---
generator: "vaultspec-marketing discovery"
title: "Requirements - Vaultspec documentation"
description: "Start with Core. It installs the workflow and manages records without vaultspec-rag, a GPU, or an API key. The quickstart follows that path."
url: "https://vaultspec.neve.md/docs/requirements.html"
component: "site"
date_modified: "2026-10-08T14:11:28+02:00"

---

[View as Markdown](<https://vaultspec.neve.md/docs/requirements.md>)

# Requirements

Start with Core. It installs the workflow and manages records without vaultspec-rag, a GPU, or an API key. The [quickstart](<https://vaultspec.neve.md/docs/index.html>) follows that path. vaultspec-rag is optional, but the workflow is designed around its semantic search, and it has the hard requirement: a supported GPU. It depends on Core, so installing it installs Core too.

## Before installing Core

You need [uv](<https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/>), a terminal, and a project folder. Core and vaultspec-rag both run on CPython 3.13 or 3.14, and uv downloads a supported interpreter if needed. The quickstart’s agent step also needs a coding agent with Core’s [MCP connection](<https://vaultspec.neve.md/docs/guides/mcp.html>) enabled; the command-line steps work without it.

## Before installing vaultspec-rag

Each machine runs one search service from a host installation, which needs:

- An NVIDIA GPU with a driver that supports CUDA 13 on Linux or Windows, or Apple silicon on macOS. There is no CPU path, and AMD GPUs and Intel Macs are unsupported. `--local-only` changes where the index is stored, not this requirement.
- Enough memory and disk for its resource profile, and several gigabytes for the models.
- Network access for the public model files and the managed index server’s first download. The default models need no Hugging Face account or token.

A client installation needs no GPU, PyTorch, or model download, but it only works beside a host installation on the same machine, under the same user account, at the same release. [Set up vaultspec-rag](<https://vaultspec.neve.md/docs/rag/installation.html#what-you-need-before-you-start>) states each requirement in full, and [how vaultspec-rag runs](<https://vaultspec.neve.md/docs/guides/rag-service.html>) explains the service and its client.

TypeSafe is an optional integration. Core and vaultspec-rag each take their own [API key, resolved through one shared settings order](<https://vaultspec.neve.md/docs/guides/typesafe-env.html>).

## Platforms and install routes

- [Core installation](<https://vaultspec.neve.md/docs/core/installation.html>): uvx, a shell tool, or a project dependency.
- [Core distribution channels](<https://vaultspec.neve.md/docs/core/channels.html>): platform coverage and release archives.
- [vaultspec-rag installation](<https://vaultspec.neve.md/docs/rag/installation.html#choose-what-this-environment-runs>): a host as a standalone tool, a project dependency, or a release binary for Windows x86-64, Linux x86-64 and ARM64, or Apple silicon; a client in a Python project.

## Which version these pages describe

Imported component references follow their published releases. The versions an install command resolves can differ between distribution channels.

| Component | These pages | `uv` and `uvx` install | Release binaries |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| vaultspec-core | 0.3.4 | 0.3.4 | 0.3.4 |
| vaultspec-rag | 0.6.0 | 0.6.0 | 0.6.0 |

Every install route gives you the release these pages describe.