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SoftwareRuntime

Chroma (open-source database)

Project record

Maintained by Chroma16

Chroma is an open-source database for AI applications that stores documents, embeddings, and metadata and supports vector, full-text, regex, and metadata search. It can run in memory inside a program, persist to local disk, or run as a server, with client libraries for Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, and Rust.157

Last reviewedEntry updated Documented release Unknown

Availability and license

Overall availability

Public

Documented as available to the general public. Access conditions and license terms may still apply.12

Availability is separate from permission: read the license before using or redistributing.

Public materials checklist

Items for a runtime under USASI rubric v0.1. Unknown means unassessed or insufficient evidence.
Public materials checklist for Chroma (open-source database)
ItemStatusNotes and evidence
Source codeIs the source code publicly readable?Public1
DocumentationIs user documentation published?Public56
InstallationAre installation instructions or packages publicly available?PublicDocumented installs with pip (chromadb), npm (chromadb), and cargo (chroma), plus the chromadb/chroma Docker image and a chroma run command for a local server.5
Supported platformsAre supported operating systems or hardware documented?UnknownNot assessed.
Release statusAre versioned releases published?PublicVersioned releases are published on GitHub and PyPI; the latest chromadb release on PyPI at review was 1.5.9, uploaded on May 5, 2026.34

What it is useful for

Retrieval for LLM applications, such as semantic search over documents and retrieval-augmented generation, from local prototypes to a client-server deployment.15

Run and use notes

Documented facts only. No hardware or performance claims are made without a cited source and stated assumptions.
  • Chroma's documentation says the single-node (local) version may temporarily lack features available in distributed Chroma and Chroma Cloud, and that Chroma stopped collecting product telemetry as of version 1.5.4.6

Organization context

U.S. eligibility

Project eligibility rests on documented governing or maintaining entities, not on contributors.

Eligible · basis: U.S.-governed project

Chroma is developed in the chroma-core GitHub organization by Chroma Inc., whose documentation says the project is built and maintained by a small core team. Chroma Inc.'s terms of service and privacy policy give a San Francisco, California address.1689

Assessed Sep 29, 2026

Sources

  1. 1.
    chroma-core/chroma (external site: github.com)

    Chroma · Repository · accessed Sep 29, 2026

  2. 2.
    chroma-core/chroma LICENSE (external site: github.com)

    Chroma · License · accessed Sep 29, 2026

  3. 3.
    chroma-core/chroma releases (external site: github.com)

    Chroma · Release notes · accessed Sep 29, 2026

  4. 4.
    chromadb package metadata (PyPI JSON API) (external site: pypi.org)

    Python Package Index · Other · accessed Sep 29, 2026

  5. 5.
    Getting Started - Chroma Docs (external site: docs.trychroma.com)

    Chroma · Documentation · accessed Sep 29, 2026

  6. 6.
    Open Source - Chroma Docs (external site: docs.trychroma.com)

    Chroma · Documentation · accessed Sep 29, 2026

  7. 7.
  8. 8.
    Terms | Chroma (external site: trychroma.com)

    Chroma · Official page · published Oct 2, 2024 · accessed Sep 29, 2026

  9. 9.
    Privacy | Chroma (external site: trychroma.com)

    Chroma · Official page · published Oct 2, 2024 · accessed Sep 29, 2026

This listing is not an endorsement, a safety assessment, or a federal approval.

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