01 · Getting Started

Quickstart

From purchase to first memory stored in under 5 minutes. This guide covers everything from installing the package to running your first recall query.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or higher is required. Check your version:

bash
node --version  # must be v18.0.0 or higher

Step by Step

1

Purchase and get your licence key

Buy Vektor Slipstream at vektormemory.com/product. Your Polar licence key is emailed immediately after purchase. It looks like:

text
YOUR-LICENCE-KEY-HERE

Keys are UUID format — 32 hex characters in 8-4-4-4-12 groups. Copy it exactly as delivered.

Important
Save your licence key — you'll need it every time you initialise the memory engine. Store it as an environment variable rather than hardcoding it.
2

Install the package

bash
npm install vektor-slipstream

The package includes the ONNX embedding model (~23MB) — no separate download required. First install takes 30–60 seconds depending on your connection.

3

CLI Commands

Vektor Slipstream includes a full CLI via npx vektor:

bash
npx vektor setup       # Multi-app wizard: configures Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Continue, Groq Desktop
npx vektor activate    # Activate licence key (runs setup wizard automatically)
npx vektor test        # Test memory engine
npx vektor status      # System health check
npx vektor mcp         # Start MCP server (entry point for all apps)
npx vektor rem         # Run REM dream cycle
npx vektor help        # All commands

Windows users: if you see garbled characters, run [Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8 in PowerShell first.

Set your licence key

First-run activation

When you call createMemory() for the first time, Slipstream activates your licence against Polar and caches the result to ~/.vektor/licence.json. You will not be prompted again on that machine.

There are three ways to provide your key:

option 1 — env var (recommended)
# .env file or shell export
VEKTOR_LICENCE_KEY=YOUR-LICENCE-KEY-HERE
option 2 — pass directly
const memory = await createMemory({
  agentId:    'my-agent',
  licenceKey: process.env.VEKTOR_LICENCE_KEY,
});
option 3 — interactive prompt (first run, no env var set)
  ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
  ║         VEKTOR SLIPSTREAM — LICENCE REQUIRED         ║
  ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

  Paste your licence key from your Polar purchase email:

  Paste your licence key › YOUR-LICENCE-KEY-HERE
  ✓ Licence validated — this machine is now activated.
  Your key has been saved to ~/.vektor/licence.json

Machine limit — 3 activations per licence

Each licence activates on up to 3 machines. If you hit the limit, deactivate an old machine first:

bash — deactivate this machine
node -e "require('vektor-slipstream/vektor-licence').deactivateMachine(process.env.VEKTOR_LICENCE_KEY)"

Or manage activations directly at polar.sh → your customer portal. Enterprise licences (10 seats) available — contact hello@vektormemory.com.

Add your key to your environment. Create a .env file in your project root:

bash
VEKTOR_LICENCE_KEY=YOUR-LICENCE-KEY-HERE

Or pass it directly in code (not recommended for production):

javascript
const memory = await createMemory({
  agentId:    'my-agent',
  licenceKey: 'YOUR-LICENCE-KEY-HERE', // or use env var
});
4

Store your first memory

Create test-memory.js and run it:

javascript
const { createMemory } = require('vektor-slipstream');

async function main() {
  const memory = await createMemory({
    agentId:    'my-agent',
    licenceKey: process.env.VEKTOR_LICENCE_KEY,
    dbPath:     './memory.db',
  });

  // Store a memory
  const { id } = await memory.remember('User prefers TypeScript over JavaScript');
  console.log('Stored memory id:', id);

  // Recall by semantic similarity
  const results = await memory.recall('coding preferences', 5);
  console.log('Recalled:', results);
}

main().catch(console.error);
bash
node test-memory.js
5

Expected output

output
  ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
  ║            VEKTOR SLIPSTREAM — ACTIVE                ║
  ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

  ⚙️  EP:        CPU (WASM SIMD)
  🧠  Model:     all-MiniLM-L6-v2 INT8 quantized
  ⚡  Embed:     24ms (post-warmup)
  💾  DB:        WAL | mmap:1GB | cache:64MB
  🔥  Warm:      ✓
  ⏱  Boot:      312ms total

Stored memory id: 1
Recalled: [
  {
    id: 1,
    content: 'User prefers TypeScript over JavaScript',
    score: 0.97,
    importance: 1
  }
]
Success
Your licence key is validated and cached locally for 30 days. Subsequent runs will boot faster and won't require an internet connection for licence validation.

Next Steps

You now have a working memory layer. Here's where to go next: