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 CLI

bash
npm install -g ./vektor-slipstream-1.5.8.tgz

Download the .tgz from the Downloads page, then run the install command. First install takes 30–60 seconds depending on your connection.

3

CLI Commands

Vektor Slipstream includes a full CLI via vektor:

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

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

Activate your licence

Pass your licence key directly to the activate command — the setup wizard launches automatically:

bash
vektor activate YOUR-LICENCE-KEY-HERE
output
  ⬡  Validating licence key...
  ✓  Licence activated!

  ⬡  VEKTOR SLIPSTREAM — Setup Wizard
  This takes about 60 seconds.
  Press Enter to accept defaults shown in [brackets].

  ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────

  Step 1 · AI Provider

  ·  ollama    — local models, no API key needed (default)
  ·  claude    — Anthropic Claude (API key required)
  ·  openai    — OpenAI GPT (API key required)
  ·  groq      — Groq fast inference (API key required)
  ·  gemini    — Google Gemini (API key required)
  ·  mistral   — Mistral AI (API key required)

  Provider [groq]:
  ✓  Provider set to groq

  ...

  ✓  Config saved
  ✓  Setup complete!

The wizard walks you through choosing an AI provider and optional API keys (Brave Search, Tavily, ElevenLabs, etc.). Press Enter to skip any step and add keys later with vektor config set <key> <value>.

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
vektor deactivate

Or manage activations directly at polar.sh → your customer portal. Enterprise licences (10 seats) available — contact [email protected].

For SDK integrations (createMemory()), pass your key via env var or directly in code:

javascript
const memory = await createMemory({
  agentId:    'my-agent',
  licenceKey: process.env.VEKTOR_LICENCE_KEY,
});
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: