This guide explains how to configure and connect to Milvus vector database in different deployment scenarios.
Configure your Milvus connection using these environment variables:
MILVUS_ENDPOINT: The connection endpoint for your Milvus instanceMILVUS_TOKEN: (Optional) Authentication token for secure connections
- Best for: Development, testing, and small datasets
- Setup: Set
MILVUS_ENDPOINTto a local file path (e.g.,./milvus.db) - Features:
- Milvus Lite is a vector database that runs directly in Python
- Stores all data in a local file, ideal for quick prototyping
- No additional infrastructure setup required
- Best for: Large-scale production deployments
- Setup:
- Set
MILVUS_ENDPOINTto your server URI (e.g.,http://localhost:19530) - Optionally set
MILVUS_TOKENfor authentication
- Set
- Features:
- Full functionality, scales to billion vectors
- Supports Docker (Milvus Standalone) and Kubernetes (Milvus Distributed): installation guide
- Best for: Production deployments with managed infrastructure
- Setup:
- Set
MILVUS_ENDPOINTto your Zilliz Cloud public endpoint - Set
MILVUS_TOKENto your API key
- Set
- Features:
- Fully managed service available on Azure, AWS and Google Cloud
- Zero DevOps required with automatic scaling and high availability
- Start with a free trial
- Milvus Documentation: Comprehensive guides and API references
- Zilliz Cloud Documentation: Managed service documentation
- Milvus GitHub Repository: Source code and issues
- Milvus Community: Join our Discord community for support