[Proposal] Bundle pgvector as a built-in extension in Apache Cloudberry

[tuhaihe]

Proposers

Dianjin Wang (@tuhaihe)

Proposal Status

Under Discussion

Abstract

Bundle pgvector as a first-class, built-in extension in Apache Cloudberry, following the existing gpcontrib/ pattern (the same way orafce and pg_hint_plan are vendored). Beyond just vendoring, the proposal includes the MPP integration work required to make vector search correct and well-documented.

Motivation

Vector search has become a table-stakes capability in the AI era, and PostgreSQL users expect pgvector to just work.

Today Cloudberry users must install it separately from a maintained fork (cloudberry-contrib/pgvector). Bundling it gives us:

• A single build/package/release pipeline and a pinned version per Cloudberry release.
• Regression coverage in our own CI and installer.
• A native, documented Cloudberry experience rather than an external add-on.

There is already strong precedent: orafce, pg_hint_plan, and more cases are all third-party extensions vendored under gpcontrib/.

Implementation

1. Vendor into gpcontrib/pgvector following the existing pattern:
   • Add PGAC_ARG_BOOL(enable, pgvector, ...) in configure.ac (mirroring enable_orafce).
   • Wire pgvector into gpcontrib/Makefile (recurse_targets, install, installcheck).
   • Add --enable-pgvector to the release CONFIGFLAGS in gpAux/Makefile and the devops configure script.
2. Do the MPP integration work that makes this more than a copy:
   • Introduce the pgvector codebase
   • Cherry-pick the commits that were made for Cloudberry in the cloudberry-contrib/pgvector
   • Add the tests for pgvector in the CI workflows

Rollout/Adoption Plan

• vendor + build/package wiring, land as opt-in (--enable-pgvector), add CI.

Are you willing to submit a PR?

• Yes I am willing to submit a PR!

[MisterRaindrop]

I think this is essential. Since MCP capabilities currently rely on pgvector, baking this functionality into the database would enable out-of-the-box usage for users, delivering much better convenience.