Question 1

What is client-side vector search?

Accepted Answer

Client-side vector search runs embedding similarity search directly in the browser, so users can query semantic indexes without sending each request to a server. altor-vec ships as 54KB of gzipped WASM and returns results in under a millisecond on typical hardware.

Question 2

How does altor-vec compare to Pinecone?

Accepted Answer

altor-vec runs entirely in the browser with zero per-query cost and zero network latency. Pinecone is a managed cloud vector database built for large-scale server-side workloads. Use altor-vec when you need privacy, offline support, or want to eliminate API billing.

Question 3

Can I use vector search without a server?

Accepted Answer

Yes. altor-vec lets you ship vector search entirely in the browser with no backend. It is useful for documentation search, demos, offline-first apps, and any application where sending data to a server is undesirable.

Question 4

Does altor-vec work without a backend?

Accepted Answer

Yes. altor-vec runs as a WASM module in the browser. You load it via npm, build your index from embeddings, and query it entirely client-side. No server, no API keys, no infrastructure required.

Question 5

What embedding models work with altor-vec?

Accepted Answer

Any model that produces fixed-dimension float vectors works with altor-vec. Common choices include all-MiniLM-L6-v2 (384 dimensions) and nomic-embed-text (768 dimensions), both of which run in the browser via Transformers.js.

Question 6

What is the maximum index size altor-vec can handle?

Accepted Answer

altor-vec handles tens of thousands of vectors comfortably in a modern browser. For most documentation search and semantic search use cases, this is sufficient. Larger indexes may require chunking or offloading index construction to a build step.

Question 7

Is altor-vec MIT licensed?

Accepted Answer

Yes. altor-vec is MIT licensed and free to use in commercial and open-source projects. No attribution required beyond the license file.

Question 8

How do I install altor-vec?

Accepted Answer

Install via npm: npm install altor-vec. Import the HNSW index class, add your embedding vectors, and query with a target vector. Full API reference and examples are available at altorlab.dev.

altor-vec — In-Browser Vector Search for JavaScript

altor-vec resources