Practical overview
When it fits
Use Infinity when you need to operate the model-serving layer for embedding, reranking or supported multimodal inference, and can select models and runtime engines compatible with your environment.
Who it is for
- Teams building retrieval applications that need to serve text embeddings.
- Operators who want to host a reranking endpoint for ordering search results.
- Developers serving supported multimodal models through an API.
- Python developers who want asynchronous embedding or reranking interfaces.
Documented uses
- Serve text-embedding models behind an API for application requests.
- Score a query against multiple documents to support reranking.
- Host multiple models from one v2 CLI launch.
- Call a remote Infinity REST API using its Python client.
Requirements & limits
The project is available as a public, MIT-licensed GitHub repository. The README documents Python-package and Docker-based deployment.
- Engine compatibility is model-specific: Torch requires Sentence Transformers and AutoModel compatibility, Optimum requires an ONNX file, and CTranslate2 supports BERT models.
- The README lists CUDA, ROCm, CPU, AWS Inferentia 2 and Apple MPS options; accelerator requirements depend on the host and container image.
- The Docker example publishes a port and mounts a cache volume; its GPU setup calls for NVIDIA Docker and GPU access.
- CLI arguments can be passed as command-line options or environment variables, with repeated model identifiers for multi-model launches.
- The Python API uses asyncio for concurrent request processing, while the separate client package is intended to call a remote REST instance.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Start the v2 CLI with one embedding model
Install Infinity and launch its CLI with a Hugging Face model identifier.
Before you start
- A Python virtual environment, as specified by the README.
- A model identifier, such as BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5.
Steps
Install the package with the command below.
pip install infinity-emb[all]With the virtual environment active, run
infinity_emb v2 --model-id BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5.Use
infinity_emb v2 --helpto inspect available parameters.
Expected outcome
The CLI is launched with the selected model identifier.
Guide limitations
- This setup guidance does not specify a client request or verify that a model runs on a particular machine.
- Model and inference-engine compatibility depends on the selected model and engine.
Configure a multi-model CLI launch
Specify multiple models and per-model batch sizes using the v2 CLI.
Before you start
- Infinity CLI v2.
- The model identifiers and batch sizes to configure.
Steps
Repeat
--model-idfor each model and, if needed, repeat--batch-sizefor corresponding values.Alternatively, set
INFINITY_MODEL_IDandINFINITY_BATCH_SIZEwith semicolon-separated values.Launch the v2 CLI using the configured arguments or environment variables.
Expected outcome
The CLI configuration describes multiple models in one launch; the README says API requests are routed using the served model name or model ID.
Guide limitations
- The README directs users to
infinity_emb v2 --helpfor argument validation and full options. - This recipe documents configuration, not a successful deployment or request.
Compare options for Model inference and serving
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinity — michaelfeil | Serve text-embedding models behind an API for application requests. | Docker, Self-hosted, Server | The project is available as a public, MIT-licensed GitHub repository. The README documents Python-package and Docker-based deployment. |
| Morphingdb | Import a libtorch model and create predictions from values in a PostgreSQL table. | Docker, Linux, Self-hosted, Server | The README documents a Docker image and a build-from-repository option, followed by connecting to PostgreSQL and enabling the pgdl extension. |
| Gateway — pyadav | Send chat-completion requests to a provider through a common server endpoint. | Server | The repository is public and identifies the project as Apache-2.0 licensed. README installation instructions include binaries, platform package managers and Docker. |
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 10 October 2026
- Original website title
- michaelfeil/infinity · Official homepage title · retained in its source language

