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Hierarchical Navigable Small World
conceptalgorithm
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Overview
Developed byYu. A. Malkov
LicenseApache License 2.0
Open source✓ Open Source
Use caseapproximate nearest neighbor search
Knowledge graph stats
Claims53
Avg confidence93%
Avg freshness100%
Last updatedUpdated 5 days ago
WikidataQ124785393
Trust distribution
100% unverified
Governance
Not assessed
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Hierarchical Navigable Small World

concept

Graph-based algorithm for approximate nearest neighbor search with logarithmic complexity

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published year

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
2016○UnverifiedHighFresh1

algorithm type

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
graph-based search○UnverifiedHighFresh1
graph-based search algorithm○UnverifiedHighFresh1

paper published year

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
2016○UnverifiedHighFresh1

supports model

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
vector embeddings○UnverifiedHighFresh1
embedding vectors○UnverifiedHighFresh1

primary use case

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
approximate nearest neighbor search○UnverifiedHighFresh1
high-dimensional vector search○UnverifiedHighFresh1
vector similarity search○UnverifiedHighFresh1
similarity search in high-dimensional spaces○UnverifiedHighFresh1
similarity search○UnverifiedHighFresh1
high-dimensional data indexing○UnverifiedHighFresh1

implemented in

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
hnswlib library○UnverifiedHighFresh1

supports language

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
Python○UnverifiedHighFresh1
C++○UnverifiedHighFresh1

open source

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
true○UnverifiedHighFresh1

developed by

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
Yu. A. Malkov○UnverifiedHighFresh1
D. A. Yashunin○UnverifiedHighFresh1
Yury Malkov○UnverifiedHighFresh1
Yu. A. Malkov and D. A. Yashunin○UnverifiedHighFresh1

supports protocol

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
C++ API○UnverifiedHighFresh1
Python API○UnverifiedHighFresh1
Euclidean distance○UnverifiedHighFresh1
cosine similarity○UnverifiedHighFresh1
vector similarity search○UnverifiedHighFresh1

based on

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
Navigable Small World networks○UnverifiedHighFresh1
small world networks○UnverifiedHighFresh1
navigable small world graphs○UnverifiedHighFresh1
small world networks theory○UnverifiedHighFresh1
skip list data structure○UnverifiedHighFresh1

integrates with

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
Python○UnverifiedHighFresh1
C++○UnverifiedHighFresh1
machine learning pipelines○UnverifiedModerateFresh1
Faiss library○UnverifiedModerateFresh1

license type

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
Apache License 2.0○UnverifiedHighFresh1
Apache 2.0○UnverifiedHighFresh1

time complexity

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
O(log N) search time○UnverifiedHighFresh1

used in

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
vector databases○UnverifiedModerateFresh1
embedding search systems○UnverifiedModerateFresh1

alternative to

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
Locality Sensitive Hashing○UnverifiedModerateFresh1
Locality-Sensitive Hashing○UnverifiedModerateFresh1
k-d trees○UnverifiedModerateFresh1
Annoy algorithm○UnverifiedModerateFresh1
FAISS○UnverifiedModerateFresh1
LSH (Locality Sensitive Hashing)○UnverifiedModerateFresh1
Annoy○UnverifiedModerateFresh1

competes with

ValueTrustConfidenceFreshnessSources
Annoy○UnverifiedModerateFresh1
Faiss○UnverifiedModerateFresh1

Alternatives & Similar Tools

Locality Sensitive Hashing
alternative to
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Locality-Sensitive Hashing
alternative to
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k-d trees
alternative to
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Annoy algorithm
alternative to
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FAISS
alternative to
Compare →
Annoy
competes with
Compare →
LSH (Locality Sensitive Hashing)
alternative to
Compare →
Annoy
alternative to
Compare →
Faiss
competes with
Compare →

Commonly Used With

PythonC++machine learning pipelinesFaiss library

Related entities

Graph Insights

4 entities depend on Hierarchical Navigable Small World
HNSWApproximate Nearest Neighbor
View full impact analysis →
Claim count: 53Last updated: 4/5/2026Edit history