Practical overview
When it fits
Use SwarnDB when building a retrieval backend that needs vector search and may also need graph relationships in the same store. A vector-only collection supports nearest-neighbor use; hybrid mode adds explicit typed edges and graph-aware query operations.
Who it is for
- Developers building retrieval-augmented generation or knowledge-graph systems.
- Teams that need embedding similarity and explicit graph relationships in a shared data layer.
- Engineers integrating vector and graph retrieval through REST, gRPC or the Python SDK.
Documented uses
- Store embeddings and search for nearest neighbors.
- Represent explicit, typed relationships with confidence and provenance.
- Combine vector similarity, graph traversal and vector ranking in a retrieval query.
- Filter candidate items by attributes before ranking them by vector similarity.
- Optionally propose graph entities and edges from text using an OpenAI-compatible model.
Requirements & limits
The repository documents Docker-based startup, a Python package, and REST and gRPC interfaces. Its configuration reference lists API keys as configurable; an empty key setting disables authentication.
- Graph functionality is opt-in per collection; collections are vector-only by default.
- Graph edges are explicit or extracted and are not inferred from embedding similarity.
- Optional LLM extraction requires a user-provided OpenAI-compatible API key.
- The README describes both REST and gRPC interfaces, plus a Python SDK and async client.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Start SwarnDB and connect with the Python SDK
Start the documented Docker service and install the Python client for a local connection.
Before you start
- Docker
- Python with pip
Steps
Start the container with the command below.
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 -p 50051:50051 sarthiai/swarndbInstall the SDK with the command below.
pip install swarndbCreate a
SwarnDBClientpointed atlocalhoston port50051.
Expected outcome
The documented service is started with REST and gRPC ports mapped, and the Python client can be configured to connect over gRPC.
Guide limitations
- This covers service startup and client connection setup, not creation of a collection or a search workflow.
- The README points to the Docker guide for persistence and configuration.
Compare options for Vector search
These projects document a common task and share a project role. This is a source-based comparison, not an execution benchmark or a guarantee of interchangeability.
| Project | Documented purpose | Platform | Access and requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swarndb | Store embeddings and search for nearest neighbors. | Self-hosted, Server | The repository documents Docker-based startup, a Python package, and REST and gRPC interfaces. Its configuration reference lists API keys as configurable; an empty key setting disables authentication. |
| Mettis | Index text documents through an HTTP endpoint. | Linux, Self-hosted, Server |
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 18 October 2026
- Original website title
- SarthiAI/SwarnDB · Official homepage title · retained in its source language

