From b790cdd5433c920cb2bdb0339f9c5f2b4a2cd985 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Alan McCann <alan@imccann.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2026 06:28:39 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] docs: add Elixir page (exqlite run-time loading + static
 compilation for iOS)

---
 site/.vitepress/config.mts |   1 +
 site/using/elixir.md       | 100 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 101 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 site/using/elixir.md

diff --git a/site/.vitepress/config.mts b/site/.vitepress/config.mts
index bcad17ad..9d762215 100644
--- a/site/.vitepress/config.mts
+++ b/site/.vitepress/config.mts
@@ -153,6 +153,7 @@ function sidebar(): DefaultTheme.SidebarItem[] {
         { text: "Ruby", link: "/ruby" },
         { text: "Rust", link: "/rust" },
         { text: "Go", link: "/go" },
+        { text: "Elixir", link: "/elixir" },
         { text: "C/C++", link: "/c" },
         { text: "Browser (WASM)", link: "/wasm" },
         { text: "Datasette", link: "/datasette" },
diff --git a/site/using/elixir.md b/site/using/elixir.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..018253bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/site/using/elixir.md
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+# Using `sqlite-vec` in Elixir
+
+Elixir projects reach SQLite through [`exqlite`](https://hex.pm/packages/exqlite)
+(and [`ecto_sqlite3`](https://hex.pm/packages/ecto_sqlite3) on top of it). There
+are two ways to bring in `sqlite-vec`: loading it at run time, or compiling it
+into the NIF for targets where dynamic loading is unavailable (iOS) or
+undesirable.
+
+## Run-time loading
+
+Compile `sqlite-vec` as a loadable extension (see [Compiling](/compiling)) and
+point `exqlite` at it:
+
+```elixir
+{:ok, conn} = Exqlite.Sqlite3.open(":memory:")
+:ok = Exqlite.Sqlite3.enable_load_extension(conn, true)
+:ok = Exqlite.Sqlite3.execute(conn, "SELECT load_extension('/path/to/vec0')")
+:ok = Exqlite.Sqlite3.enable_load_extension(conn, false)
+
+{:ok, stmt} = Exqlite.Sqlite3.prepare(conn, "SELECT vec_version()")
+{:row, [version]} = Exqlite.Sqlite3.step(conn, stmt)
+IO.puts(version)
+```
+
+With Ecto, load it on every pooled connection instead:
+
+```elixir
+config :my_app, MyApp.Repo,
+  database: "path/to/db.sqlite3",
+  load_extensions: ["/path/to/vec0"]
+```
+
+## Static compilation (iOS, hardened deployments)
+
+iOS forbids dynamic code loading, so `load_extension` is not an option there.
+`sqlite-vec` supports being compiled directly into the host application via
+SQLite's [`SQLITE_EXTRA_INIT`](https://sqlite.org/compile.html#extra_init)
+mechanism, and `exqlite` compiles its own bundled `sqlite3.c`, so the pieces
+fit: compile `sqlite-vec.c` (the amalgamation) plus an 8-line registration shim
+into the NIF.
+
+The shim:
+
+```c
+/* vec_init_shim.c */
+#include "sqlite3.h"
+#include "sqlite-vec.h"
+
+int exqlite_vec_init(const char *unused) {
+  (void)unused;
+  return sqlite3_auto_extension((void (*)(void))sqlite3_vec_init);
+}
+```
+
+The build configuration (uses `EXQLITE_EXTRA_SRC`, added to `exqlite` in
+[elixir-sqlite/exqlite#355](https://github.com/elixir-sqlite/exqlite/pull/355);
+until that lands, the same two lines can be applied to `exqlite`'s Makefile as
+a patch):
+
+```elixir
+config :exqlite,
+  force_build: true,
+  make_env: %{
+    "EXQLITE_EXTRA_SRC" => "/path/to/sqlite-vec.c /path/to/vec_init_shim.c",
+    "EXQLITE_SYSTEM_CFLAGS" =>
+      "-DSQLITE_CORE=1 -DSQLITE_EXTRA_INIT=exqlite_vec_init -I/path/to/vendored/headers"
+  }
+```
+
+After that, every connection has the `vec_*` functions with no loading step:
+
+```elixir
+{:ok, conn} = Exqlite.Sqlite3.open(":memory:")
+
+{:ok, stmt} =
+  Exqlite.Sqlite3.prepare(conn, "SELECT vec_distance_cosine(vec_f32('[1,0]'), vec_f32('[0,1]'))")
+
+{:row, [1.0]} = Exqlite.Sqlite3.step(conn, stmt)
+```
+
+`-DSQLITE_CORE=1` makes `sqlite-vec` compile against the core API rather than
+the loadable-extension shim, and `force_build: true` is required so a
+precompiled NIF is not fetched instead of building.
+
+## Working with vectors in Elixir
+
+If your embeddings arrive as a list of floats, pack them into the compact
+little-endian float32 BLOB format that `sqlite-vec` uses:
+
+```elixir
+embedding = [0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4]
+blob = for f <- embedding, into: <<>>, do: <<f::float-32-little>>
+
+{:ok, stmt} = Exqlite.Sqlite3.prepare(conn, "SELECT vec_length(?)")
+:ok = Exqlite.Sqlite3.bind(stmt, [{:blob, blob}])
+{:row, [4]} = Exqlite.Sqlite3.step(conn, stmt)
+```
+
+JSON text like `'[0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4]'` also works anywhere a vector is
+expected, via `vec_f32('[...]')`.