# Weaviate Database Weaviate _(we-vee-eight)_ is an open-source, AI vector database. Use this documentation to get started with Weaviate and learn how to get the most out of Weaviate's features. ::::card-grid :::card{title="New to Weaviate?" href="/guides/quickstart-index" icon="star"} Start with the **Quickstart tutorial** – an end-to-end demo that takes 15–30 minutes. ::: :::card{title="Weaviate Academy" href="https://academy.weaviate.io/" icon="graduation-cap"} Check out **Weaviate Academy** – a learning platform centered around AI-native development. ::: :::: ## Find the right documentation and resources The Weaviate documentation is structured into multiple units based on the service and functionality. ::::card-grid :::card{title="Weaviate Database" href="/guides/get-started-overview" icon="database"} Develop AI applications using Weaviate's APIs and tools ::: :::card{title="Deploy" href="/guides/installation-index" icon="database"} Deploy, configure, and maintain Weaviate Database ::: :::card{title="Query Agent" href="/guides/agents-overview" icon="bot"} Run agentic search over your Weaviate Cloud collections ::: :::card{title="Weaviate Cloud" href="/guides/cloud-overview" icon="cloud"} Manage and scale Weaviate in the cloud ::: :::card{title="Engram" href="/guides/engram-overview" icon="brain"} Persistent memory for LLM agents and applications ::: :::: ## AI-assisted coding Check out our resources on AI-assisted coding (_Vibe coding_) with Weaviate: ::::card-grid :::card{title="Weaviate MCP Server" href="/guides/ai-assisted-vibe-coding-configuration-mcp-server" icon="book"} Enable and configure the Weaviate MCP server so LLMs and IDE assistants can interact with your Weaviate instance. ::: :::card{title="Best practices for coding with AI" href="/guides/ai-assisted-vibe-coding-index" icon="lightbulb"} Avoid hallucinations and improve your AI-assisted coding experience. ::: :::: ## What is Weaviate? Weaviate is an **open-source vector database** designed to store and index both data objects and their vector embeddings. This architecture enables advanced semantic search capabilities by comparing the meaning encoded in vectors rather than relying solely on keyword matching. Key capabilities include: - **[Semantic and hybrid search](../how-to-query-search/basics.md)**\ By indexing data with vectors, Weaviate supports searches based on both semantic similarity and keywords. This allows for more relevant results even when the query terms don’t exactly match the stored data. - **[Retrieval augmented generation (RAG)](../how-to-query-search/generative.md)**\ Weaviate can serve as a robust backend for RAG workflows, where vector search is used to retrieve context that enhances the output of generative models, making it easier to generate accurate, context-aware responses. - **[Agent-driven workflows](../agents/overview.md)**\ Its flexible API and integration with modern AI models make Weaviate suitable for powering applications that rely on intelligent agents. These agents can leverage semantic insights to make decisions or trigger actions based on the data stored in Weaviate. :::card{title="Key Concepts & Architecture" href="https://academy.weaviate.io/courses/wa050-py" cover="/img/docs/weaviate-academy-purple.png"} Become familiar with Weaviate's architecture, core concepts, and key capabilities. Understand how its features and integrations map to AI builders' needs. ::: ## The Weaviate Ecosystem The Weaviate ecosystem consists of multiple tools and services centered around building cloud-native AI-powered applications. ![The Weaviate Ecosystem](/img/weaviate-ecosystem.png) As shown in the high-level overview above, the ecosystem consists of: - **[Weaviate Database](#what-is-weaviate)**: An open source vector database that stores both objects and vectors. - **[Weaviate Cloud](../cloud/overview.md)**: A fully managed cloud deployment of the Weaviate vector database. - **[Query Agent](../agents/overview.md)**: A pre-built agentic search service for Weaviate Cloud users. - **[Weaviate Embeddings](../cloud-weaviate-embeddings/overview.md)**: A managed embedding inference service for Weaviate Cloud users. - **[External model providers](../model-provider-integrations/index.md)**: Third-party models that integrate with Weaviate. ## Choose your deployment ::::card-grid :::card{title="Weaviate Cloud" href="/guides/manage-clusters-create" cta="Set up a WCD instance"} - From evaluation (free tier) to production - Shared Cloud (infrastructure managed by Weaviate) - (Optional) Data replication (high-availability) - (Optional) Zero-downtime updates ::: :::card{title="Docker" href="/guides/installation-installation-guides-docker-installation" cta="Run Weaviate with Docker"} - For local evaluation & development - Local inference containers - Multi-modal models - Customizable configurations ::: :::card{title="Kubernetes" href="/guides/installation-installation-guides-k8s-installation" cta="Run Weaviate with Kubernetes"} - For development to production - Local inference containers - Multi-modal models - Customizable configurations - Self-deploy or Marketplace deployment - (Optional) Zero-downtime updates ::: :::card{title="Embedded Weaviate" href="/guides/installation-installation-guides-embedded" cta="Run Embedded Weaviate"} - For basic, quick evaluation - Conveniently launch Weaviate directly from Python or JS/TS ::: :::: ## Community & Support Get help, share what you're building, and connect with the Weaviate community and team. ::::card-grid :::card{title="Community Forum" href="https://forum.weaviate.io/" icon="messages-square"} Ask technical questions, get help with your cluster, and connect with other developers and the Weaviate team. Open to everyone and a great place to start. ::: :::card{title="Support" href="/guides/support-overview" icon="life-buoy"} Weaviate Cloud user or customer? The Support page explains all the ways to get help from the Weaviate team. ::: :::card{title="Open-source on GitHub" href="https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate" icon="github"} Give us a star on GitHub to support our work. ::: :::: ## Related pages - [Agents](./agents-index.md) - [AI-assisted Weaviate code generation](./ai-assisted-vibe-coding-index.md) - [APIs](./apis-index.md) - [Authorization and authentication](./authorization-and-authentication-index.md) - [Benchmarks](./benchmarks-index.md) - [Best practices](./best-practices-index.md) - [Client libraries](./clients-index.md) - [Client Libraries / SDKs](./client-libraries-index.md) - [Cloud](./cloud-index.md) - [Cloud account management](./cloud-account-management-index.md) # Agent Instructions This portal answers questions programmatically. To receive a synthesized, source-cited answer instead of crawling page by page, append the `?ask=` query parameter to any page URL on this site: /guides/quickstart?ask=how+do+I+authenticate Optional parameters: - `&goal=` steers the answer toward your objective (e.g. `&goal=write+a+python+client`). - `&version=