Search an index

Search a vector namespace with dense, sparse, lexical or hybrid ranking and an optional metadata filter.

POST /v1/tenants/{tenant}/vector-indexes/{index_id}/search

Combine the search evidence your task needsHybrid scores differ from raw dense-vector scores.

Choose search inputsSupply dense, sparse, lexical or combined query evidence.
Rank within a namespaceApply the requested filter and fusion settings.
Inspect hits and completenessRead ranking_method and components before interpreting the result.

Before you start

Use your database bearer token.

Connection setup

Use the index_id returned when the index was created. Insert records into the target namespace before searching it.

Path parameters

Field	Type	Required
`tenant`	`string`	Required
`index_id`	`string`	Required

Headers

Field	Type	Required	Description
`x-oc-db-user`	`string`	Optional	Acting database user (role, grant and row-policy checks). Send with x-oc-db-key.
`x-oc-db-key`	`string`	Optional	API key of the x-oc-db-user user.

Request body

application/json

Limits and accepted values

mode: semantic, lexical, hybrid or dense_with_text_filter.
k is 1 up to the engine's limit (default 10,000).
include_components defaults to true, the other include_* to false.
Not yet served (501): expected_generation, timeout_ms, text_fields, a projection on a plan with a lexical leg, fusion weighted_sum and mode dense_with_text_filter.
Unknown fields at any depth answer 400 unknown_request_field.

Field	Type	Required	Description
`dense`	`object`	Optional	Query by vector or by the id of a stored record. quality: exact, fast or high_recall (default).

Fields in dense

Field	Type	Required
`candidates`	`integer`	Optional
`quality`	`string`	Optional
`record_id`	`string`	Optional
`vector`	`number[]`	Optional

Fields in vector

Field	Type	Required
`vector`	`number`	Optional

Field	Type	Required	Description
`expected_generation`	`string`	Optional	—
`filter`	`object`	Optional	—
`filter_expr`	`object`	Optional	—
`fusion`	`object`	Optional	method: rrf (optional rrf_k, default 60) or weighted_sum (weights required; currently answers 501).

Fields in fusion

Field	Type	Required
`method`	`string`	Required
`rrf_k`	`integer`	Optional
`weights`	`object`	Optional

Fields in weights

Field	Type	Required
`dense`	`number`	Required
`sparse`	`number`	Required

Field	Type	Required	Description
`include_components`	`boolean`	Optional	—
`include_metadata`	`boolean`	Optional	—
`include_sparse`	`boolean`	Optional	—
`include_values`	`boolean`	Optional	—
`k`	`integer`	Required	—
`lexical`	`object`	Optional	match: terms (default) or phrase. query is at most 4,096 bytes and must not be blank.

Fields in lexical

Field	Type	Required
`candidates`	`integer`	Optional
`field`	`string`	Required
`match`	`string`	Optional
`query`	`string`	Required

Field	Type	Required
`metadata_fields`	`string[]`	Optional

Fields in metadata_fields

Field	Type	Required
`metadata_fields`	`string`	Optional

Field	Type	Required	Description
`mode`	`string`	Required	—
`namespace`	`string`	Required	—
`require_complete`	`boolean`	Optional	—
`sparse`	`object`	Optional	scorer: cosine or dot. At most 1,024 non-zero entries.

Fields in sparse

Field	Type	Required
`candidates`	`integer`	Optional
`indices`	`integer[]`	Required

Fields in indices

Field	Type	Required
`indices`	`integer`	Optional

Field	Type	Required
`scorer`	`string`	Optional
`values`	`number[]`	Required

Fields in values

Field	Type	Required
`values`	`number`	Optional

Field	Type	Required
`text_fields`	`string[]`	Optional

Fields in text_fields

Field	Type	Required
`text_fields`	`string`	Optional

Field	Type	Required
`timeout_ms`	`integer`	Optional

hits contains ranked records; ranking_method and per-leg components explain the scores. Check completeness before interpreting an underfilled answer. A hybrid score is not the same quantity as a raw dense-vector score.

Response statuses

HTTP status reference

Status	What to do
200	OK
400	Correct the request before retrying.
401	Check the credential and Authorization header.
402	Check feature access or available credits.
403	Check tenant access, roles and permissions.
404	Check the resource ID and API route.
409	Resolve the conflict before retrying.
413	Split or reduce the request body.
415	Send the required Content-Type.
422	Correct the values or unsupported combination.
429	Honor Retry-After when present; back off.
500	Check the outcome before retrying a write.
501	Check deployment support for this operation.
503	Honor Retry-After when present; check write outcomes.

Request example

curl --include --request POST "${OC_BASE_URL}/v1/tenants/${OC_TENANT}/vector-indexes/%3CINDEX_ID%3E/search" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ${OC_TOKEN}" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data-binary '{
  "namespace": "demo",
  "mode": "semantic",
  "k": 5,
  "dense": {
    "vector": [
      0.1,
      0.2,
      0.3
    ],
    "quality": "high_recall"
  },
  "include_metadata": true
}'

Response example

Examples use synthetic values to show the response format.

Response status

{
  "index_id": "22222222-2222-4222-8222-222222222222",
  "namespace": "demo",
  "mode": "semantic",
  "k": 5,
  "returned": 2,
  "ranking_method": "dense_similarity",
  "hits": [
    {
      "id": "v1",
      "rank": 1,
      "score": 1,
      "metadata": {
        "category": "outdoor"
      },
      "components": [
        {
          "leg": "dense",
          "rank": 1,
          "score": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "v2",
      "rank": 2,
      "score": 0.9331,
      "metadata": {
        "category": "indoor"
      },
      "components": [
        {
          "leg": "dense",
          "rank": 2,
          "score": 0.9331
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "completeness": {
    "value": "exhausted"
  },
  "legs": [
    {
      "leg": "dense",
      "scorer": "cosine",
      "score_direction": "higher_is_better",
      "index_kind": "hnsw",
      "candidates_requested": 5,
      "candidates_returned": 2,
      "completeness": {
        "value": "exhausted"
      }
    }
  ],
  "read": {
    "position": {
      "domain": "wal",
      "value": "1042:0"
    },
    "restore_epoch": {
      "counter": 0
    }
  }
}

Synthetic index IDs, positions and scores; two stored records cannot fill k=5.

{
  "error": {
    "code": "unknown_request_field",
    "message": "Unrecognized search field.",
    "status": 400,
    "retryable": false
  }
}

Illustrative message; code and envelope follow the documented vector-index contract.

Correct the request before retrying.

Download the OpenAPI specification for the complete response schemas.

Before you startCopy Anchor Link

Path parametersCopy Anchor Link

HeadersCopy Anchor Link

Request bodyCopy Anchor Link

Read the resultCopy Anchor Link

Response statusesCopy Anchor Link

Before you start

Path parameters

Headers

Request body

Read the result

Response statuses