- Fix grammar: 'If time is not a constraint' instead of 'time expense is not large'
- Highlight Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B performance (nearly OpenAI API level)
- Add OpenAI quick start section with configuration example
- Fold Cloud vs Local trade-offs into collapsible section
- Update HNSW as 'default and recommended for extreme low storage'
- Add DiskANN beta warning and explain PQ+rerank architecture
- Expand Ollama models: add qwen3:0.6b, 4b, 7b variants
- Note OpenAI as current default but recommend Ollama switch
- Add 'need to install extra software' warning for Ollama
- Remove incorrect latency numbers from search-complexity recommendations
- List specific files in default data/ directory (2 AI papers, literature, tech report)
- Update examples to use English and better RAG-suitable queries
- Change full dataset reference to use --max-items -1
- Adjust small model guidance about upgrading to larger models when time allows
- Update top-k defaults to reflect actual default of 20
- Ensure consistent use of full model name Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B
- Reorder optimization steps, move MLX to third position
- Remove incorrect chunk size tuning guidance
- Change README from 'Having trouble' to 'Need best practices'
- features.md: Put HNSW/FAISS first as default, DiskANN as optional
- roadmap.md: Reorder to show HNSW integration before DiskANN
- Consistent with positioning DiskANN as advanced option for large-scale use
- Change backend description to emphasize HNSW as default
- DiskANN positioned as optional for billion-scale datasets
- Simplify evaluation commands to be more generic
- Create docs/configuration-guide.md with detailed guidance on:
- Embedding model selection (small/medium/large)
- Index selection (HNSW vs DiskANN)
- LLM engine and model comparison
- Parameter tuning (build/search complexity, top-k)
- Performance optimization tips
- Deep dive into LEANN's recomputation feature
- Update README.md to link to the configuration guide
- Include latest 2025 model recommendations (Qwen3, DeepSeek-R1, O3-mini)
LEANN provides flexible parameters for embedding models, search strategies, and data processing to fit your specific needs.
📚 **Need configuration best practices?** Check our [Configuration Guide](docs/configuration-guide.md) for detailed optimization tips, model selection advice, and solutions to common issues like slow embeddings or poor search quality.
<details>
<summary><strong>📋 Click to expand: Common Parameters (Available in All Examples)</strong></summary>
@@ -514,7 +516,7 @@ Options:
- **Dynamic batching:** Efficiently batch embedding computations for GPU utilization
- **Two-level search:** Smart graph traversal that prioritizes promising nodes
**Backends:** DiskANN or HNSW - pick what works for your data size.
**Backends:** HNSW (default) for most use cases, with optional DiskANN support for billion-scale datasets.
## Benchmarks
@@ -534,8 +536,7 @@ Options:
```bash
uv pip install -e ".[dev]" # Install dev dependencies
python benchmarks/run_evaluation.py data/indices/rpj_wiki/rpj_wiki.index # Wikipedia
python benchmarks/run_evaluation.py # Will auto-download evaluation data and run benchmarks
```
The evaluation script downloads data automatically on first run. The last three results were tested with partial personal data, and you can reproduce them with your own data!
This guide helps you optimize LEANN for different use cases and understand the trade-offs between various configuration options.
## Getting Started: Simple is Better
When first trying LEANN, start with a small dataset to quickly validate your approach:
**For document RAG**: The default `data/` directory works perfectly - includes 2 AI research papers, Pride and Prejudice literature, and a technical report
```bash
python -m apps.document_rag --query "What techniques does LEANN use?"
```
**For other data sources**: Limit the dataset size for quick testing
```bash
# WeChat: Test with recent messages only
python -m apps.wechat_rag --max-items 100 --query "What did we discuss about the project timeline?"
- **Pros**: Lightweight, fast for both indexing and inference
- **Cons**: Lower semantic understanding, may miss nuanced relationships
- **Use when**: Speed is critical, handling simple queries, interactive mode, or just experimenting with LEANN. If time is not a constraint, consider using a larger/better embedding model
- **Pros**: No local compute needed, consistently fast, high quality
- **Cons**: Requires API key, costs money, data leaves your system, [known limitations with certain languages](https://yichuan-w.github.io/blog/lessons_learned_in_dev_leann/)
- **When to use**: Prototyping, non-sensitive data, need immediate results
**Local Embeddings**
- **Pros**: Complete privacy, no ongoing costs, full control, can sometimes outperform OpenAI embeddings
- **Cons**: Slower than cloud APIs, requires local compute resources
- **When to use**: Production systems, sensitive data, cost-sensitive applications
</details>
## Index Selection: Matching Your Scale
### HNSW (Hierarchical Navigable Small World)
**Best for**: Small to medium datasets (< 10M vectors) - **Default and recommended for extreme low storage**
- **Pros**: Best quality, consistent performance, no local resources needed
- **Cons**: Costs money ($0.15-2.5 per million tokens), requires internet, data privacy concerns
- **Models**: `gpt-4o-mini` (fast, cheap), `gpt-4o` (best quality), `o3-mini` (reasoning, not so expensive)
- **Note**: Our current default, but we recommend switching to Ollama for most use cases
**Ollama** (`--llm ollama`)
- **Pros**: Fully local, free, privacy-preserving, good model variety
- **Cons**: Requires local GPU/CPU resources, slower than cloud APIs, need to install extra [ollama app](https://github.com/ollama/ollama?tab=readme-ov-file#ollama) and pre-download models by `ollama pull`
- **🔄 Real-time Embeddings** - Eliminate heavy embedding storage with dynamic computation using optimized ZMQ servers and highly optimized search paradigm (overlapping and batching) with highly optimized embedding engine
- **📈 Scalable Architecture** - Handles millions of documents on consumer hardware; the larger your dataset, the more LEANN can save
- **🎯 Graph Pruning** - Advanced techniques to minimize the storage overhead of vector search to a limited footprint
- **🏗️ Pluggable Backends** - DiskANN, HNSW/FAISS with unified API
- **🏗️ Pluggable Backends** - HNSW/FAISS (default), with optional DiskANN for large-scale deployments
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