https://vectorvfs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

logo
Github
Github
Quick search
[                    ] [Search] 
Contents

  * Installation
  * Design and architecture
  * Using the vfs command

  * Docs >>
  * VectorVFS: Your Filesystem as a Vector Database

  * Installation -

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Banner

VectorVFS: Your Filesystem as a Vector DatabaseP

VectorVFS is a lightweight Python package that transforms your Linux
filesystem into a vector database by leveraging the native VFS
(Virtual File System) extended attributes. Rather than maintaining a
separate index or external database, VectorVFS stores vector
embeddings directly alongside each file--turning your existing
directory structure into an efficient and semantically searchable
embedding store.

VectorVFS supports Meta's Perception Encoders (PE) [arxiv] which
includes image/video encoders for vision language understanding, it
outperforms InternVL3, Qwen2.5VL and SigLIP2 for zero-shot image
tasks. We support both CPU and GPU but if you have a large collection
of images it might take a while in the first time to embed all items
if you are not using a GPU.

Note

This is the first release of VectorVFS and we are expanding models
and data types. Currently we support only Perception Encoders (PE)
and images.

Key FeaturesP

  * Zero-overhead indexing Embeddings are stored as extended
    attributes (xattrs) on each file, eliminating the need for
    external index files or services.

  * Seamless retrieval Perform searches across your filesystem,
    retrieving files by embedding similarity.

  * Flexible embedding support Plug in any embedding model--from
    pre-trained transformers to custom feature extractors--and let
    VectorVFS handle storage and lookup.

  * Lightweight and portable Built on native Linux VFS functionality,
    VectorVFS requires no additional daemons, background processes or
    databases.

Contents

  * Installation
      + Installing with pip
      + Using the vfs Script
  * Design and architecture
      + What is an inode?
      + How Ext4 stores extended attributes
  * Using the vfs command
      + vfs search command

Indices and tablesP

  * Index

  * Module Index

  * Search Page

  * Installation -

(c) Copyright 2025, Christian S. Perone.
Created using Sphinx 8.2.3 with Press Theme 0.9.1.