony" OR brand = "Samsung"'
'inStock = true AND NOT discontinued = true'

// Complex expressions
'(category = "electronics" AND price < 500) OR rating >= 4.8'

15 operators supported: =, !=, >, <, >=, <=, IN, NOT IN, CONTAINS, STARTS_WITH, ENDS_WITH, IS NULL, IS NOT NULL, AND, OR, NOT

Filter syntax documentation ->

§Soft Delete & Compaction

// O(1) soft delete
db.softDelete(id);

// Check status
console.log('Live:', db.liveCount());
console.log('Deleted:', db.deletedCount());

// Reclaim space when needed
if (db.needsCompaction()) {
    const result = db.compact();
    console.log(`Removed ${result.tombstones_removed} tombstones`);
}

§Persistence

// Save to IndexedDB (browser) or filesystem
await db.save("my-vector-db");

// Load existing database
const db = await EdgeVec.load("my-vector-db");

§Scalar Quantization

const config = new EdgeVecConfig(768);
config.quantized = true;  // Enable SQ8 quantization

// 3.6x memory reduction: 3.03 GB -> 832 MB at 1M vectors

§Rust Usage

use edgevec::{HnswConfig, HnswIndex, VectorStorage};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let config = HnswConfig::new(768);
    let mut storage = VectorStorage::new(&config, None);
    let mut index = HnswIndex::new(config, &storage)?;

    // Insert
    let vector = vec![0.1; 768];
    let id = index.insert(&vector, &mut storage)?;

    // Search
    let query = vec![0.1; 768];
    let results = index.search(&query, 10, &storage)?;

    // Soft delete
    index.soft_delete(id)?;

    Ok(())
}

§Documentation

Document	Description
Tutorial	Getting started guide
Filter Syntax	Complete filter expression reference
Database Operations	CRUD operations guide
Performance Tuning	HNSW parameter optimization
Migration Guide	Migrating from hnswlib, FAISS, Pinecone
Comparison	When to use EdgeVec vs alternatives

§Limitations

EdgeVec is designed for client-side vector search. It is NOT suitable for:

Billion-scale datasets — Browser memory limits apply (~1GB practical limit)
Multi-user concurrent access — Single-user, single-tab design
Distributed deployments — Runs locally only

For these use cases, consider Pinecone, Qdrant, or Weaviate.

§Version History

v0.5.3 — crates.io publishing fix (package size reduction)
v0.5.2 — npm TypeScript compilation fix
v0.5.1 — README update for npm display
v0.5.0 — Metadata filtering with SQL-like syntax, Filter Playground demo
v0.4.0 — Documentation sprint, benchmark dashboard, chaos testing
v0.3.0 — Soft delete API, compaction, persistence format v3
v0.2.0 — Scalar quantization (SQ8), SIMD optimization
v0.1.0 — Initial release with HNSW indexing

§License

Licensed under either of:

Apache License, Version 2.0 (LICENSE-APACHE)
MIT license (LICENSE-MIT)

at your option.

Built with Rust + WebAssembly

GitHub | npm | crates.io | Demos

Re-exports§

pub use batch::BatchInsertable;
pub use error::BatchError;
pub use hnsw::BatchDeleteError;
pub use hnsw::BatchDeleteResult;
pub use hnsw::HnswConfig;
pub use hnsw::HnswIndex;
pub use hnsw::SearchResult;
pub use metric::Metric;
pub use persistence::ChunkedWriter;
pub use quantization::BinaryQuantizer;
pub use quantization::QuantizedVector;
pub use quantization::QuantizerConfig;
pub use quantization::ScalarQuantizer;
pub use simd::capabilities;
pub use simd::detect_neon;
pub use simd::select_backend;
pub use simd::warn_if_suboptimal;
pub use simd::SimdBackend;
pub use simd::SimdCapabilities;
pub use storage::VectorStorage;

Modules§

batch: Batch insertion API. Batch insertion API for HNSW indexes.
error: Unified error handling. Unified error hierarchy for EdgeVec.
filter: Filter expression parsing and evaluation. Filter expression module for EdgeVec.
hnsw: HNSW Graph implementation. HNSW module containing graph logic, configuration, and search.
metadata: Metadata storage for vector annotations. Metadata storage system for EdgeVec.
metric: Distance metrics. Distance metrics for vector comparison.
persistence: Persistence and file format definitions. Persistence module for EdgeVec.
quantization: Quantization support. Quantization logic for vector compression.
simd: SIMD capability detection and runtime optimization. SIMD capability detection and runtime optimization.
storage: Vector storage. Vector Storage Module.
wasm: WASM bindings. WASM Bindings for EdgeVec.

Constants§

VERSION: The crate version string.

Functions§

version: Returns the crate version string.

Crate edgevec

Crate edgevec Copy item path

§EdgeVec

§Current Status

§Implemented Features

§Development Protocol

§Example

§Persistence Example

§Next Steps (Phase 5)

§Documentation

§EdgeVec

§Why EdgeVec?

§Quick Start

§Interactive Demos

§Performance

§Search Latency (768D vectors, k=10)

§Competitive Comparison (10k vectors, 128D)

§Bundle Size

§Database Features

§Metadata Filtering (v0.5)

§Soft Delete & Compaction

§Persistence

§Scalar Quantization

§Rust Usage

§Documentation

§Limitations

§Version History

§License

Re-exports§

Modules§

Constants§

Functions§

Crate edgevec