Practical overview
When it fits
Use Xerj when you need a CLI and server to index a local corpus and make relevant passages searchable for people or AI workflows.
Who it is for
- Developers who want AI workflows to retrieve relevant passages from project files.
- Teams building RAG or agent-memory search over indexed data.
- Users searching code, documentation, logs or PDFs through Elasticsearch-compatible clients.
Documented uses
- Index a folder of code and documentation for search.
- Retrieve relevant passages with file and line locations.
- Build a searchable source for RAG or agent memory.
- Search indexed logs and PDFs or locate material for security-audit work.
- Find examples in related open-source repositories for reference coding.
Requirements & limits
The repository identifies Xerj as open source under the Apache-2.0 license. The README documents a shell installer and a single static binary.
- Xerj is a Rust-based CLI and server rather than a hosted search website.
- The README describes BM25, k-nearest-neighbour and hybrid search; its default embedder is lexical and offline, while the neural embedder is opt-in and downloads about 90 MB.
- The README's --insecure server example disables TLS and API-key authentication; Xerj warns that reachable callers can read and delete indexed data.
- Elasticsearch-compatible clients are a documented integration point.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Index and search a local project
Create an index of a project folder and retrieve ranked passages from it.
Before you start
- Xerj installed using the documented shell installer.
- A project folder to index.
- A local server; the README example uses the --insecure option.
Steps
Install Xerj with the documented installer command.
Start the server with a data directory, as shown in the README.
Run xerj autoindex on the project folder.
Run xerj search with a query to retrieve ranked passages and file:line locations.
Expected outcome
A searchable index of the project and query results with passage locations.
Guide limitations
- The documented --insecure example disables TLS and API-key authentication. Xerj warns that callers who can reach the port can read and delete indexed data.
- The guide reflects the README example; consult the project security model before exposing a server beyond a local development machine.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 13 October 2026
- Original website title
- xerj-org/xerj · Official homepage title · retained in its source language

