Index Scalar Fields

On Zilliz Cloud, a scalar index is used to speed up meta filtering by a specific non-vector field value, similar to a traditional database index. This guide will walk you through creating and configuring scalar indexes for fields such as integers, strings, etc.

Auto indexing

To use auto indexing, omit the index_type parameter so that Milvus can infer the index type based on the scalar field type. For mappings between scalar data types and default indexing algorithms, refer to Scalar field indexing algorithms.

Example:

Python

# Auto indexing
CLUSTER_ENDPOINT = "YOUR_CLUSTER_ENDPOINT"
TOKEN = "YOUR_CLUSTER_TOKEN"

# 1. Set up a Milvus client
client = MilvusClient(
    uri=CLUSTER_ENDPOINT,
    token=TOKEN 
)

index_params = client.prepare_index_params() # Prepare an empty IndexParams object, without having to specify any index parameters

index_params.add_index(
    field_name="scalar_1", # Name of the scalar field to be indexed
    index_type="", # Type of index to be created. For auto indexing, leave it empty or omit this parameter.
    index_name="default_index" # Name of the index to be created
)

client.create_index(
  collection_name="test_scalar_index", # Specify the collection name
  index_params=index_params
)

Java

import io.milvus.v2.common.IndexParam;
import io.milvus.v2.service.index.request.CreateIndexReq;

IndexParam indexParamForScalarField = IndexParam.builder()
    .fieldName("scalar_1") // Name of the scalar field to be indexed
    .indexName("default_index") // Name of the index to be created
    .indexType("") // Type of index to be created. For auto indexing, leave it empty or omit this parameter.
    .build();

List<IndexParam> indexParams = new ArrayList<>();
indexParams.add(indexParamForVectorField);

CreateIndexReq createIndexReq = CreateIndexReq.builder()
    .collectionName("test_scalar_index") // Specify the collection name
    .indexParams(indexParams)
    .build();

client.createIndex(createIndexReq);

NodeJS

await client.createIndex({
    collection_name: "test_scalar_index", // Specify the collection name
    field_name: "scalar_1", // Name of the scalar field to be indexed
    index_name: "default_index", // Name of the index to be created
    index_type: "" // Type of index to be created. For auto indexing, leave it empty or omit this parameter.
})