PostgreSQL Vector Store Conformance Tests

This project contains conformance tests for the PostgreSQL (pgvector) Vector Store implementation.

Running the Tests

By default, the tests will automatically use a testcontainer to spin up a PostgreSQL instance with the pgvector extension. Docker must be running on your machine for this to work.

Using an External PostgreSQL Instance

If you want to run the tests against an external PostgreSQL instance (e.g., a cloud database, local PostgreSQL server, or any other instance), you can provide a connection string through one of the following methods:

Note: The external PostgreSQL instance must have the pgvector extension available. The tests will attempt to create the extension if it doesn't exist.

Option 1: Environment Variable

Set the Postgres__ConnectionString environment variable:

# Bash/Linux/macOS
export Postgres__ConnectionString="Host=myserver.postgres.database.azure.com;Database=mydb;Username=myuser;Password=mypassword;"

# PowerShell
$env:Postgres__ConnectionString = "Host=myserver.postgres.database.azure.com;Database=mydb;Username=myuser;Password=mypassword;"

Option 2: Configuration File

Create a testsettings.development.json file in this directory with the following content:

{
  "Postgres": {
    "ConnectionString": "Host=myserver.postgres.database.azure.com;Database=mydb;Username=myuser;Password=mypassword;"
  }
}

This file is git-ignored and safe for local development.

Option 3: User Secrets

cd test/VectorData/PgVector.ConformanceTests
dotnet user-secrets set "Postgres:ConnectionString" "Host=myserver.postgres.database.azure.com;Database=mydb;Username=myuser;Password=mypassword;"

Benefits of Using an External Instance

Using an external PostgreSQL instance can be beneficial when:

You want to avoid the overhead of spinning up Docker containers
You need to test against a specific PostgreSQL version or configuration
You want faster test execution (no container startup time)
You're running tests in an environment where Docker is not available
You need to test against cloud-hosted PostgreSQL (e.g., Azure Database for PostgreSQL, AWS RDS)

Prerequisites for External Instances

The external PostgreSQL instance must:

Have the pgvector extension installed and available
Have sufficient permissions for the connecting user to:
- Create the vector extension (if not already created)
- Create tables and indexes
- Insert, update, and delete data

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