LanceDB for Elixir

This package embeds LanceDB in Elixir through Rustler. Use local files or S3-compatible object storage. A database server is not necessary. Supply your own vector embeddings.

The Elixir package version is 0.1.1. The Rust software development kit (SDK) is pinned to 0.37.1. Each native build has a separate immutable ID. The selected native build passed public download and production release checks on both supported Linux targets, including the new connection deadlines and cache APIs.

Requirements

Elixir 1.20 or a later 1.x version. CI uses OTP 29.
Linux x86_64 with glibc 2.35 or later, or Linux ARM64 with glibc 2.39 or later.

Native archives use public GitHub releases. GitHub CLI, credentials, Rust, and Cargo are not necessary for normal installation.

Installation

Add the package to mix.exs:

defp deps do
  [
    {:lancedb_ex, "~> 0.1.1"}
  ]
end

Run these commands from your application directory:

mix deps.get
mix compile

Mix downloads the native archive and checks the committed checksum. The package supplies a default artifact URL. A URL override and a supervision tree entry are not necessary.

Normal installation does not compile Rust or create checksums. Missing configuration, unsupported platforms, download failures, and incorrect checksums stop compilation.

See the installation guide for URL overrides, offline builds, application releases, and S3 storage options.

Quick start

Use a new data directory for this example:

alias LanceDB.{Connection, Query, Table}

{:ok, db} = LanceDB.connect("./data/vectors")

{:ok, table} =
  Connection.create_table(db, "documents", [
    %{id: "1", text: "Elixir and OTP", vector: [1.0, 0.0, 0.2]},
    %{id: "2", text: "Sourdough bread", vector: [0.0, 1.0, 0.8]}
  ])

{:ok, matches} =
  Query.search(table, [0.9, 0.1, 0.2], limit: 5, distance: :cosine)

IO.inspect(matches)

{:ok, %LanceDB.WriteResult{inserted: 1}} =
  Table.add(table, [
    %{id: "3", text: "Phoenix LiveView", vector: [0.9, 0.1, 0.3]}
  ])

{:ok, 3} = Table.count_rows(table)

Result rows have string keys. Vector search adds a numeric "_distance" field. Operations return {:ok, value} or {:error, %LanceDB.Error{}}. Incorrect API arguments raise ArgumentError.

Version 0.1.1 also supports connection and table-open deadlines, cache budgets on the initial connection, and Table.cache_stats/1. See table-open controls and cache statistics for session sharing, option ranges, and examples.

Documentation

Guide	Contents
API guide	Handles, query defaults, errors, records, and telemetry.
Queries	Filters, expressions, projections, direct retrieval, timeouts, diagnostics, and vector search.
Full-text and hybrid search	Text queries, analyzers, ranking callbacks, and result ordering.
Writes and streaming	Input sources, appends, updates, merges, streams, progress, and backfills.
Schemas and data types	Explicit schemas, nested values, blobs, timestamps, schema changes, and metadata.
Indexes	Index types, training, search tuning, readiness, and native jobs.
Table operations	Statistics, history, tags, branches, clones, table options, and maintenance.
Installation and storage	Native artifacts, authentication, deployment, offline builds, and S3 configuration.
Development and tests	Local checks, StreamData properties, coverage, and MinIO tests.
Native builds	Explicit source builds, immutable artifacts, publication, and consumer checks.
Implementation notes	Module responsibilities and SDK compatibility adapters.
Migration guide	API changes from earlier checkouts.
Changelog	Public release notes.

The source repository is preciz/lancedb_ex. This package uses the MIT license.