Package Exports

contextlite
contextlite/lib/index.js

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Readme

ContextLite npm Package

A Node.js wrapper for ContextLite - an ultra-fast context engine for retrieval and AI applications.

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

# Install globally for CLI access
npm install -g contextlite

# Or install locally for programmatic use
npm install contextlite

CLI Usage

# Start ContextLite server
contextlite --port 8080

# Get help
contextlite --help

# Use with npx (no global install needed)
npx contextlite --port 9090

Programmatic Usage

import { ContextLiteClient } from 'contextlite';

// Auto-start server and add documents
const client = new ContextLiteClient();

try {
    // Add some documents
    await client.addDocument("The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.", "doc1");
    await client.addDocument("Node.js is a great runtime for server applications.", "doc2");
    await client.addDocument("TypeScript adds type safety to JavaScript development.", "doc3");
    
    // Query for relevant content
    const results = await client.query("server applications");
    console.log(`Found ${results.documents.length} relevant documents`);
    
    for (const doc of results.documents) {
        console.log(`Score: ${doc.score.toFixed(3)} - ${doc.content.slice(0, 50)}...`);
    }
} finally {
    await client.close();
}

With Auto-cleanup

import { withContextLiteClient } from 'contextlite';

await withContextLiteClient({ port: 8080 }, async (client) => {
    await client.addDocument("Hello from Node.js!");
    const results = await client.query("hello");
    console.log(results);
    // Client automatically closed when function exits
});

📋 Features

🔥 Ultra-Fast: Native Go binary performance with Node.js convenience
🛠️ Auto-Management: Automatically detects, downloads, and manages ContextLite binary
🔌 Easy Integration: Simple async/await API with TypeScript support
🌍 Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux (x64 and ARM64)
📦 Zero Config: Works out of the box with automatic binary detection
🎯 CLI Ready: Global installation provides contextlite command

🏗️ Architecture

This npm package is a "shim" that provides Node.js bindings for the high-performance ContextLite binary:

Binary Detection: Automatically finds ContextLite binary in PATH or common install locations
Auto-Download: Downloads appropriate binary for your platform during installation
Server Management: Optionally manages ContextLite server lifecycle
TypeScript API: Provides fully-typed Node.js interface over REST API

📖 API Reference

ContextLiteClient

The main interface for interacting with ContextLite from Node.js.

Constructor

interface ClientOptions {
    host?: string;          // Server host (default: 'localhost')
    port?: number;          // Server port (default: 8080)
    autoStart?: boolean;    // Auto-start server if not running (default: true)
    databasePath?: string;  // Optional database file path
    timeout?: number;       // Request timeout in milliseconds (default: 30000)
}

const client = new ContextLiteClient(options);

Methods

addDocument(content, documentId?, metadata?) - Add a document
query(query, options?) - Search for documents
getDocument(documentId) - Retrieve specific document
deleteDocument(documentId) - Delete a document
getStats() - Get server statistics
isServerRunning() - Check if server is responsive
close() - Stop managed server and cleanup

Types

interface QueryOptions {
    maxResults?: number;
    minScore?: number;
}

interface QueryResult {
    documents: Array<{
        id: string;
        content: string;
        score: number;
        metadata?: Record<string, any>;
    }>;
    totalResults: number;
    queryTime: number;
}

interface Document {
    id: string;
    content: string;
    metadata?: Record<string, any>;
}

Error Handling

import { 
    ContextLiteClient,
    ContextLiteError,
    BinaryNotFoundError,
    ServerError
} from 'contextlite';

try {
    const client = new ContextLiteClient();
    await client.query("test");
} catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof BinaryNotFoundError) {
        console.error('ContextLite binary not found');
    } else if (error instanceof ServerError) {
        console.error('Server error:', error.message);
    } else if (error instanceof ContextLiteError) {
        console.error('ContextLite error:', error.message);
    }
}

🌐 Examples

Document Management

import { ContextLiteClient } from 'contextlite';

const client = new ContextLiteClient();

// Add documents with metadata
await client.addDocument(
    "Advanced TypeScript patterns for scalable applications.",
    "ts-patterns-guide",
    {
        category: "programming",
        difficulty: "advanced",
        tags: ["typescript", "patterns", "scalability"]
    }
);

// Query with options
const results = await client.query(
    "typescript patterns",
    { maxResults: 5, minScore: 0.7 }
);

for (const doc of results.documents) {
    console.log(`Document: ${doc.id}`);
    console.log(`Score: ${doc.score.toFixed(3)}`);
    console.log(`Content: ${doc.content.slice(0, 100)}...`);
    console.log(`Metadata:`, doc.metadata);
    console.log('-'.repeat(50));
}

await client.close();

Batch Operations

import { ContextLiteClient } from 'contextlite';

const documents = [
    "React makes building user interfaces simple and declarative.",
    "Vue.js provides an approachable, versatile framework.",
    "Angular offers a comprehensive platform for web applications.",
    "Svelte compiles to vanilla JavaScript for optimal performance."
];

const client = new ContextLiteClient();

// Batch add documents
for (const [index, content] of documents.entries()) {
    await client.addDocument(content, `framework-${index}`);
}

// Search across all documents
const results = await client.query("web framework");

console.log(`Found ${results.documents.length} relevant documents`);
results.documents.forEach(doc => {
    console.log(`• ${doc.content} (Score: ${doc.score.toFixed(3)})`);
});

await client.close();

Custom Configuration

import { ContextLiteClient } from 'contextlite';

// Connect to existing server
const remoteClient = new ContextLiteClient({
    host: 'my-server.com',
    port: 9090,
    autoStart: false  // Don't try to start server
});

// Use custom database location
const localClient = new ContextLiteClient({
    databasePath: '/path/to/my/database.db',
    port: 8081
});

// Custom timeout and options
const client = new ContextLiteClient({
    timeout: 60000,  // 60 second timeout
    autoStart: true
});

Express.js Integration

import express from 'express';
import { ContextLiteClient } from 'contextlite';

const app = express();
const client = new ContextLiteClient({ port: 8081 });

app.use(express.json());

app.post('/documents', async (req, res) => {
    try {
        const { content, metadata } = req.body;
        const result = await client.addDocument(content, undefined, metadata);
        res.json(result);
    } catch (error) {
        res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
    }
});

app.get('/search', async (req, res) => {
    try {
        const { q, max_results, min_score } = req.query;
        const results = await client.query(q as string, {
            maxResults: max_results ? parseInt(max_results as string) : undefined,
            minScore: min_score ? parseFloat(min_score as string) : undefined
        });
        res.json(results);
    } catch (error) {
        res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
    }
});

const server = app.listen(3000, () => {
    console.log('Server running on port 3000');
});

// Cleanup on shutdown
process.on('SIGTERM', async () => {
    await client.close();
    server.close();
});

🛠️ Development

Local Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Michael-A-Kuykendall/contextlite.git
cd contextlite/npm-wrapper

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build TypeScript
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

# Link for local testing
npm link

# Test global command
contextlite --help

Testing

# Install jest globally if needed
npm install -g jest

# Run tests with coverage
npm test -- --coverage

# Run specific test file
npm test -- binary-manager.test.ts

Building and Publishing

# Build TypeScript to JavaScript
npm run build

# Check package contents
npm pack

# Publish to npm (requires npm login)
npm publish

🔧 Binary Management

The package handles ContextLite binary management automatically:

Detection Strategy

PATH: Checks if contextlite is in system PATH
System Locations: Common install directories
User Data: User-specific data directory
Package Data: Bundled with package (if available)

Auto-Download

During npm install, the package will:

Detect your platform and architecture
Download the appropriate binary from GitHub releases
Store it in user data directory
Make it executable and ready to use

Manual Installation

You can also install ContextLite binary manually:

# Download from GitHub releases
curl -L https://github.com/Michael-A-Kuykendall/contextlite/releases/latest/download/contextlite_linux_amd64 -o contextlite
chmod +x contextlite
sudo mv contextlite /usr/local/bin/

# Or using npm global install
npm install -g contextlite

📝 Requirements

Node.js: 14.0.0+
Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux (x64/ARM64)
Dependencies: node-fetch, tar
ContextLite Binary: Auto-downloaded or manually installed

🚨 Troubleshooting

Binary Not Found

# Manually download and install
npm run postinstall

# Or set NODE_ENV to avoid automatic download
NODE_ENV=development npm install

Permission Issues

# On Unix systems, ensure binary is executable
chmod +x /path/to/contextlite

# Check PATH variable
echo $PATH

Port Conflicts

// Use a different port
const client = new ContextLiteClient({ port: 9090 });

// Or check if port is in use
netstat -tlnp | grep :8080

📄 License

This npm package is released under the MIT License. The ContextLite binary may have different licensing terms.

🔗 Links

Homepage: https://contextlite.com
Documentation: https://docs.contextlite.com
GitHub: https://github.com/Michael-A-Kuykendall/contextlite
npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/contextlite
Issues: https://github.com/Michael-A-Kuykendall/contextlite/issues

💬 Support

GitHub Issues: For bug reports and feature requests
Documentation: Comprehensive guides and API reference
npm Community: Package-specific discussions

Built with ❤️ by the ContextLite team. Perfect for Node.js developers who need blazing-fast context retrieval.