A vector database with semantic SQL-like filtering
Hi HN! It’s always bothered me that there’s no real equivalent of SQL WHERE for vector content. Filtering is one of the cornerstones of a modern database — but vector DBs only support either top-k sort, which is only useful for fuzzy search, or metadata filtering, which isn’t semantic. I’ve found myself wanting all the results matching my semantic query, not just k! Aside from data analysis, it's relevant if you’re trying to do any LLM reasoning: you don’t make good decisions or reach good conclusions by considering a small subset of information. So, we’ve designed a filtering primitive on…
A vector database with semantic SQL-like filtering launched on September 14, 2023 with 5 votes, #1,754 of 4,228 launches that month and more than 50% of that year's launches.
What it does
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hi HN! It’s always bothered me that there’s no real equivalent of SQL WHERE for vector content. Filtering is one of the cornerstones of a modern database — but vector DBs only support either top-k sort, which is only useful for fuzzy search, or metadata filtering, which isn’t semantic. I’ve found myself wanting all…
Does a similar job
all alternatives →
Epsilla – Open-source vector database with low query latency2023 · github.com · ▲111Hey HN! We are building Epsilla (https://github.com/epsilla-cloud/vectordb), an open-source, self-hostable vector database for semantic similarity search that specializes in low query latency. When do we need a vector database? For example, GPT-3.5 has a 16k context window limit. If we want to let it answer a question about a 300 page book, we cannot put the whole book content into the context. We have to choose the sections of the book that are most relevant to the question. Vector database is specialized at ranking and picking the most relevant content from a large pool…
HelixDB – Open-source vector-graph database for AI applications (Rust)2025 · github.com · ▲237Hey HN, we want to share HelixDB (https://github.com/HelixDB/helix-db/), a project a college friend and I are working on. It’s a new database that natively intertwines graph and vector types, without sacrificing performance. It’s written in Rust and our initial focus is on supporting RAG. Here’s a video runthrough: https://screen.studio/share/szgQu3yq. Why a hybrid? Vector databases are useful for similarity queries, while graph databases are useful for relationship queries. Each stores data in a way that’s best for its main type of query (e.g.…
FilterQL – A tiny query language for filtering structured data2025 · github.com · ▲77Hey all, I just released v2.0.0 of FilterQL, a query language and TypeScript library. This version adds support for Operations, which allow you to transform the data after filtering. If you think this would be useful in a project you're working on, give it a try and let me know what you think!
- RSRanked Search for Semi-Structured Data2025 · demo.tryvoker.com · ▲24
We’ve been working on a search problem that requires querying both text and numbers simultaneously. For example, in a dataset of clothing items with descriptions and prices, a search for “slim pants for $20” should prioritize skinny jeans for $25 over slim pants for $50 because they are semantically similar and the price is closer. I’ve found that standard embedding models struggle with numerical ordering, while text-to-SQL methods rely on exact matches and often filter out too many results. To solve this, we built a system designed specifically for structured datasets like CSVs or tables.…
I built a vector database API on Cloudflare2024 · github.com · ▲101🦉⚡️Serverless, distributed vector database as an API - TimeSurgeLabs/athenadb
- SPSearchbase – Plug-n-play semantic/fuzzy search for your data2024 · searchbase.dev · ▲63
Step into the future with Searchbase Cloud's AI-enhanced search capabilities. Effortless to integrate, intuitive to use, and built for insightful discoveries. Transform your data into action with the smartest search on the market. Join the revolution.
More ai this month
the category →
Paintings by AI models: programs run through a simulation of oil paint.
AI · 20d ago · stillwet.art
PixVerse R2▲381A real-time world model you can explore and change
AI · 29d ago · world.pixverse.video
Source: Show HN post ↗ · launch text quoted in part
