lancedb/docs/web/basics/connect.mdx

---
title: "Connect to LanceDB"
sidebarTitle: "Connect"
description: "Use LanceDB Embedded with tables in a local directory or object storage, or connect to LanceDB Enterprise."
icon: plug
keywords: ["connect", "uri", "embedded", "object storage", "s3", "enterprise", "db://"]
---

import {
    PyConnect,
    PyConnectAsync,
    PyConnectEnterprisePlaceholders,
    PyConnectEnterpriseQuickstart,
    PyConnectObjectStorage,
    PyConnectObjectStorageAsync,
    RsConnect,
    TsConnect,
    TsConnectEnterprisePlaceholders,
    TsConnectEnterpriseQuickstart,
    TsConnectObjectStorage,
} from '/snippets/connection.mdx';

The URI you pass to `connect` decides where the work runs. LanceDB Embedded
runs in your application's process; your data can live on local disk or in
object storage. LanceDB Enterprise runs LanceDB Distributed: query execution,
indexing and maintenance run on the Enterprise service, outside your
application. The same Python, TypeScript and Rust SDKs open all three kinds;
[Embedded and Enterprise](/basics/offerings) describes how the two offerings differ.

| URI | Where queries run |
| --- | --- |
| A local path, such as `./data` | LanceDB Embedded: in your process |
| `s3://`, `gs://` or `az://` | LanceDB Embedded: in your process, reading object storage |
| `db://` | LanceDB Enterprise: LanceDB Distributed runs queries on your cluster |

## A local directory {#local}

Embedded in your application, LanceDB reads and writes the tables in a
directory on disk.

<CodeGroup>
    <CodeBlock filename="Python (sync)" language="Python" icon="python">
    {PyConnect}
    </CodeBlock>

    <CodeBlock filename="Python (async)" language="Python" icon="python">
    {PyConnectAsync}
    </CodeBlock>

    <CodeBlock filename="TypeScript" language="TypeScript" icon="square-js">
    { "import * as lancedb from \"@lancedb/lancedb\";\n\n" }
    {TsConnect}
    </CodeBlock>

    <CodeBlock filename="Rust" language="Rust" icon="rust">
    { "use lancedb::connect;\n" }
    { "\n" }
    {RsConnect}
    </CodeBlock>
</CodeGroup>

## Object storage {#object-storage}

With an object storage URI the library is still embedded: your process runs
every query and reads and writes the bucket directly, with the credentials from
its environment or its storage options. [Configuring storage](/deployment/storage)
covers credentials, endpoints and provider options.

<CodeGroup>
    <CodeBlock filename="Python (sync)" language="Python" icon="python">
    {PyConnectObjectStorage}
    </CodeBlock>

    <CodeBlock filename="Python (async)" language="Python" icon="python">
    {PyConnectObjectStorageAsync}
    </CodeBlock>

    <CodeBlock filename="TypeScript" language="TypeScript" icon="square-js">
    { "import * as lancedb from \"@lancedb/lancedb\";\n\n" }
    {TsConnectObjectStorage}
    </CodeBlock>
</CodeGroup>

In Rust, pass the same URI to `connect`.

## LanceDB Enterprise {#enterprise}

A `db://` URI connects to LanceDB Enterprise, where your cluster runs queries
and background work. Get the database URI, API key, region and endpoint from
your administrator, then replace the placeholders below. Use your cluster's region
in place of `us-east-1`. In application code, load credentials from environment
variables or a secrets manager.

<CodeGroup>
    <CodeBlock filename="Python" language="Python" icon="python">
    {PyConnectEnterprisePlaceholders}
    </CodeBlock>

    <CodeBlock filename="TypeScript" language="TypeScript" icon="square-js">
    { "import * as lancedb from \"@lancedb/lancedb\";\n\n" }
    {TsConnectEnterprisePlaceholders}
    </CodeBlock>
</CodeGroup>

In Rust, enable the crate's `remote` feature; the connection builder then takes
the same settings through `api_key`, `region` and `host_override`. To use OAuth
instead of an API key, see
[Authentication](/enterprise/authentication); for every connection option, see
[Database](/management/database#deployment).


<Accordion title="Load production credentials from your environment">

Set these values in the shell that starts your application. Replace the URI, API
key, region and endpoint with your Enterprise connection settings. In production, a secrets
manager can supply these environment variables for you.

```shell
export LANCEDB_URI="db://your-database"
export LANCEDB_API_KEY="your-api-key"
export LANCEDB_REGION="us-east-1"
export LANCEDB_HOST_OVERRIDE="https://your-endpoint"
```

<CodeGroup>
  <CodeBlock filename="Python" language="Python" icon="python">
    {PyConnectEnterpriseQuickstart}
  </CodeBlock>
  <CodeBlock filename="TypeScript" language="TypeScript" icon="square-js">
    { "import * as lancedb from \"@lancedb/lancedb\";\n\n" }
    {TsConnectEnterpriseQuickstart}
  </CodeBlock>
</CodeGroup>

</Accordion>