🚀 v5.0.0: ChromaDB Deprecation Release

⚠️ BREAKING CHANGES

SQLite-vec is Now Default Backend

ChromaDB has been deprecated and SQLite-vec is now the default storage backend. This change eliminates network connectivity issues and provides significant performance improvements.

🎯 Key Improvements

Performance & Reliability

• ⚡ 10x faster startup (2-3 seconds vs 15-30 seconds)
• 🧠 75% lower memory usage
• 🌐 Zero network dependencies - no more Hugging Face download failures
• 📁 Single file database for easy backup and portability
• 🔒 Works offline immediately on all systems

Why This Change?

ChromaDB's dependency on downloading models from Hugging Face caused frequent failures in:

• 🏢 Corporate environments with restricted internet
• 🌍 Regions with unreliable connectivity
• 🔐 Air-gapped systems
• 🍎 macOS systems (especially Intel Macs)

📋 Migration Guide

For New Users

Simply install normally - SQLite-vec will be used automatically:

python install.py

For Existing ChromaDB Users

Your setup continues working with deprecation warnings. To migrate:

1. Backup your data:

   python scripts/create_backup.py

2. Migrate to SQLite-vec:

   python scripts/migrate_to_sqlite_vec.py

3. Update configuration:

   export MCP_MEMORY_STORAGE_BACKEND=sqlite_vec

4. Restart your MCP client

🔄 Backward Compatibility

• ChromaDB backend still functions but displays deprecation warnings
• All APIs remain unchanged regardless of backend
• Migration tools provided for smooth transition
• ChromaDB will be removed in v6.0.0

📝 Detailed Changes

Core Changes

• Default Backend: Changed from ChromaDB to SQLite-vec in all configurations
• Installation: install.py now installs SQLite-vec dependencies by default
• Documentation: Updated all guides to recommend SQLite-vec as primary backend
• Warnings: Added deprecation warnings when ChromaDB backend is used
• Migration Prompts: Server now prompts for migration when ChromaDB data is detected

Files Updated

• Updated package version to 5.0.0 across all files
• Modified project description to reflect SQLite-vec as primary storage
• Enhanced README with SQLite-vec positioning
• Added comprehensive CHANGELOG entry

🐛 Issues Resolved

• Fixes #82: Network connectivity failures with ChromaDB
• Resolves Hugging Face download timeouts and errors
• Eliminates dependency chain complexity issues

🎉 Community Impact

This release makes MCP Memory Service more reliable for users in restricted network environments while providing better performance for everyone. The change was driven by community feedback and real-world deployment challenges.

Full Changelog: https://github.com/doobidoo/mcp-memory-service/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md