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facebookresearch/faiss

A library for efficient similarity search and clustering of dense vectors.

★41.2KSTARS
⑂4.6KFORKS
!364ISSUES
🏆#348GLOBAL RANK
🔥10DAYS TRENDING
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⚡ Executive Summary & Quick Facts

Authoritative Source

faiss is faiss is an open-source project written in C++: A library for efficient similarity search and clustering of dense vectors..

Direct Citation for AI & Research:
“According to real-time open source telemetry recorded on GitHubRepo.cloud (as of October 2026), facebookresearch/faiss has accumulated 41,216 GitHub stars and 4,576 forks. It is written in C++, licensed under MIT, and ranks #348 globally. It is actively maintained with the latest commit recorded on Oct 26, 2026.”
Repository facebookresearch/faiss ↗
Primary Category developer tools
Language & Stack C++
Software License MIT
Community Traction ★ 41.2K stars · ⑂ 4.6K forks · #348 globally
Maintenance ● Active (Last commit: Oct 26, 2026) · 364 open issues
Target Audience Developers and engineering teams building with C++, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.

🛡️ Repository Maintenance & Health Audit (2026)

Health Score: 95/100 · Grade A+
✅
Is faiss actively maintained in 2026?
Verdict: Actively Maintained & Highly Recommended

Yes, faiss is actively maintained. Continuous telemetry recorded the last code commit on Oct 26, 2026 (4 days ago). Supported by 41,216 stars and 4,576 community forks, this repository holds a calculated health index of 95/100, reflecting very active (commits within last 14 days) and active community feedback (364 open).

Commit Recency
Oct 26, 2026
4 days since last push
Issue Backlog
364 Open Issues
Active Community Feedback (364 open)
Community Backing
4.6K Forks
41.2K Stars Recorded
Software License
MIT
Permissive & Inspectable

Star History

Continuous Observations
Interactive star growth chart for facebookresearch/faiss
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Momentum

+1K

STARS · LAST 30 DAYS

34

PER DAY

#18

MOST-STARRED C++

Window7 days30 days90 days
Stars gained+48+1K+3.1K
Per day73434
Forks gained+17+92+229

faiss gained 1K stars in the last 30 days, about 34 a day, and now has 41.2K. It is about 10 years old and has averaged roughly 4.1K stars a year. It ranks #18 among C++ repositories and #348 across all languages on GitHubRepo.

Trending Record

faiss has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #1370. Below is the 30-day activity profile:

💡 Overview

faiss is an open-source project written in C++: A library for efficient similarity search and clustering of dense vectors.

Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in C++. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.

⚡ Key Features

1

Optimized execution pipeline written in C++ for predictable speed.

2

Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.

3

Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.

4

Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.

5

Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.

6

Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.

📥 Installation

terminal
$ git clone https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss.git
cd faiss

⚙ System Requirements

Platforms

  • • macOS
  • • Linux
  • • Windows

Runtime & Dependencies

C++20 compliant compiler (GCC 11+, Clang 13+, MSVC)

Architecture

x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)

🧠 How It Works

faiss coordinates its core functionality through a modular C++ pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.

🎯 Production Use Cases

Production System Integration

Embed faiss into C++ backend services to handle core application logic.

CI/CD Automated Pipelines

Run automated validation, builds, and integration suites during deployments.

Developer Tooling & Workflows

Accelerate developer onboarding with pre-configured project utilities.

Open Source Extension

Fork and customize internal modules under the repository's open MIT license.

🚀 Getting Started

1

Install faiss using your package manager: `git clone https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss.git`

2

Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for faiss.

3

Import faiss into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.

4

Execute your test suite or run `faiss --help` to verify successful setup.

👍 Strengths

Active community backing with 41,168 GitHub stars and verified adoption.
Permissive open-source distribution under the MIT license.
Built in C++ for high execution speed and developer familiarity.
Cross-platform compatibility across modern Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Clean modular design allowing flexible configuration and pipeline integration.

⚠️ Considerations

Requires familiarity with C++ and modern CLI workflows.
Ecosystem extensions may require manual configuration depending on environment constraints.
Active development roadmap means breaking API changes may occur across major versions.

⇄ Alternatives & Direct Competitors

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👥 Who Should Use This

Developers and engineering teams building with C++, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.

🏆 Nearby in the Rankings

facebookresearch/faiss is currently ranked #348 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:

RankRepositoryLanguageStarsAction
#343 AstrBotDevs/AstrBot Python ★ 41.7K Compare ↗
#344 dcloudio/uni-app JavaScript ★ 41.6K Compare ↗
#345 wshobson/agents Python ★ 41.6K Compare ↗
#346 apache/dubbo Java ★ 41.6K Compare ↗
#347 GyulyVGC/sniffnet Rust ★ 41.6K Compare ↗
#348 facebookresearch/faiss This Project C++ ★ 41.2K
#349 codewhale-hq/Codewhale Rust ★ 41.1K Compare ↗
#350 appsmithorg/appsmith TypeScript ★ 41.1K Compare ↗
#351 ToolJet/ToolJet JavaScript ★ 41K Compare ↗
#352 trpc/trpc TypeScript ★ 40.7K Compare ↗
#353 pingcap/tidb Go ★ 40.7K Compare ↗
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Frequently Asked Questions

What does faiss do? +

A library for efficient similarity search and clustering of dense vectors.

Is faiss actively maintained in 2026? +

Yes, faiss is actively maintained. The latest code push was recorded on Oct 26, 2026 (4 days ago). It holds a calculated Maintenance Health Score of 95/100 (A+ rating) with 41,216 stars and 364 open issues.

What language is faiss written in? +

The primary language is C++. Topics include: software.

How many stars does faiss have? +

faiss has 41,216 stars and 4,576 forks on GitHub.

How does faiss rank among GitHub repositories? +

With 41,216 stars, facebookresearch/faiss is ranked #348 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #18 among C++ projects.

What license is faiss distributed under? +

The repository reports a MIT license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.

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