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LanceDB Embedded is an open-source, embedded retrieval library, with client SDKs in Python, TypeScript and Rust — the application itself plans queries, builds indexes, and runs background work, with no separate database server to deploy. It reads and writes tables on local disk or in object storage from inside your application process, on the same Lance format and table model that LanceDB Enterprise builds on.
LanceDB Embedded architecture

LanceDB Embedded: the LanceDB SDK and the Lance format run in your application, reading and writing tables on local disk or in object storage.

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Why use LanceDB Embedded?

LanceDB Embedded fits local retrieval applications, notebooks, development, and single-node data pipelines, where your application controls its own compute resources and table maintenance.
  • No infrastructure to run — the library runs inside your process. There is no server to deploy, configure, or keep available.
  • Free and open source — pip install lancedb (or the TypeScript or Rust equivalent) and start reading and writing tables, with no account or service to set up first.
  • Full local control — your application decides where table data lives, when maintenance such as compaction and indexing runs, and how much compute each operation gets.
  • The same table format as Enterprise — Embedded and Enterprise share the same Lance format and table model, so moving to a distributed deployment later does not require a data conversion step.

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Get started

Quickstart

Create a table, add data, and run your first search in a few lines of code.

Choose an SDK

Pick between the Python, TypeScript, and Rust SDKs.
When your data or traffic outgrows a single machine, or you need managed infrastructure, private deployment, or platform support, see LanceDB Enterprise and the feature-by-feature comparison.