# chroma-core/chroma

Search infrastructure for AI

Repository: https://github.com/chroma-core/chroma
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/chroma
Homepage: https://www.trychroma.com/
Language: Rust
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: database, rust, rust-lang, ai, agents, ai-agents
Last push: 2026-08-27T00:18:55+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 89/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 70, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1428, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 120, "gap_med": 4.0, "n_releases_24m": 75}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 29152, forks 2463 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:53.113016+00:00)

## What it is
Chroma is an open-source search and retrieval database for AI applications, supporting dense vector, sparse (BM25/SPLADE), full-text, regex, and metadata search with built-in embedding storage. It can be run locally, self-hosted, or used via the managed serverless Chroma Cloud, with SDKs for Python, TypeScript, and Rust.

## Use cases
- store and query embeddings for a RAG chatbot
- build semantic search over documents with metadata filtering
- add hybrid vector and keyword search to an AI app
- index a codebase for a coding agent to search
- prototype an in-memory vector store then persist it
- build agentic search that iteratively refines queries
- self-host a vector database for LLM applications

## When to choose
- you need an easy-to-start open-source vector database for RAG or AI agents
- you want hybrid dense/sparse/full-text search with metadata filtering in one system
- you want a simple API with Python, TypeScript, or Rust clients
- you want a managed serverless option without ops overhead

## When to avoid
- you need a general-purpose relational database with joins and transactions
- you need strict SQL or graph query capabilities
- your workload is small enough that a simple in-process embedding index suffices
- you require a fully offline solution but rely on Chroma Cloud features

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: active
- function: vector-database, search-engine, database, rag
- domain: databases, artificial-intelligence, large-language-models
- platform: python, rust, self-hosted, cloud, cross-platform
- tags: vector-database, embeddings, semantic-search, hybrid-search, full-text-search, rag, ai-infrastructure, chroma-cloud, open-source, search, retrieval-augmented-generation, ai-agents, nodejs, docker

## Member repositories
- chroma-core/chroma (main) score 89

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:53.113016+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T16:53:10.471354+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/chroma-core/chroma (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:53.113016+00:00, sha 657815b06709)
  - homepage: https://www.trychroma.com/ (fetched 2026-08-29T07:50:26.907027+00:00, sha a83b0825f17f)
  - site_page: https://docs.trychroma.com/ (fetched 2026-08-29T07:50:26.917532+00:00, sha 134790ed8f9a)
  - site_page: https://docs.trychroma.com/docs/overview/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T07:50:26.922986+00:00, sha a7f1f57030ea)
  - site_page: https://www.trychroma.com/changelog (fetched 2026-08-29T07:50:26.919462+00:00, sha 6221322e1979)
  - site_page: https://www.trychroma.com/pricing (fetched 2026-08-29T07:50:26.921307+00:00, sha 41a7a7e2e750)
  - site_page: https://www.trychroma.com/changelog/chroma-sync-s3-github-and-web (fetched 2026-08-29T07:50:26.925108+00:00, sha 89c1e38ac2d1)
  - site_page: https://www.trychroma.com/changelog/metadata-arrays (fetched 2026-08-29T07:50:26.936662+00:00, sha 2a8364ea60be)
  - site_page: https://www.trychroma.com/changelog/indexingstatus (fetched 2026-08-29T07:50:26.939130+00:00, sha 874457aa5a8c)
  - site_page: https://www.trychroma.com/changelog/readlevel (fetched 2026-08-29T07:50:26.941363+00:00, sha ba874b9862b9)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.